shelter from the storm
UPDATE: How Better Shelters are beginning to transform refugee housing
Last year we told you about UNHCR’s Better Shelter, an innovation in temporary shelters for refugees. Five years in
the making, the lightweight, insulated and vented
structure, which can withstand floods, wind, heat and cold, comes in a flat pack and can be quickly assembled without tools. The Better Shelter house is the result of a partnership between Better Shelter, a social enterprise organization, the IKEA Foundation and UNHCR.
Refugees fleeing disaster, conflict and climate change, have long relied on the iconic blue and white UNHCR tent for survival and security. But these makeshift shelters— prone to wind, fire, and rain damage and with almost no climate control and little privacy—only last about 12 months. While they provide a good solution in an emergency,
they aren’t designed to house people in camps—many of whom live there for years.
After a five-year development process, involving input from designers, engineers and even anthropologists, the shelters were ready for rigorous testing by refugees themselves. Families moved in for an intensive six-month testing period, providing invaluable feedback. Halfway through the trial, 100 per cent of the testers confirmed that the Better Shelter worked. The units were also put through tests where machines blasted them with artificial rain and equipment opened and slammed the doors more than 27,000 times.
Further feedback from refugees meant modifications to window placement, location of the doors and packaging for easier assembly. This is an ongoing process as the shelters are shipped around the world. Cost, of course, is always paramount, with specifications designed for high- volume production.
Some of the more innovative features of the shelters:
• Designed to last for three years and house a family of five
• Made of waterproof, sun and flame retardant materials and comes with built-in solar lights
• Frame and non-toxic panels are recyclable and lightweight, shipped in a flat-pack box
• Hatches promote ventilation and a ground anchor allows for building on uneven or sloped terrain
• Mosquito nets on windows protect against malaria; optional shade net can be installed
Since testing began in 2014, a total of 2,329 shelters have been shipped to Iraq, Djibouti and Greece, including UNHCR’s transit camp in Mytilini (Lesvos), Greece. UNHCR and the Red Cross have recently erected an additional 96 Better Shelters in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. A number of shelters host first-aid clinics while others have been equipped especially for children.
In October of this year, the New York-based Museum of Modern Art launches an exhibition that includes a Better Shelter model.
Insecurities: Tracing Displacement and
Shelter, presents solutions in architecture, design and art in response to the global refugee crisis.
UNHCR / 23
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