Austria-based architecture office querkraft has completed an IKEA furniture store in the country’s capital Vienna, whose exterior was inspired by bookcases. Designed as a car-free venue, the scheme was developed with the vision of being a “good neighbor” for the surrounding community through a blend of public spaces and an active streetfront.
The scheme’s defining feature is its shelf-like main façade. The 15-foot-deep zone envelops the building to provide shade for the indoors, while also accommodating terraces and greenery. In a move reminiscent of Paris’ Centre Pompidou, the external skeleton also houses infrastructural elements such as lifts, stairs, and building services.
Inside, the 316,000 square foot scheme is supported by a 32x32 ft grid of reinforced concrete columns. From the ground level, a generous void extends up the building, visually linking the five retail floors occupied by IKEA. The top two floors are occupied by a hostel independent of IKEA, while the rooftop contains a terrace open to the public. Continuing the theme of the building’s façade, the interior servicing and infrastructure is left exposed to increase the perceived height of the spaces.
A total of 160 trees have been planted on or around the building, including climbing plants and trees within the shelf-like façade. According to computer simulations, the resulting cooling and humidifying effect has decreased the temperature of the relevant spaces by 1.5°C.
News of the scheme’s completion comes months after IKEA announced that it was to begin selling renewable energy to households. Back in 2020, the furniture giant published its 70-year catalog archive, showing how furniture trends have evolved throughout the decades.
15 Comments
I think this is so cool looking.
In answer to your question elsewhere, apparently they are still planning to go ahead with Munger. You can find a video tour here, the first time I've seen the exterior in context of the campus:
https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2022/020643/experience-munger-hall-model-house
Which just went up today.
It could be a dorm at UC Santa Barbara.
Well done!
I like this building too, but I hope it is sturdy and holds up. Ikea bookcases do not inspire confidence.
I don't like buildings that have nature oozing out. But here the open grid contains and promotes nature in lively interchange, keeping balance between the natural and build environment. And those pots will make it easier to change and maintain plantings.
There are different kinds of inspiration, Gary.
I'm not clear about the meaning of this gesture or what her relationship with the shelves is. Put books on those shelves, however, and eventually they will sag.
Actually, I have several pieces of Ikea furniture modestly but well designed that are sturdy, that I'm quite satisfied with. Other stuff is crap. If only they kept to standards.
This is the first modular / modular-looking building that really looks like its capable of plug and play.
really nice - i have a feeling that if more "modern" architecture was like this, the public would embrace the new more willingly (even the solar panels are seamlessly integrated)
It looks interesting but it's not hard imagining potential problems. First, having its structural grid slip out will lead to a ton more maintenance. This system would only be 'plug and play' if it's widely employed, and if so, imagine the monotony. All the additional surfaces make this an energy hog, plus, relying on potted plants to humanize a building is wishful thinking. That said, it does provide the dopamine hit we crave.
Very nice project, and glad it's as big as it is, because its size allows so many different conditions.
Evocative, too. It's like the Pompidou Center got bleached in the wash, then starched.
Also: props to Niall for posting drawings!
I'm a fairly sane and stable person (or so I've been told and like to believe), but when I go into a B B and Beyond or similar, I come close to having a panic attack. Once I needed an oven mitt, and everything I saw at such places induced the anxiety of indecision and lack of good options—flaky floral patterns, a hokey, faded Parisian scene, etc., this for a very simple thing. I settled on Paris but it still was embarrassing and I had to keep in a drawer, out of sight. And it didn't last long at all.
The Ikea mitt, however, was quite inexpensive and does the job and has held up well and doesn't offend. It looks like what it is supposed to be. They got a simple thing right, and I don't mind leaving it out at all.
There's a moral to this story.
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