IKEA Action Speaks Climate Summit

To encourage audiences to reckon with the urgency of the climate crisis and recognize their collective capacity to make change.

The first floor immerses visitors in two urgent visions of the future: one dire and catastrophic, and the other hopeful and harmonious. Upon entry, visitors are confronted with a photorealistic, AI-generated version of the Manhattan skyline on the day the sky turned orange—smoky, uninhabitable, and enveloped by haze. Ominous sound design, smoke, and burning smells amplify the feeling of unease. Visitors then move through a threshold into a utopian vision of New York in 2050, filled with verdant plants and a monumental moving-image projection amplified by mirrors—a vision of a more hopeful future. The large-scale projection curves on an oval screen around the room, and live plants, scent, and sound all make this space a mesmerizing and emotional glimpse into a more hopeful future.

The second floor showcases inventions and initiatives that are already in action around the globe, paving the way for positive shifts in how we eat, move, make, grow, and power. The projects presented are often in their infancy—prescient imaginings on how large-scale processes of human life on earth can be made more sustainable, harmonious, and equitable. Custom, island-shaped display tables take over the expansive second floor space, navigating around structural columns or enveloping them. The islands seem to float above the concrete floor, a subtle reminder for visitors of the urgency of addressing global warming and rising sea levels which threaten coastal cities. As surfaces on which to display “climate solutions,” they collectively suggest conceptual connections among the various projects, inviting visitors to imagine how these solutions can be scaled for a greater impact while simultaneously grounding them in the geographical reality. Hanging screens with projected graphics and imagery complete the diorama for each theme of the exhibit, activating the full height of the room and creating a sense of place that invites deeper conversations about climate action. A meandering food bar and an accessible presentation stage complete the exhibit and event space. Bold, dynamic typography and textured, organic forms in neon color animate on fabric screens throughout the exhibit, energizing the exhibit with key facts and context.

The exhibition was designed in two weeks, fabricated in three weeks, and installed in one week. The space was previously an Urban Outfitters and then an IKEA store, so the island table design flexibly adapted to the layout of the randomly placed structural columns while also ensuring accessibility and place of assembly fire and life safety.

All exhibition materials were Class A fire-rated and sustainably sourced, from sustainable neon inks and substrates for printing to fabric mirror and projection screens to create the digital, immersive environment. We even imagined future furniture to be made from the remnants of the exhibition tables, but IKEA ultimately decided that the expense was too great to support.

Design Team

Isometric Studio
Superflux

Photo Credits

Isometric Studio

Open Date

September 2023