The imposing blue building rises up amidst mountains and snow: the first Ikea in Valais opens today on 17 April 2023. It is the tenth branch of the well-known Swedish furniture store in Switzerland. Gilgen Door Systems has already been involved in several Ikea projects in Switzerland and was also on board this time.
In 2018, Ikea purchased a 49,000 square metre plot of land in the Valais municipality of Riddes and thus gave the go-ahead for the new shop. From 2023, Gilgen was officially brought in to start supplying and installing various products under the project management of Christophe Emery.
Most sustainable Ikea shop in Switzerland
The location in Riddes is extremely attractive for Ikea: although the village has fewer than 3,000 inhabitants, there are numerous chalets and holiday flats in the Alpine region. In addition, Riddes is also easily accessible for the people of the Upper Valais, as the Valais newspaper writes.
The building, with 23,000 square metres of retail space, is the most modern and sustainable Ikea shop in Switzerland. It is characterised by its zero-waste approach and a large-scale solar system on the roof. This is where Gilgen comes in, as Christophe Emery explains: "For the customer exit, we installed two large SL-35 sliding doors with thermally broken sashes to achieve the same energy efficiency as the building envelope."
Prepared for an emergency
The largest part of the project consists of constructing a three-arm 360° circular drum with an external diameter of 765 cm at the customer's main entrance. Safety also plays a role, with evacuation options taking centre stage. The escape route on the ground floor is equipped with the Gilgen FD-20 door drive. But that's not all, as Christophe Emery explains: "14 double-leaf units ensure that the building can be evacuated in the event of an emergency."
We wish Ikea a good start in Valais, the furniture-loving people of Valais lots of fun shopping for furnishings and everyone else at least a good appetite: the iconic hot dogs and Swedish specialities such as kötbullar also welcome growling stomachs to this shop.
