IKEA claims its latest London store is its greenest ever. But how can this be true if another green building was demolished to make way for it" asks Tom Ravenscroft.

Knocking down one sustainable building to build another is nonsensical. Still, this is exactly what has happened in Greenwich, London, where IKEA has just opened its latest retail outlet.
"IKEA Greenwich is our most sustainable store," reads the furniture company's website and the building sure is packed with sustainable features. But there's something seriously wrong. The white elephant in the room is that to build the store, IKEA demolished what was the UK's most sustainable supermarket.
Designed by London-based architectural practice Chetwoods, Sainsbury's Greenwich was lauded as a pioneering example of sustainable commercial architecture that pushed the boundaries of eco-friendly design at the end of the 20th century. It was the first supermarket to achieve an excellent BREEAM sustainability rating, with its green credentials earning it a place on the Stirling Prize shortlist ? unsurprisingly the first and only supermarket ever to make the list. However, only 17 years after celebrity chef Jamie Oliver opened the doors, it was demolished. In an instant not only was the building wiped away, but with it the idea that it was sustainable. As Laurie Chetwood told me: "Knocking it down knocks out the idea that it was a sustainable building. It makes a mockery of it all."
IKEA has...