If you enjoy a more unusual Airbnb experience, here’s one for you. And it was designed by a Malaysian!
Muhammad Hakim Azly is one of 100 ambitious designers picked from tens of thousands of entries from around the world to bring their whacky space concepts to life as part of Airbnb’s USD10,000,000 (approximately RM44,000,000) OMG! Fund.
Hakim’s ‘Coconut Drifting in the Sea’ concept is a floating residence near Tanjung Rhu beach in Langkawi. Only accessible by boat or kayak, visitors may take in a breathtaking panorama of the islands in all directions on their way to the idyllic property.
Its white, smooth, and uninterrupted interior is meant to evoke the texture of a coconut. Meanwhile, the exterior structure resembles an old coconut and has an outer shell and husk that appear to be peeling to admit light into the chamber. It also has a 250 square metre bedroom with a king-sized bed and a spacious bathroom next to it.
Hakim, who entered the OMG! Fund with his wife Reena, said that the couple got the idea for their submission when walking on the beach and saw fruit floating on the water. Together, they designed a home inspired by a coconut drifting at sea that communicates a story of enjoying the journey to an unknown destination.
Hakim is not new to Airbnb; he was a Superhost in Seattle for almost a year before moving back to Langkawi with his wife, Reena, who runs an Airbnb host business out of 10 homes that she and her family constructed from the ground up.
In order to make their fanciful designs a reality, OMG! Fund recipients will get up to USD100,000 each (approximately RM440,000). They will then have 10 months to plan, build, and furnish their spaces so that they are ready to host guests by the summer of 2023 and be available in Airbnb’s OMG! Category.
