70-tonne, two bedroom house floats down the Thames in Airbnb stunt

A few years ago there was a great deal of interest in Artangel’s A Room for London project, which saw Fiona Banner and David Kohn Architects build a boat you could stay in high above the South Bank. Today Airbnb has twisted that idea round for its own stunt, floating a 70-tonne house down the River Thames. Designed by Steve and Nick Tidball, creative directors of the TBWA agency, it includes two bedrooms, a working bathroom and a garden with real grass and an apple tree. It will meander up and down the river throughout the week, hosting various events and even some sleepovers.

London is Airbnb’s third most popular city and new rules introduced this week have extended the amount of days Londoners can share their homes with travellers. As advertising stunts go this one is pretty eye-catching and the press shots showing the house sailing past the Houses of Parliament and The Shard add an immediate cache. You can find out more information about the project and enter the competition to stay at the house on 22 May over at the website.