Most brands use data to improve ad targeting or optimise campaigns. IKEA Sweden decided to do something entirely different. After analysing two decades of meteorological data, the company identified the location estimated to have received more hours of sunshine than anywhere else in the country and turned it into a physical destination that people can visit.
The project, titled Sweden’s Sunniest Square Meter, was developed in collaboration with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) and is the result of a search for a single square metre of land that has been exposed to the greatest amount of sunlight in Sweden over the past 20 years.
The location is situated in the southern part of the island of Gotland, southwest of Burgsvik. An analysis covering the period from January 2005 to December 2025 showed that the area averaged 2,137 hours of sunshine per year, equivalent to almost six hours of sunshine every day throughout the year.
To give the site a physical identity, two stone armchairs inspired by the SKARPÖ outdoor chair, designed by Magnus Elebäck, were installed on location. Instead of a traditional monument, the result is a space visitors can use exactly as intended: for sitting in the sun.
Finding the sunniest region was only the first part of the process. To determine the exact square metre, architect and topographic advisor Erik Gardell was brought into the project to analyse the local terrain, slope, solar exposure, and potential shading. Only after this additional layer of analysis was the precise location of the monument identified.
The calculations were based on SARAH-3, a satellite climate database used to monitor solar radiation and estimate sunshine levels across the entire country. Working alongside experts from SMHI, IKEA used this data to identify the area with the highest accumulated number of sunshine hours over the past two decades.
According to Linda Vikström, Communications Manager at IKEA Sweden, the idea stems from the way Swedes experience the arrival of warmer months after long winters. Sunshine and outdoor living are an important part of everyday culture, and the project was conceived as a lasting tribute to that connection.
The creative concept was developed in collaboration with NoA Åkestam Holst, the agency that has previously worked with IKEA on projects related to sunlight and the use of public spaces.
What began as an analysis of climate data has ended as a new point on Sweden’s tourist map. Rather than leaving the numbers in spreadsheets, IKEA transformed them into a place where people can sit, relax, and quite literally enjoy the sunniest square metre in the country.
