There’s No Place Like Home: Until It Is Destroyed.

It’s difficult to find a single news outlet today not covering the global panic of the Syrian refugee crisis as hundreds of thousands flee in search of safety and stability. Instead, they are greeted with barbed wire and arrest warrants.  Nations are entering ‘state of emergency’ statuses as waves of refugees enter their borders with no resources to accommodate them. The majority of these countries posses the space needed, but are not in a stable position to sustain their own populations, let alone waves of others. Developed nations have the resources, but lack the space to house large numbers. 

Currently,  the United Nations is the main resource in offering low cost shelters for refugees in the form of a pop-up tent with a 6 month shelf life and lacks solid structure for safety or privacy. Many refugee children are subjected to sexual assault and families to various attacks in these situations. 

Strangely, but not so strangely, enough, IKEA has entered the shelter production industry. The Swedish furniture retail company created Better Shelter, an organization focused on designing  safe and sustainable shelters at a low price. 

The solar powered shelters, rest at comfortable 57 sq.ft., take 4 hours to assemble and offer locked doors, windows, UV light, structural strength, insulation,and proper ventilation to ensure safety from inclement weather. The design ensures privacy and safety, the number one concern of refugees. The solar roof offers  70% solar reflection to cool during the day and heat at night. Shelters currently cost $10,000, however, with mass production the price can lower to below $1,000. 

At the height of our current global refugee crisis, how can we address the situation best with this new shelter design? Is this design better than others for refugees in transit? Who and how can help fund the mass production to ensure low costs?