IKEA’s Latest Collection Will Warm Your Heart
IKEA’s designs are simple, affordable and versatile – and they’re not just great for your house. Recently, their design for the Better Shelter just went on sale as part of an effort to provide 10,000 portable shelters to refugees all across the globe.
The shelters, which are meant to last three years (currently, most last just a few months), are delivered in a flat pack and can be assembled on site without additional tools or equipment. They come fitted with a solar panel and lamp to provide light during the dark hours. Additionally, they come with mosquito nets and lockable doors to help keep women and children more protected from sexual assault.
At 57 feet square and six feet tall, the structures offer extra space allowing for tenants to stand upright in the space rather than having to constantly crouch or lay down – something that’s currently necessary in many refugee shelters.
In a statement about the shelters, Jonathan Spampinato, head of the IKEA Foundation’s strategic planning and communications said, ““Putting refugee families and their needs at the heart of this project is a great example of how democratic design can be used for humanitarian value. We are incredibly proud that the Better Shelter is now available so refugee families and children can have a safer place to call home.”
It’s really exciting to see IKEA’s famous DIY, easy-to-transport designs being used for the good of people who really, really need them. And it makes us wonder, what others kinds of IKEA hacks can we make to do some good?
Got any ideas? Leave them in the comments!
Additional reporting by Cortney Clift
(Photos via Better Shelter)
