Ikea offers ready homes in Germany

The Swedish company IKEA, one of the world's largest manufacturers of furniture and home goods, not so long ago put on market another product, which may overturn the modern idea of affordable housing. This time IKEA is not a chair or commode. Ikea offers to buy a house. A ready house, as it is made.

In partnership with another Swedish company Skanska IKEA has developed the concept of energy-efficient prefab homes. New house, which was named BoKlok, is promoted by a specially organized AB unit of BoKlok, headquartered in Malmo, Sweden. At the time BoKlok are sold at 6 markets: in 4 Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark), as well as in Britain and Germany. Apartments in the homes of BoKlok are sold directly in the Ikea supermarkets, where the buyer can get acquainted with the advantages of the new homes from the consultants during special presentations.

To date IKEA has sold in total 4000 BoKlok apartments. The other day was presented another “Swedish neighborhood”, which this time is located in Germany. The German construction company of Bien-Zenker has built dozens of homes on Skanska projects in the suburbs of Wiesbaden, Hessen. The price of a house in such an area is about 180-250 000 euros. As it is noted by the thelocal.de, the first sales of new homes will begin on April 17, 2010. A week later, another German city picks up the baton. 30 new BoKlok will be put up for sale in the city of Offenbach. According to IKEA next in line would be a neighborhood of Frankfurt. It is separately noted that the houses in contrast to other products of IKEA, customers will not have to assemble.

The new BoKlok is a further continuation of the corporate concept of Ikea for the production of goods available to the general population. BoKlok is an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient house. To some extent it can be called Swedish "khrushchevka" for Western Europe. However, the size of residential area (from 84 to 102 square meters) and quality of homes, as well as decades of accumulated design experience, it seems, allowed BoKlok avoid mistakes and shortcomings of the Soviet "panels".