︎︎︎ INDEX

UP House


Creative Direction, interior design, and fabrication.
Some briefs begin with a detailed deck. This one began with a house and a request from Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky: make it fly.

Verb initially invited PBZ to develop concepts for four potential Airbnb experiences, including Disney and Pixar’s Up. We explored how the house might look, move and function, from the exterior and interior to guest programming and a few different ways it could appear to take flight. Once the concept was selected for Airbnb Icons, PBZ was brought back to lead the interior.

Animated houses do not worry much about floor plans, scale or overnight guests. We did. PBZ translated Carl and Ellie’s home into a believable, usable space, developing the layout, guest journey, interior design, custom wallpaper, imagery, props and scenic details. With official Pixar assets arriving late in the process, much of that visual world had to be carefully rebuilt from the film. 

The house was first assembled in Los Angeles for Brian Chesky’s May 2024 Icons launch, then dismantled and rebuilt among the red rocks of Abiquiu, New Mexico. PBZ installed the interior again for guest stays, while Verb, Produce XM, Hotstrike Studio and the wider production team tackled the structure and flying effect, including more than 8,000 balloons. After the final stays, we struck the interior and transported its contents to Airbnb’s archive in San Francisco.

The Up house suspended beneath thousands of colorful balloons against a clear blue sky. Carl and Ellie’s mismatched armchairs recreated in the living room. Small dining table set between three windows overlooking the New Mexico landscape. Guest bedroom with an iron bed and a quilt assembled from varied fabric patterns. Shelf detail with vintage books and a handmade Paradise Falls savings jar. Close view of the adventure book resting on the patchwork quilt. Fireplace mantel layered with books, framed pictures, objects and a gramophone. Side table with a stained-glass lamp and Carl and Ellie’s adventure book. Framed photograph of Carl and Ellie beside a handmade plane ticket to Venezuela. Up-inspired shelf vignette with painted landscape, travel props and collected objects. Open scrapbook filled with photographs, travel ephemera and hand-drawn details. Shelf vignette with ukulele, handmade binoculars, mail and a colorful toy bird.


Client
Airbnb
IP Partner
Disney and Pixar
Lead Agency, Programming and Production
Verb
Early Concept Development, Interior Creative Direction, Design, Props, Sourcing and Installation
PBZ
House Structure and Exterior Production
Produce XM
Hotstrike Studio
Interior Fabrication Partner
Tractor Vision
Photography
Ryan Lowry
Damien Maloney
Eugene T’Jean Davezies
Recognition
2025 Ex Awards, Winner, Best Experiential Stunt
2024 BizBash Event Experience Awards, Winner, Best Brand/Product Launch
2024 BizBash Event Experience Awards, Winner, Best Pop-Up Experience

As part of the Airbnb Icons campaign
2025 Cannes Lions, Bronze, Media: Large Scale Media
2025 Cannes Lions, Bronze, Media: Use of Digital Platforms
2025 Cannes Lions, Bronze, PR: Sponsorship & Brand Partnership
2025 Cannes Lions, Bronze, Brand Experience & Activation: Sponsorship & Brand Partnership
2025 North American SABRE Awards, Diamond, Superior Achievement in Brand-Building
2025 REGGIE Awards, Gold, New Product/Service Launch
2025 REGGIE Awards, Silver, Experiential Marketing
2025 REGGIE Awards, Silver, Entertainment Marketing
2025 Clio Awards, Silver, Creative Effectiveness: Multi-Country
2025 The One Show, Silver Pencil, Creative Effectiveness: Tourism, Travel & Transportation
2025 The One Show, Silver Pencil, Integrated/Omnichannel: Customer Experience


THINK. DESIGN. BUILD.