2024 Winner – Best Speculative Design User Experience – SPACE10 - IKEA
Pitch:
In 2014, SPACE10 was born from a bold vision to rethink the future of home furnishing. When Torbjörn Lööf became CEO of Inter IKEA Systems, he saw the need for a long-term approach to ensure IKEA’s relevance in a rapidly changing world. A small group of idealists, we proposed an independent innovation lab to explore radical new ideas for the brand—free from traditional constraints yet fully aligned with IKEA’s mission to create a better everyday life for the many.
Overview:
SPACE10 by IKEA became a pioneering hub where global talent gathered to explore and design solutions for a more sustainable future. Our methods prioritized collaboration over competition, true transformation over incremental changes, and a purpose-driven approach over short-term wins. Though we worked exclusively for IKEA, we were committed to openly sharing our insights, ideas, and concepts with the public, fostering an experimental and playful environment where imagination and storytelling shaped everything we did.
Over nearly a decade, we partnered with over 500 collaborators, from budding talents to global brands, to address critical challenges in sustainable living. We explored how to democratize access to essentials like food, water, energy, and housing and how technology could drive a circular economy. Alongside public projects, we supported IKEA with strategies for urban development and sustainable product innovations.
Our open, purpose-led approach earned us the privilege of exhibiting our work at iconic venues such as the London Design Museum, the Barbican Centre, the Biennale of Architecture in Shenzhen, the UN-Habitat HQ in Nairobi, and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Why:
The Silicon Valley UX Awards (SVUXA) proudly announces that SPACE10 by IKEA will be the 2024 Winner for Best Speculative Design User Experience. Though SPACE10 closed its doors at the end of 2023, its groundbreaking work in speculative design continues to leave an indelible mark on the industry. SPACE10 stands as a testament to pushing the boundaries of innovation by championing Simplicity, Engagement, Empathy, and Design Aesthetics. Over nearly a decade, this pioneering hub became a global leader in reimagining a more sustainable, equitable future.
Simplicity in Complex Challenges
SPACE10’s design philosophy addresses the world’s most pressing challenges—food, water, energy, housing, and sustainability. By distilling complex global issues into accessible, actionable solutions, SPACE10 made the daunting feel achievable. Their simple yet powerful approach allowed them to imagine innovative products, services, and systems that could democratize access to essential resources, ensuring that sustainability wasn’t just for the few but for all.
In true speculative fashion, SPACE10 reimagined everyday life through a lens of sustainability and inclusivity, showing how simplicity can coexist with bold, systemic transformation.
Engagement Through Collaboration
What made SPACE10 particularly unique was its emphasis on collaboration over competition. Over the years, it partnered with more than 500 collaborators, including budding talents, global brands, and visionary thinkers. These partnerships fueled projects that not only challenged the status quo but actively engaged people in the process of imagining and co-creating solutions.
By prioritizing open, purpose-driven collaboration, SPACE10 fostered an experimental and playful environment where ideas flowed freely, and speculative projects became a shared effort. Its work extended beyond internal initiatives, actively engaging the public and inviting them into the conversation through open projects and shared insights. This collaborative engagement drove much of SPACE10’s success, transforming it into a nexus of global design thinking.
Empathy at the Core of Sustainability
Empathy played a central role in everything SPACE10 did. Its purpose-led approach meant understanding the needs of diverse communities and addressing those needs with compassion and foresight. Through speculative design, SPACE10 explored how technology could drive a circular economy and improve access to essential resources—always focusing on creating a more inclusive, just world.
Whether imagining urban development strategies for IKEA or creating sustainable product innovations, SPACE10’s work was deeply rooted in understanding the human experience. The empathy behind its projects aimed to ensure that technological and social advancements benefited all people, particularly those often overlooked in global innovation.
Design Aesthetics that Inspire and Delight
SPACE10’s design aesthetic was visionary and playful, with each project embodying a sense of imagination and storytelling. By embracing speculative design, SPACE10 created experiences that weren’t just functional but also deeply engaging and thought-provoking. From its public exhibitions at venues like the London Design Museum, the Barbican Centre, and the Smithsonian to its conceptual projects showcased at the Biennale of Architecture in Shenzhen and UN-Habitat HQ in Nairobi, SPACE10’s work combined art, technology, and design to craft narratives that inspired audiences worldwide.
SPACE10’s ability to translate speculative concepts into visually stunning and interactive exhibits made its speculative design not only visionary but also accessible to the public, inviting audiences to engage with the future in an immersive way.
A Legacy of Purpose and Imagination
Though SPACE10 closed at the end of 2023, its legacy is a shining example of how speculative design can shape a better future. Working exclusively for IKEA, the studio created impactful strategies for urban development, sustainable products, and innovations that will continue to influence both IKEA and the wider design world. By openly sharing its work with the public, SPACE10 became more than just a design lab—it was a movement toward democratizing innovation and fostering a culture of creativity that transcends corporate boundaries.
SPACE10’s contributions to speculative design will be remembered for its ability to take on monumental challenges, not with incremental changes but with bold, imaginative leaps that redefined what was possible.
The 2024 Silicon Valley UX Awards is honored to celebrate SPACE10 for its leadership in speculative design and for pushing the boundaries of what design can achieve. SPACE10’s commitment to Simplicity, Engagement, Empathy, and Design Aesthetics exemplifies what it means to design for a sustainable, inclusive future.
Congratulations, SPACE10 by IKEA, for winning the Best Speculative Design User Experience at the 2024 SVUXA. Your legacy continues to inspire the design community and the world at large!
