Swedish IKEA is designing and constructing shelters for some 4 million refugees who have fled war in Syria as part of its “Better Shelter” program. As part of the project, the design company hopes to construct refugee shelters in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden to deliver more than 500 units in September to refugee camps in Greece where thousands of Syrian refugees have arrived in recent months.
The project, started in 2010, is the result of a partnership between Swedish industrial designer Johan Karlsson and the IKEA Foundation – the Swedish company’s humanitarian faction. The goal is to create high-quality alternatives to canvas tents that are easily damaged by heavy winds and flooding.
Better shelter housing can be assembled in just a few hours by hand at the cost of $1,150 per tent. The project delivered more than 4,700 shelters in 2015, including 2,600 to Iraq and Kurdistan says its website.
On Sunday, IKEA began a Brighter Lives for Refugees campaign that runs to December 19and donates 1 euro to the UNHCR for every lamp and light bulb it sells.
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