Made to be assembled similarly to their furniture, IKEA has designed a modular flat pack refugee shelter that can be assembled by four people within eight hours, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is ordering 10,000 of them. Some of the first units will go to Iraq to house the 2.5 million persons displaced over the past year, as gizmodo informs MHProNews.

The IKEA Foundation, the company’s division devoted to social issues, spent years developing a prototype to replace the UN-provided tents that do not protect from the heat or cold, nor provide any sense of privacy. Better Shelter, as the modular unit is called, arrives in two cardboard boxes with assembly tools, features a locking door, windows and ventilation, and photovoltaic cells to provide electricity.

Each of the strong, lightweight steel-framed shelters has 366 square feet with full standing height. The units are built to last three years, and contain user-friendly, word-free image instructions on how to assemble them. ##

(Image credit: Better Shelter)

   Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.