Swedish retail behemoth IKEA has unveiled its brand new eco-friendly urban home concept in Szczecin, Poland. Hoping to encourage customers to live a life more in harmony with nature, the IKEA Home of Tomorrow – a 2,700 square foot concept space set in an old building – introduces visitors to environmentally friendly furniture and home solutions while educating them on the importance of reducing waste, reusing materials, and repurposing and recycling resources.
Designed by interior designer Joanna Jurga, circular researcher and designer Paulina Grabowska and lead designer Justyna Puchalska IKEA’s Home of Tomorrow also features a “creative zone” where visitors can learn DIY skills such as repairing and modifying existing furniture and appliances, to reduce waste and extend the life of existing resources.
A business known for its fast furniture business model, IKEA has, in recent years, sought to make changes to its ‘business as usual’ approach and reduce its environmental footprint. From sourcing its wood, paper and cardboard from more sustainable sources to installing solar panels on all of its buildings, Home of Tomorrow is just another example of how the company is dedicated to innovating products and solutions that enable customers to live a more sustainable life at home.
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“The Home of Tomorrow is a place where you will see how to make your home live with full respect for nature,” the dedicated Home of Tomorrow website states.
“You will learn about the new role of houseplants. You will find new, efficient ways to process waste. You will regenerate yourself with light and try the zero waste cuisine. You can even work towards a real change in your city.”
To help IKEA customers better understand farm-to-table, low-carbon food and plant-based eating concepts, the new concept space also features four different indoor growing setups: micro-gardens, aquaponic and aeroponic farms and even a spirulina farm. The company claims these urban farming methods cuts water wastage by 95% compared to traditional methods of farming.
In another part of the Home of Tomorrow store, visitors can observe how composting and recycling food waste actually works, with coffee grounds being composted and turned into fertiliser or upcycled into beauty products (note: customers are welcome to take this fertiliser home).
The aim is to inspire practical, everyday solutions that address current challenges such as waste, natural resource depletion, water scarcity, food sustainability and the urban environment’s impact on physical and mental health.
With a 2018 UN report projecting that two-thirds of the global population, roughly 68%, will be living in an urban area or city by 2050 (it currently sits at 55%) sustainable urban planning and building environmentally friendly homes is crucial in tackling the climate crisis and enhancing human health and community wellbeing.
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All images courtesy of IKEA.
