Gallery: The Innovation Lab Where IKEA Will Get Its Next Big Idea

  • Image may contain Rug Flooring Home Decor and Plant
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    01

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-239

    Ikea just opened an innovation lab in Copenhagen.
  • Image may contain Restaurant Cafeteria Furniture Housing Building and Wood
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    02

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-317

    Pictured here, it's where the company hopes it can cook up its Next Big Idea.
  • Image may contain Office Building Building Human Person Transportation Vehicle Bicycle Bike Road Wheel and Machine
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    03

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-569

    Ikea renovated a fishery in Copenhagen's up-and-coming meatpacking neighborhood.
  • Image may contain Vehicle Transportation Bike Bicycle Wheel Machine and Shop
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    04

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-560-Edit

    Space10 doesn’t have what Göran Nilsson, manager of concept innovation for Inter Ikea Systems B.V., calls “the corporate expectations, with the blue and yellow entrance.”
  • Image may contain Furniture Tabletop Indoors Interior Design Room Lobby Restaurant Table Wood Chair and Cafeteria
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    05

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-351

    It officially opened last week, and is being run by the locally based Rebel Agency.
  • Image may contain Furniture Table Coffee Table Rug Living Room Indoors Room and Interior Design
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    06

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-382-Edit

    Space10 will operate a bit like a French salon, with a rotating cast of professors, students, designers, artists, producers, and generally interesting people flowing in and out for workshops and exhibits.
  • Image may contain Human Person Texture Clothing Apparel Polka Dot Sitting and Door
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    07

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-465

    Everything is designed to foster thinking and creativity, with little emphasis on actual product development.
  • Image may contain Furniture Couch Living Room Indoors Room Interior Design Table Plant Cushion and Coffee Table
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    08

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-396

    They’ll brainstorm and create projects that touch on predetermined themes.
  • Image may contain Furniture Office Indoors Table Tabletop Desk Lab Plywood and Wood
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    09

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-421

    One theme might be the "circular economy," a cradle to cradle kind of idea about resource allocation.
  • Image may contain Furniture Wood Desk Table Plywood Interior Design Indoors Tabletop Electronics and Shelf
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    10

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-447

    For example: students from the Copenhagen Institute of Interactive Design came up with a tabletop that can take heat from hot mugs of coffee, or computers, and convert it into energy, to recharge devices.
  • Image may contain Room Lobby Indoors Furniture Flooring Floor and Tabletop
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    11

    Space-10-(c)-Alastair-Philip-Wiper-541-Edit

    This isn't a product you'll see in Ikea stores any time soon, and that's the point.
  • Image may contain Text Human Person and Calendar
    Alastair Philip Wiper
    12

    Space10Workshop-7-5-(c)-Zinna Brigh Mac-Eochaidh

    “It’s not a factory that should always produce something,” Nilsson says. “It’s development of a concept, not development of a product.”
Read More
Is the Electric Trike the Next Big Thing in Shared Micromobility?
Veo is launching accessibility-focused electric tricycles in Denver, with plans to put its e-trikes on the streets nationwide.
Boone Ashworth
What WIRED Writers Would Actually Give Their Moms
Your mom never gets you a thoughtless gift, so you shouldn’t get her one, either. Here’s every cool gift WIRED writers would give their mothers.
Nena Farrell
Which Apple Watch Should You Buy?
Should you splurge on the new Series 11, or will the SE 3 do? Let us help you figure out which version to get (and which to avoid).
Boutayna Chokrane
12 Adventurous Gifts for Hikers, Backpackers, and Outdoorsy People
Let them pick out their own hiking boots. Instead, try gifting a useful blade or a nature journal to delight your outdoorsy friend.
Scott Gilbertson
A Two-Person Startup Has Fixed One of the Most Hated Sounds in Modern Life
Beeeep. Beeeep. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
Jeremy White
Can the New York Times Save Journalism From Our AI Overlords?
In 2023, the Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. They’ve since spent more than $20 million on the case, and publisher A.G. Sulzberger has no plans to stop fighting it.
Katie Drummond
Silicon Valley’s Next IPO Billionaires Are Coming. Nonprofits Are Ready for Them
Anthropic and OpenAI employees are expected to give generously after their companies go public. “It’s going to be a wild ride,” says one nonprofit leader.
Paresh Dave
The Dyson V16 Piston Animal Can Do It All
Dyson’s new stick vacuum can vacuum and mop in a single cordless device—if you’re willing to really splurge.
Nena Farrell
‘They’re Fucking a Lot of People’: 7-OH Users Brace for DEA Ban
The opioid-like compound, which is found in kratom, can cause brutal withdrawal symptoms and will soon be a controlled substance. Some users tell WIRED it has relieved their pain and anxiety.
Manisha Krishnan
An Extreme Solar Storm May Be Even More Devastating Than Previously Imagined
Scientists have long assumed that there’s an upper limit to the intensity of the solar winds that reach Earth. New research suggests there’s not—and the implications are alarming.
Javier Carbajal
Hugging Face Has a Deepfake Nudes Problem
Researchers tested top image editing models on Hugging Face and found they could easily create explicit deepfakes—and 1,000 image editing prompts show how people use the software.
Matt Burgess
Top Ulta Beauty Promo Codes: 50% Off
Shop the latest beauty trends and save big using an Ulta promo code for beauty tech, makeup, and more.
Boutayna Chokrane