New Year, New Project, New IKEA...
It's nice to start the new year as a busy bee with a new commission.
So here I am, the following morning upon my return from a prolonged Christmas and New Year's break I hop on my bike to cycle over to East Greenwich for some in situ research.
A not so small furniture store from Sweden, well known for its flat packed products, is opening a new store in East Greenwich and commissioned me to do a drawing of the new building. This drawing would then be given as a framed print as present to 100 VIP guests during a festive pre opening dinner party and a differently coloured version as a framed print to all 600 (!) co-workers on the site.
They want to show the new building in the context of its South East London location with the backdrop of the O2 Arena and the skyline of Canary Wharf.
Now this project is right up my street! :)
It is not only going to be the most sustainable IKEA store to date, the first one of a new generation, with it will also have quite a few nice architectural features as wooden facade elements, lots of natural daylight inside the store, a balcony and a landscaped roof terrace all accessible to the public.
In the new store IKEA wants to promote the use of public transport and delivery service to reduce car traffic as well as connecting to the local community by offering spaces for events, exhibitions and workshops etc. hence why they also chose a local artist from Greenwich for this project. :-)
the sketchy start
O2 and the Millennium Village as a nice backdrop on one side...
...and Canary Wharf, The Shard and the Old Royal Naval College of Greenwich on the other
graphic Line version completed
and the framed print as a special gift for the VIP guests at the stakeholder dinner on 31st January
work in digital progress
colourful co-workers version completed
and the framed print as a gift to all the 600 staff & co-workers
the grand opening day at the new IKEA Greenwich Store
meeting the lovely Helen Aylett, manager of the new IKEA store in Greenwich
and what more sustainable way to visit IKEA than by bike cycling along the river past Enderby Wharf?
