Deployment of IKEA's award-winning refugee shelter was put on hold due to concerns over a range of design issues including accessibility and fire risk, Dezeen has learned.
Better Shelter, the social enterprise that produces the product, said a new version of the shelter was under development to address the issues and would be launched later this year.
"Following the identification of certain quality issues and based on experience gained and lessons learned in the field, deployment of shelters was put on hold," said Märta Terne, head of marketing and communication at Better Shelter.
"This was followed by intensive research and development efforts by Better Shelter and [United Nations refugee agency] UNHCR together, with the objective of launching an improved model in 2017, while ensuring that the shelters already produced would be fit for purpose." The UNHCR bought 10,000 Better Shelters and has deployed them in countries including Iraq, Ethiopia and Greece
Existing stocks of the shelter are now being redeployed, she said, adding that the organisation was introducing new guidelines about the spacing of shelters following concerns about the spread of fire.
"We've looked at how we can improve the safety distance between units in camp settings and how we can minimise the risk of fire spreading between shelters in the case of a fire starting in a settlement."

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