“Millennials and Gen Z would choose to spend money on an experience over an object, as 74% of people prioritize experiences over products.”

- Forbes

People seek preserved spaces where they feel secure and can socialize in a friendly environment. They need a place where things just flow, where they feel as relaxed and familiar as they do at home—a place with an embracing atmosphere without stress. As our lives become more complex, the line between snack time and mealtime is blurring. Furthermore, the growing consumer awareness of current food production is changing eating behaviors. Retailers must adapt their dining areas accordingly. IKEA leads the market by learning and growing through a series of ambitions and commitments that enable a 'People & Planet Positive' footprint. As one of MASSLAB's mottos that drive our projects, we acknowledge that 'the best way to predict the future is to design it.'

IKEA Experience Retail Center's vision proposes a new urban environment that connects the community to the entire region. Its purpose is not only to offer the shopping mall and IKEA visitors a new experience but also to attract new ones who are not regular customers. The project takes advantage of existing functions in the surroundings, leading to an innovative hotspot of social responsibility. The IKEA Experience project offers a prototype for the development of a unique generation where food production and leisure meet.

Based on the Landscape Active Community concept, the IKEA Experience Retail Center has the potential to play an important role in revitalizing the local community. It offers more than a typical food court, with the addition of several key programs that serve and provide all stages of the food chain: from farming to processing, with shared community kitchen spaces, retail, and recycling. Rethinking the distribution of the retail standard layout results in an innovative approach to these spaces where food & beverage and leisure lead.

Raising the volume from the ground enhances the usage of the landscape. Simultaneously, a landmark is created. The building does not try to compete with the existing shopping mall and the traditional IKEA store but, by contrast, adds value to the existing building system, creating an easy connection between both.

As both a frame and a facilitator of social interaction, the design of the building suggests that architecture can play an instrumental role in enabling new and diverse forms of community. The layout design negotiates between the intimate and the collective, guaranteeing a perfect balance between stakeholders and final users. IKEA Experience Retail Center is a continuous spiral loop of supporting and additional functions orbiting the circular core. The distribution of the activities follows the formal-informal scheme, locating the standard stores around the perimeter and spreading the more flexible activities in the remaining space.