The most eco-friendly IKEA store is being built in Szczecin. The opening is coming soon! Is there a chance that more stores and chains will follow this example?
it all starts at home
A sort of announcement of the creation of the most ecological IKEA shopping center in Poland, and probably among all large-format stores, was the first one designed by the Swedish manufacturer - the House of Tomorrow.
In the heart of Szczecin, Ikea has created a place open to all. Featuring products from Ikea, Tomorrow 's House is not only a clever marketing ploy, but also serves as a place where visitors can straightforwardly test out various solutions that can make their home and daily life more environmentally friendly, as well as engage with the city's sustainable future.
photo: press mat. by Ikea Poland
The apartment is located on the first floor of a townhouse and has been divided into several spaces, each with a different task and function. There is, among other things, an open kitchen and dining room, where a series of vegetarian cooking workshops will be held. In another space, called Home Farm, it will be possible to discover the secrets, sustainable cultivation, and then apply them in one's own home. There are also cyclical lectures and meetings devoted to living in harmony with nature and saving our planet's resources.
The final version of the concept for the House of Tomorrow was created on the basis of residents' opinions - they were the ones who pointed out the threads that were particularly important to them, commented on what would be crucial for them in this type of project, and what would be unnecessary. This is how IKEA Home of Tomorrow was created, an innovative project dedicated to Szczecin, created by IKEA together with residents, but also in close consultation with city authorities," reads the official website of the project.
photo. press mat. of Ikea Polska
a store that shines by example
The House of Tomorrow was popular, until the pandemic thwarted everyone's plans. But even then, the Swedish brand was already planning a large-format store project that would be different from its previous ones. The newest IKEA will open in the first quarter of 2021, or very soon, Ikea officials announced. Why will it be different from all the others?
YouTube | Ikea Poland
energy
The new store will be completely independent of the external district heating network, and will use energy extracted from the ground via ground heat exchangers to heat the facility. They form a closed water circuit with a heat pump as its central element. Cold water is pumped to a depth of about 100 meters and heated there with natural geothermal energy, and then pumped to the surface, and after passing through the heat pumps, it heats the store building. The technology is completely safe for the environment, and an alternative solution is provided for times of the lowest temperatures - heating boilers powered by biomass fuel.
sun and rain
Unusually for shopping centers, the interior of the store will be illuminated by natural light. Among other things, glazing in the building's facade and skylights have been used. The lenses mounted in them focus natural light, which then enters the interior.
Another solution, mostly familiar to us from private homes, is the announcement of the use of rainwater. Water will be collected from the roof, treated, and then used to flush toilets and water plants.
Flower meadows will be created around the building, but native tree species will also be planted, with a view to future development of the area into beehives for bees.
photo: press mat. by Ikea Polska
closed-loop economy
IKEA is among the companies that take care to function on the basis of a closed-cycle economy. To achieve this, among other things, IKEA uses recycled products, and for several years now has been generating more energy than it consumes on Polish territory, thanks to private wind farms.
Respect for nature, a conscious look to the future and sustainable development is something that unites Szczecin and the IKEA brand. This is why it was clear from the beginning that the project dedicated to the city of Szczecin would revolve around the themes of the future, home and ecology, and living in harmony with nature. The IKEA brand has never carried out a similar project before, Ikea representatives emphasize in press materials.
In 2021, should we all learn from Ikea and other big companies that put the good of the environment above their own profit? Ecological solutions, by virtue of the fact that they are often more expensive than the so-called standard ones, are still something exceptional in Poland. And yet it should be the other way around.
