IKEA Elmas and Fire Safety: the Return of Large-Scale Retail Spaces
The opening of IKEA Elmas, inaugurated on March 19, 2026, within the Fass Shopping Centre, represents another prestigious project carried out by Studio Tecnico Rainieri, confirming its well-established expertise in fire safety engineering, recognized across the entire national territory. On-site was project lead Davide Ferri, closely overseeing the launch phase.
This project marks a significant milestone not only for the retail sector in Sardinia, but also for the evolution of fire safety design in large-scale commercial buildings.
It is, in fact, the first full-scale IKEA store on the island, offering a complete shopping experience rather than a simplified proximity format. A return to a complex building typology that, in recent years, had been largely replaced by smaller, more distributed models.
Comparing with IKEA Pisa: ten years later
To fully understand the technical relevance of the Elmas project, it is useful to look back. The Pisa store, inaugurated on March 5, 2014, and reaching its tenth year of operation in 2024, represents the last Italian example of a traditional large-format IKEA store prior to this new opening. In the following years, IKEA continued expanding in Italy, but through a different strategy based on:
- plan and order points
- pick-up points
- smaller, more flexible urban formats
This evolution led to a reduction in design complexity, particularly in terms of fire safety, focusing on more contained spaces.
Not just a new opening, but a paradigm shift
The Elmas project is not simply a new retail opening, but a return to a large-scale, single-brand store with high customer traffic. This context reintroduces several critical variables:
- high occupancy levels
- strong exhibition component
- integrated logistics areas
- management of large volumes and compartmentation
- interaction with a broader shopping centre environment
In such a scenario, fire safety can no longer be treated as a set of regulatory requirements, but becomes a strategic design driver.
A shift in approach: a “system-based” vision
The Elmas case highlights a key transformation in fire safety design: the shift from a prescriptive approach to a performance-based one. This means designing safety not merely as compliance with regulations, but based on the actual behavior of the building and its occupants. In a large-scale retail environment like IKEA Elmas, fire safety must integrate:
- safety, circulation flows, and operations
- complex scenarios involving customers, logistics, and systems
- business continuity alongside emergency management
Unlike smaller formats, a structure like IKEA Elmas requires a true system-based approach. The design must simultaneously account for:
- occupant safety
- protection of goods
- systems management
- spatial compartmentation
- daily operational activities
All within a complex and interconnected building system, where every design decision impacts the overall balance. In other words, fire safety is no longer a final constraint, but a structural component of the project.
A benchmark case for the future of retail
The opening of IKEA Elmas can be seen as a turning point. On one hand, it confirms that the large-scale retail model is still relevant. On the other, it calls for a modern reinterpretation of fire risk, based on:
- integration of multiple functions
- performance-based design
- early-stage strategic planning
For professionals in fire safety engineering, projects like this represent a key benchmark: no longer just regulatory compliance, but true design capability.
The value of fire safety design
Projects like this, led by Davide Ferri, demonstrate how fire safety engineering has become a transversal discipline, capable of significantly impacting the quality, safety, and sustainability of built environments.
It is no longer just about complying with regulations, but about designing complex spaces that function effectively, remain safe, and perform efficiently over time. In a context where architecture, systems, and operations are increasingly interconnected, the quality of fire safety design becomes a key factor in the overall success of the project.
