New IKEA Building in Vienna with a Simple yet Effective Design
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IKEA Store (Querkraft) - No Cars in the City. This building makes a significant contribution to the future of a livable and eco-friendly city, as well as the future of retail. It’s an IKEA designed for urban areas with excellent connections to public transportation and a rooftop offering various attractive services.
From an architectural competition and numerous workshops, Querkraft emerged as the winner. At the briefing stage, the client had set a goal: "We want the building to be a good neighbor to the public space." Querkraft's approach to achieving this goal is reflected in a building that represents many environmental values. The public can use the rooftop, which provides a place to have coffee, relax, and enjoy city views, along with a significant amount of greenery on all façades—all aspects that contribute to being "a good neighbor."
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Exterior Shelving: The building's exterior shell is reminiscent of the structure of bookshelves. This 4.5-meter deep area surrounds the building, providing shade. The space allows for expanded areas, offering room for terraces and greenery, as well as functional elements like elevators, emergency stairs, and building services.
Openness to Increase Interaction: The entrance floor is a lively space—a spacious void that connects it with the retail areas stretching along Mariahilfer Straße. An extended void inside the building will allow for visual interaction between different floors.
60 Trees On and Around the Building: The trees on the façade and rooftop have a noticeable impact on the microclimate. In Vienna's "Urban Heat Island Strategy Plan," planting trees is one of the most important measures. The climbing plants and trees of the IKEA furniture store have a cooling and humidifying effect—like a natural air conditioning system. The air temperature will also improve for pedestrians. Computer simulations show a temperature reduction of up to 1.5°C.
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Efficient Building Services: To ensure efficient building climate control, the services are based on a simple principle: short distances and direct access. Inside the building, visible infrastructure increases the height and perception of space.
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