Humanitarian Crisis Response Through Design by Better Shelter

VCUarts Qatar, in collaboration with Anthro-Tech Ateliers and the Embassy of Sweden to the State of Qatar, hosted a lecture and panel discussion titled “Design for Humanitarian Crisis Response” on April 14 at the university’s Atrium. Participating in the talk was Johan Karlsson, Managing Director of Better Shelter, a humanitarian nonprofit that develops innovative temporary housing for displaced people. SCALE sat down with Karlsson to have an insight into the  design innovation that now works tirelessly to house the displaced across 90 countries. By Sindhu Nair

While the event at VCUarts Qatar brought together leading voices in design and humanitarian work to explore how creative and human-centered design can play a vital role in addressing crises caused by conflict, displacement, and environmental impacts, we put our focus on Better Shelter, a humanitarian design firm that develops housing for the displaced.

Better Shelter has already made a significant impact in crisis-hit countries, with the numbers they shared being quite startling. To date, they have helped build 95,000 shelters across nearly 90 countries.

The keynote address at the VCUarts Qatar was delivered by Johan Karlsson, Managing Director of Better Shelter, a humanitarian nonprofit that develops innovative temporary housing for displaced people. Drawing on over a decade of field experience, Karlsson shared compelling insights into how design, engineering, and humanitarian partnerships can lead to scalable, life-saving solutions. “At Better Shelter, we believe that thoughtful, human-centered design, developed in collaboration with humanitarian organisations, donors, and academia, can help restore a sense of agency and hope for people who have lost everything,” he said.

We sat down with Karlsson to learn more about Better Shelter. Born from Karlsson’s vision of using improved materials to create better tents for displaced communities, Better Shelter has grown organically through collaborations with country specific aid agencies to provide relief in over 90 countries since its creation in 2008.

Having moved across countries in times of high duress and trauma, Karlsson and his team at Better Shelter might have had a bird’s eye view of some of the worst tragedies around the world and yet he says “What we see in Gaza is probably going to be one of the most difficult and urgent crises that we have ever responded to. We have seen a lot of bad situations in history, been to very terrible places, but what we see and what we hear from Gaza, I think it’s beyond any other disaster. We are now waiting to get access as the need is humungous. More than 1.9 million people in Gaza are displaced with over one million in acute need of shelter. But we are yet to move to action, as we have no access to Gaza yet.”

While Karlsson and his team are waiting across borders, work is still on to get approvals. “We’ve been to surrounding countries — Israel, Jordan — to work with authorities and try to get approval for our shelters. We’re currently working closely with partners in Qatar and elsewhere to push for humanitarian access,” he says.

There are many success stories in Better Shelter’s ongoing journey in providing shelter during devastating crisis but some might be worth mentioning like the one in Turkey and Syria after the floods in 2013.

Days after the devastating earthquake in 2013 in Turkey, when harsh weather and below zero temperatures made life exceedingly difficult for survivors, Better Shelter made their temporary units available within a week with the help of their local ground supporters and using the logistics made available by IKEA.

“The need for shelter and protection was enormous, as hundreds of thousands of people in both Syria and Turkey  were homeless. People used to seek shelter in cars, mosques, and schools as well as tents set up in car parks and in ruins. We provided 7,000 emergency shelters funded by IKEA Foundation but the need was for much more…,” says Karlsson.

Working in such dire situations can also be emotionally challenging especially when one realizes the futility of the efforts, when the available funds can only help a fraction of those affected.

We ask Karlsson how the team manages to keep their emotional resilience as they witness the despair of suffering and poverty.

“I think that one of the surprising personal traits that many of us in Better Shelter share is that we are very stubborn optimists. I also think that we share the Swedish nature of attracting people who want to do good. We attract designers and architects who may not be interested by big projects but want to do something meaningful. I mean, you seldom get an architecture prize for doing something like we are doing, like in Brazil or in Colombia,” says Karlsson.

“Sometimes it is very hard to be okay. But when we work with the families, with local organisations —when we can meet them and hear how much of what we have done has, at least temporarily, improved their lives. To have a door you can lock, where you can sleep, where you can be safe, that is the most you can give during such times. That gives energy.”

We speak with Karlsson to get an insight into the working of Better Shelter.

SCALE: How many shelters has Better Shelter provided, and in how many countries?

Karlsson:  We’ve provided around 95,000 shelters in more than 80 countries — I think it’s about 89 countries now.

SCALE: How did Better Shelter get started?

Karlsson: t’s been a long, bumpy road. Honestly, it’s good we didn’t know all the challenges we’d face, or we might never have started! I’m an industrial designer from Sweden, and I used to do consulting work for big brands like IKEA. In 2008, after an earthquake in Pakistan, I was asked to look into tents used in humanitarian responses. They were very traditional — just cloth tents — and not suited to harsh weather. Seeing the innovation in industries like automotive and electronics, I thought: why are we still using tents? I proposed the idea to IKEA — to use flat-packing, quality materials, and their large-scale production expertise for humanitarian shelters. Initially, they said it wasn’t their business idea, but directed me to the IKEA Foundation, which was just getting started. They provided funding, and that’s how Better Shelter was born.

SCALE: What was your development process like?

Karlsson: We started by researching materials. It had to be low-cost, lightweight, and durable. We looked to the automotive and packaging industries for inspiration. The structure is made from the same type of steel used in crash barriers — strong and light. The walls are made from a plastic foam membrane; each panel weighs about two kilos. In 2015, after working with UNHCR and the IKEA Foundation, we launched our first production series.

SCALE: Do you always use the same materials today?

Karlsson: No, we use a wide range of materials depending on the situation. If local materials are available, we try to use what is available — it’s cheaper and people know how to build with them. But in places like Northwest Syria or Sudan, there are no local materials available, so we supply everything needed. In many cases today, we provide just the metal frames and then upgrade them locally with available materials.

SCALE: Where are the shelters manufactured?

Karlsson: Mostly in Europe — about 95% of production happens there, mainly in Poland and Sweden. It’s about keeping costs and logistics efficient.

SCALE: Does IKEA continue to support you?

Karlsson: Yes, absolutely. Through the IKEA Foundation financially, and also in kind and especially through logistics support. For example, when the earthquake hit Turkey, IKEA’s logistics expertise helped deliver 7,000 shelters in days — something that would have taken us three months alone. Their support includes funding, design assistance, and logistics.

SCALE: From all the countries you’ve worked in, which ones have been the most challenging?

Karlsson: Each project has its own challenges.

In Northwest Syria, it was logistics — getting supplies through limited aid corridors and working with local organizations because international staff couldn’t enter.

In Sudan, the environment — extreme heat without electricity for fans or cooling.

Ukraine was challenging because of the ongoing conflict and instability.

Gaza is probably the most difficult and urgent situation we have ever faced — access is extremely limited, infrastructure is destroyed, and there’s no electricity. We estimate 1.9 million people displaced, and around 1 million in acute need of shelter.

SCALE:  How many shelters are needed in Gaza?

Karlsson: The initial agreement among parties was to provide 60,000 shelters. That’s an enormous number for temporary housing, especially given the conditions — limited land, rubble everywhere, no electricity. It will require many actors working together, not just us.

SCALE: What are the biggest challenges in delivering Better Shelter? Is it material sourcing, assembly, durability, environment, or politics?

Karlsson: Politics and funding, without a doubt. Politically, you’re often not allowed to build even temporary structures, or it’s extremely restricted.

Funding is critical — without it, we can’t operate. The U.S. contribution to humanitarian aid used to be 40% of the global humanitarian budget, that is now gone since the Trump Administration took over. Since then, we are seeing our partner organizations dismantled—going from thousands of employees to just a few hundred.

Environment and logistics are hard too, but politics and financing are the biggest obstacles.

SCALE: What metrics do you use to evaluate the success and impact of your shelters on displaced populations?

Karlsson: We regularly track raw outputs such as the number of shelters delivered and constructed, and the number of people housed. When applicable, we also measure usage data — for instance, the number of patient visits when shelters are used as clinics. In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, a local NGO has been operating health clinics in our shelters since 2018, recording over 100 000 patient visits to date.

We’re currently developing a more robust framework to assess qualitative outcomes, such as improvements in mental well-being and overall living conditions. Since we do not implement the shelters ourselves — our partners do — we sometimes depend on their capacity and resources to evaluate these secondary effects.

Additionally, our technical team collects user and partner feedback to inform both short-term improvements and long-term design development.

SCALE: Can you share a specific success story where your shelter solution made a significant difference in a community’s recovery or stability?

Karlsson: The project in Assam which we implemented with the organisation SEEDS India is an example of a success story. Here, Better Shelters partnered with the Indian NGO SEEDS, provided relief and transitional shelters as immediate support to the affected community. Under the long-term recovery programme, SEEDS retrofitted three public health centers, repaired and retrofitted schools and constructed ten terra filters for safe drinking water to the community.

Their approach for the shelter intervention was to ensure owner driven construction, so that the people would learn how to build, and maintain their homes. This project is now complete and people have moved to their own houses which they helped construct and tmany of them are also using the temporary shelters are shelter for their animals and even to store grains.

Better Shelter never works in a vacuum — every project is a collaborative effort with implementing organisations, each bringing their own focus and expertise. In this case, our shelter frames were installed on people’s original plots of land, allowing them to remain where they’ve always lived and maintain a sense of continuity. Some of these locations were extremely remote, requiring the shelter boxes to be carried by hand, highlighting the logistical challenges of last-mile delivery.

This project also illustrates how our shelters often serve as a stepping stone between emergency response and long-term housing — a transitional phase that, in reality, can last for many years.

SCALE: Can you share a typical cost breakdown for each shelter unit, and how do you ensure cost-effectiveness without compromising quality?

Karlsson: Rough costs (as shipping depends on mode of transport and destination)

500 EUR = Frame + shipping 

2000 EUR = Full shelter + shipping

We often have one main answer to questions or criticisms about our shelter design: cost. Why are the windows small? Why isn’t the solar panel larger or more powerful? Because keeping costs down is essential. Humanitarian organisations are chronically underfunded — and given the current global situation, that’s unlikely to improve anytime soon.

Meanwhile, our shelter had to be designed to function within a complex set of constraints. It must last as long as possible yet not be classified as permanent. It needs to withstand or adapt to diverse climates. It must be compact for transport yet expand into a liveable structure once assembled. The frame is made from high-strength steel, built to endure and support long-term use where needed. The walls and roof consist of panels just because people living in the shelters should be able to exchange one if it breaks, rather than having to discard or change an entire wall.

With these requirements in mind, we developed a shelter that meets UN standards — and with nearly 100,000 units delivered, it has now been tested in displacement settings across the world. While it’s not the perfect fit for every environment, many units have remained in use well beyond the intended three-year lifespan. People consistently find innovative ways to adapt the shelter to their needs — which is exactly what it was designed for.