Skip to main content
IKEA logotype
Plants grow in a UV lit room.

Published 08 May 2019 • Inter IKEA newsroom

IKEA and Tom Dixon at Chelsea Flower Show

At Chelsea Flower Show 21 - 25 May, IKEA and Tom Dixon will explore the importance of sustainable growing, looking at the contrast between hyper-natural and hyper-tech. The garden, entitled “Gardening will Save the World” will feature exclusive prototypes of a new IKEA and Dixon range coming in 2021.

Exploring alternative, local and more sustainable ways of growing food is essential in our current climate. As a result, IKEA is collaborating with world-renowned designer Tom Dixon to explore how democratic design principles can be applied to urban farming. The first step of this project has been working on a garden with the Design Research Studio, the design and innovations studio at the heart of Tom Dixon for the exhibition at Chelsea Flower Show, named “Gardening will save the world”.

The garden will demonstrate how people can contribute to the movement of growing at home, and make a difference to reducing food waste, as well as broadcasting the beauty and functional importance of horticulture, through both traditional knowledge and the latest in growing innovation.

“‘As part of the Chelsea Flower Show, we have designed and realised an experimental model for growing plants in the urban environment. Aiming to give back to cities and create productive landscapes within urban zones, the garden includes a raised modular landscape with edible and medicinal plants and an enclosed based garden fuelled by hydroponic systems and controllable lighting” says Tom Dixon.

Exploring the contrast of the hyper-natural and hyper-tech to encourage an independent approach to growing, the garden will be split into two levels and feature over 4,000 plants. The garden’s base will be a horticultural laboratory where hydroponic technology is implemented, whilst the raised garden will be a botanic oasis with a natural aesthetic for visitors to immerse themselves in.

The exhibition will also offer an exclusive look during a media preview at some of the first prototypes of product ideas that Tom Dixon has designed on urban growing, which will be available globally at IKEA stores in 2021. This coming range is the second part of the project and collaboration between IKEA and Tom Dixon with the ambition to find affordable and sustainable solutions to grow plants and vegetables in our homes and urban environments.

“For IKEA, this project is about bringing attention to the future of the environment and the importance of growing food locally. We want to create smart solutions to encourage people and make it easier to grow plants themselves anywhere they can, whether that’s in their community garden, rooftop or in containers on balconies and window sills” says James Futcher, Creative Leader at IKEA Range and Supply.

After IKEA and Tom Dixon have displayed their ideas at Chelsea Flower Show, the garden will be donated to charity Participatory City and moved to Barking and Dagenham in East London. Parts of the garden will be re-created at The Warehouse, the largest public makerspace in London to help inspire and enable more people to enjoy it and learn about the importance of growing food locally. Participatory City and IKEA share the ambition of making sustainable and healthy living available for the many, every day, led by local people.

“Our five-year project to boost the collective efforts to create a circular economy from the ground up, and with residents at the heart, will really benefit from having the garden re-installed here and for people who live and work in the borough to enjoy,” says Tessy Britton from Participatory City.

The ‘Gardening will Save the World’ exhibition will be at the Chelsea Flower Show on 21st – 25th May, stand no. GPE 203.

Following Chelsea Flower Show, the garden will be donated to Participatory City, an innovative practical participation platform, that includes supporting greening and urban farming projects in Barking and Dagenham East London. Participatory City will run a series of projects at the installation from 25th June for four weeks. The garden will then remain at this location for at least three years, ahead of the regeneration project beginning in this area.

Download assets

About Tom Dixon

Established in 2002, Tom Dixon is currently present in 68 countries through either direct or indirect commercial operations. The lifestyle brand creates extraordinary objects and spaces for everyday use, pioneering new design and materials and setting new trends in the industry. The latest chapter of Tom´s design journey began in 2001 when he left corporate life to create his own eponymous brand, as a platform for a series of new adventures in the design of products and interiors. Seventeen years on, Tom Dixon is now a widely celebrated global force in interior design with our own hubs in New York, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

About Participatory City

Participatory City Foundation is an ambitious new approach to helping citizens shape their community and start projects that make everyday life better. Participatory City Foundation has partnered with Barking and Dagenham Council to launch Every One Every Day , an ambitious and large-scale initiative to create more than 250 neighbourhood projects in the next five years.

About Design Research Studio

Design Research Studio, the design and innov ations studio at the heart of Tom Dixon, have partnered with IKEA to imagine the future of urban farming. A restless innovator, Tom established Design Research Studio in 2003 to work on innovative projects and products with a wide variety of partners, brands, developers and entrepreneurs. Since its formation, DRS has delivered high concept interiors, architectural design, retail design, exhibitions, branding and custom products under the Creative Direction of Tom.

About IKEA

IKEA offers well-designed, functional and affordable, high-quality home furnishing, produced with care for people and the environment. There are several companies with different owners, working under the IKEA Brand, all sharing the same vision: to create a better everyday life for the many people. IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943.

About the IKEA franchise system

The IKEA retail business is operated through a franchise system with franchisees that are authorised to market and sell the IKEA product range within specified geographical territories. Inter IKEA Systems B.V. is the owner of the IKEA Concept and worldwide IKEA franchisor, who also assigns different IKEA companies to develop the product range, supply products and deliver communication solutions. Today, 13 different groups of companies have the right to own and operate IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V.

About Inter IKEA Group

Inter IKEA Group includes Inter IKEA Systems B.V., IKEA of Sweden AB, IKEA Supply AG and IKEA Industry AB related businesses. Inter IKEA Holding B.V. is the holding company for the Inter IKEA Group.

Contacts

If you want to know more about the IKEA Brand: our people and sustainability agenda, our culture and values, the IKEA expansion and franchise system, and/or the IKEA range: how we design and develop our products, including the IKEA food offer, and questions regarding how we source and distribute them, please contact us here: