For an upcoming store in Vienna, IKEA is embracing its urban location, which means that customers hoping to drive over and pop a Poäng in the trunk of their cars are going to be disappointed. IKEA Vienna Westbahnhof will be the company’s first car-free store with zero parking spots. Its location near the city center makes it easily accessible by public transportation, bicycle, scooter, or foot. (Purchases are delivered that day so you don’t have to try to carry a flat-packed bed on the metro.)

The store design was inspired by environmental concerns, as well as the shift of consumer behavior toward online orders and delivering furniture home after purchases are made.

Vienna firm Querkraft Architekten has designed the six-story building, creating an open gridlike exterior that will contain approximately 160 trees as well as trailing plants and moss elements. The landscaped façades and roof garden will help lower temperatures inside the building. The IKEA store will occupy the first four floors of the structure, and the upper levels will house a 345-bed hostel, restaurants, and a roof garden. Four shops will line Mariahilfer Strasse to add to the bustling shopping street. The roof garden can be accessed by shoppers, hostel guests, and the general public through the central void that connects all the levels.

An aerial rendering of the IKEA store shows the verdant rooftop as well.

The striking design was inspired by a bookshelf and offers the company flexibility in terms of layout. Glazed boxes on each level expand the floor space and offer a framed view of the interior. The store will have three different entrances to accommodate different types of shopping, from quick trips to long shopping sprees. The openness and transparency of the interior creates a welcoming environment, and the company hopes that the location will become a meeting place for Vienna when it opens in the fall of 2021.

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IKEA aims to achieve BREEAM Excellent Certification for the building. The company has taken a number of steps to become more sustainable since 2012, including a pledge to become climate positive—or reduce more greenhouse gases than it emits—by 2030.

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