flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

IKEA to convert original store into company museum

IKEA to convert original store into company museum

Due to open next year, the museum is expected to attract 200,000 people annually to rural Älmhult, Sweden, home of the first ever IKEA store.  


By BD+C Staff | May 22, 2014
IKEA Headquarters in lmhult, Sweden. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
IKEA Headquarters in lmhult, Sweden. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Global retail giant IKEA has announced that it will transform its original store, in Älmhult, Sweden, into a museum celebrating the history of the company and its hugely popular products. 

Given its cult following, especially in Europe, the retailer expects the IKEA Museum to draw some 200,000 visitors to the rural town in southern Sweden. 

The company was founded in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, currently one of the world's richest people, with a net worth exceeding $4 billion. Kamprad opened the original location in 1958.

IKEA's Michele Acuna, who will manage the project, said the idea for the museum became a real possibility after the Älmhult store was moved to a new site nearby. 

At 37,600 sf, the building is markedly smaller than the mammoth, bright-blue boxes that are commonplace across the globe, but it will serve as ample space for the exhibits. 

It's expected that the museum will be a beefed up version of the 8,600-sf, 20-room IKEA Through the Ages display at the company's culture center in Älmhult.

Here's the company's statement on the project:
When the old IKEA Älmhult store was replaced in November 2012 by a new store, it left a building rich with history at the heart of the IKEA world - the perfect home for the new IKEA Museum. 

This first and only IKEA Museum will be “a house of stories”; stories about people, challenges, opportunities, design, homes and home furnishing. It plans to open in 2015. The ambition of the museum is to engage all visitors and encourage them to take an active part in the IKEA story.

Here's a look at several of the IKEA Through the Ages exhibits (courtesy IKEA):

Related Stories

Giants 400 | Nov 1, 2017

Top 35 industrial architecture firms

Jacobs, Stantec, and BRPH top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest industrial sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

K-12 Schools | Oct 31, 2017

Exploring empathy in architecture: Put yourself in your student’s shoes

People are enigmatic and inherently complex, which can make it difficult to design for a larger population.

Architects | Oct 31, 2017

AIA selects recipients for the 2017 Innovation Awards

The program honors projects that highlight collaboration between design and construction teams to create better process efficiencies and overall costs savings.

Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2017

Top 130 green architecture firms

Gensler, Stantec, and HOK top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest green sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

Architects | Oct 30, 2017

City 2050: What will your city look like in 2050?

What do we think the future will look like 30 years or so from now? And what will City: 2050 be like?

Architects | Oct 25, 2017

Mason & Hanger appoints Ben Lilly as its new president

The firm expects to continue mining growth opportunities with its federal agency clients.  

Healthcare Facilities | Oct 25, 2017

Creating child-friendly healthcare spaces: Five goals for success

Children often accompany parents or grandparents in medical settings; what can we do to address their unique needs?

Giants 400 | Oct 24, 2017

Top 160 reconstruction architecture firms

Gensler, Jacobs, and Stantec top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest reconstruction sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

Giants 400 | Oct 20, 2017

Top 40 sports architecture firms

Populous, HOK, and HKS top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest sports sector architecture and AE firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.

Giants 400 | Oct 19, 2017

Race for talent drives office designs

Is the shift toward attracting younger workers too much or not enough?

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021