IKEA Greenwich Scores Outstanding BREEAM Rating
The retail asset is the 22nd full-sized IKEA store to open in the U.K. and was designed and built to reach this rating.
Ikea Greenwich has achieved an Outstanding BREEAM U.K. New Construction certification, a sustainability rating and an accolade held by only 320 buildings around the world. BREEAM—Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, is the world’s longest established method of assessing, rating and certifying the sustainability of buildings, dating back to 1990.
The store is the first in the U.K. and the second retail unit in the world to receive the sustainability rating with a score above the 90 percent mark. The first retail asset in the world to receive this distinction is a Lidl asset in Madrid completed in 2018.
Ikea Greenwich is the 22nd full-sized IKEA store to open in the U.K. and was designed and built to reach this rating, which turned it into one of IKEA’s worldwide flagship stores. In addition to a rooftop garden and pavilion, the property features a new Learning Lab—a dedicated space for customers, partners and local community to explore prolonging the life of products, upcycling and reducing waste.
Beacon of sustainability
The 355,000-square-foot facility incorporates a range of sustainable technologies such as solar power, LED lighting, rainwater harvesting and renewable construction materials while maximizing the use of renewable electricity with a highly efficient solar array and a geothermal system supporting the heating and cooling. The developer made sure to allow natural light throughout the store, reducing the dependence on artificial lighting. More so, the store features three landscaped gardens including a roof garden with raised beds and a sedum roof to support insect life, all accessible to customers and the community. Even more so, the retail asset is accessible via public transport, with 46 bus services per hour directly serving the site.
Video courtesy of IKEA U.K.
