Chapman Taylor helps IKEA expand its presence in Asia
On the 18th of February, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for IKEA’s new store in Bang Yai, Nonthaburi, Thailand.
The new store will be located in the new Central WestGate shopping complex which when complete will be one of Thailand’s largest shopping malls.
The new store is deliberately designed not to be a ‘blue box’. The new Ikea branch will be fully integrated into the CentralPlaza shopping centre, allowing customers to enter and leave the store from CentralPlaza’s different floor levels, as well as enter via a direct link from a planned mass-transit train line.
This is IKEA’s second store in Thailand and the 50,278 m² building includes 1,900 parking spaces, a dedicated area for outdoor furniture, and two unique cafes – one of which will “float” over the showroom in an open mezzanine. The 6.3 billion THB project also aims to reach new heights in Thailand in terms of sustainable construction and operation. It will be fitted out with hundreds of rooftop solar panels, 100% LED lighting and other features that are expected to earn this IKEA store the highest level of LEED certification.
The project will create circa 2000 new jobs.
Chapman Taylor is providing a full architectural service plus onsite management on the project.