The Swedish furniture giant IKEA has pinpointed the sunniest square metre in Sweden and marked it with two granite replicas of its own outdoor chairs.
The installation sits on the island of Gotland, off Sweden’s east coast, and was determined using two decades of solar data developed with agency Åkestam Holst NoA.
Rather than running a conventional outdoor furniture campaign, IKEA turned a question Swedes have debated for generations, where does the sun actually shine most? into a physical destination that anyone can visit.
Once the sunniest area had been identified, the next step was to pinpoint the exact square metre. Working alongside Erik Gardell, architect and topographic adviser, the precise point was identified where the sun has historically had the greatest opportunity to reach the ground for the highest number of hours and minutes.
It was designed by Magnus Elebäck for IKEA and is intended as a permanent marker of the spot.
“As the seasons change, so do the ways we live. When the sunlight and warmth return after winter, people across Sweden move outdoors. At Ikea, we want to help as many people as possible make the most of life outside. Identifying and marking Sweden’s sunniest square metre is part of that ambition.” Ikea Sweden communications manager Linda Vikström said.
The connection to IKEA’s broader brand ethos is deliberate. The agency framed it as an expression of democratic design. It used the same philosophy of making good design accessible to everyone, but applied to a place instead of a product.
