Project description by jury

The project brings retailer IKEA to the center of Vienna, rethinking the big box (megastore) typology. In stark contrast to other retail centers of this kind that are usually located on the outskirts of urban centers, this project is the first full-size IKEA store to open in the heart of a city, rethinking urban planning practices and reducing the proliferation of suburban strip malls. Typologically, the building is conceived as flexible infrastructure, easily adaptable for future changes and for other tenants. The steel structure is also an easily demountable and recyclable system.

In addition, the building intends to go beyond displaying merchandise by offering additional areas to the public: a plaza at the entrance level, balconies, a rooftop and cafeteria accessible to everyone, so as to create a continuity with the urban pedestrian zone. Served by an efficient public-transport infrastructure, the building does not include car parking areas, thereby promoting eco-friendly mobility. The environmental concept also accounts for the integration of vertical gardens for the enhancement of outdoor air quality and improved comfort, as the plants act as shading devices.

Jury appraisal

“Someday, all department stores will become museums, and all museums will become department stores”. With these words Andy Warhol seems to have prophesized how the boundaries between commercial and public architecture are increasingly blurred. The Holcim Awards jury Europe was fascinated by the project’s exemplification of this paradigm shift: a retail center that seeks to recreate a dialog with the city, benefiting from its density and giving back to it through curated public space and proximity. As such, the project extends the visitor’s – rather than customer’s – experience to a different level. The jury also commended the flexibility and adaptability enabled by the organizational structure, giving the project long-term durability beyond its current use. If considered as a paradigm shift of the big box, the impact of such practices could change not only our relationship to retail, but also our patterns of urbanization.