Ikea research lab ponders the future of the ideal city
Ikea research lab ponders the future of the ideal city
Space10 – Ikea’s research and design lab in Copenhagen – has teamed up with publisher Gestalten to create a book that explores a better urban environment for humanity’s future
Photography: Anne-Sophie Rosenvinge
The Ideal City is a new book from Space10, the Swedish furniture giant Ikea’s own R&D lab, based in Copenhagen. A compilation of best practice from around the world – 53 cities in 30 countries – the thrust of the book is to capture urban projects that are striving to make a difference, gently but inexorably steering towards the impossible goal of ‘utopia’. As a result, there’s a welcome thread of positivity running through the pages, perhaps unsurprising when you consider how much of a positive spin Ikea has managed to place on the prosaic art of furniture making.