A 25-square-metre replica of a Syrian family home was installed at IKEA’s Norway flagship store to educate the public about the living conditions of a Syrian family.
November 14th, 2016
It’s pretty bleak out there – a fact that can be all too easy to forget when we are siloed into the working world of design. Swedish furniture giant IKEA knows just how easy it is to consume and be consumed, especially when strolling through its maze-like shop floor, lined with immaculate everyday lounge room installations and kitchen displays.
In October, IKEA installed a 25-square-metre replica of a real Syrian family’s home at its Norway flagship amongst its standard styled displays. The idea was to drive home a harsh reality. As accessible as IKEA is, its neat flatpack furniture is simply not everyone’s everyday.
To make the experience as authentic as possible, POL (the ad agency who dreamt up the activation), built the installation on-site. “It would have been easier to just put up wallpaper, but it wouldn’t have felt the same,” art director Snorre Martinsen told AdWeek. “People who had fled war themselves have told us, ‘This is how it feels.’ ‘I remember this.’”
Built out of cinder block walls and decorated only in scant furnishings, the home was a replica of an actual residence in Damascus. Created in partnership with the Red Cross, posters and plastic IKEA price tags in the installation told the story of a Syrian family’s plight, including their struggle to find fundamental food, medicine and clean water supplies. The tags doubled as donations slips, and the campaign raised more than AU$31.5 million [approximately SGD$33.6 million], being seen by some 40,000 visitors to the store.
“We already had a lot of footage from within Syria, but no matter how emotional it was, nothing got close to the experience of visiting people in a war zone,” Martinsen continued. “We realized we could give Norwegians that experience. Placing a Syrian home next to all the Scandinavian homes was obviously a brave move from the warehouse, but it made it clearer than any TV commercial how crucial it is to donate and help.”
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
The Sub-Zero Wolf showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne provide a creative experience unlike any other. Now showcasing all-new product ranges, the showrooms present a unique perspective on the future of kitchens, homes and lifestyles.
Channelling the enchanting ambience of the Caffè Greco in Rome, Budapest’s historic Gerbeaud, and Grossi Florentino in Melbourne, Ross Didier’s new collection evokes the designer’s affinity for café experience, while delivering refined seating for contemporary hospitality interiors.
Create a configuration to suit your needs with this curved collection.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
In Australia alone, 6.4 per cent of all waste generated comes from furniture and furnishings. In this article, we review today’s most impactful Whole Of Lifecycle Furniture practices.
A clever use of green initiatives and finishes – including sustainable Milliken carpet to define zones – ensures more funding for important Red Cross programmes in the coming years.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Third in the series of boutique hotels under the Lloyd’s Inn brand, Lloyd’s Inn Kuala Lumpur bring the immediacy of nature to the new high-rise hospitality experience in the heart of a bustling city.
July has arrived in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane and this exemplary luggage brand has a new home that ticks all the boxes.