IKEA Designs Safe Spaces For Refugee Children & Families Fleeing Ukraine
IKEA is assembling safe spaces for individuals displaced by the Russia-Ukraine conflict with Blue Dots, an organization started by UNICEF and UNHCR, along with local authorities.
‘Blue Dots’ are hubs placed along border crossings of war-torn countries that provide shelter, health and mental care, and family reunification services to people who are fleeing a country. They can range from tents to repurposed areas or buildings.
In order to make the hubs feel more like a home for their occupants while they wait to find a new place to stay, IKEA took charge of the design of the interiors, having had much experience in this area.
Using KALLAX shelving as partitions and thick curtains, the furniture giant adds a bubble of privacy for each refugee as they recuperate from being uprooted. Meanwhile, play and lounge areas have been designated for its guests to mingle.
Being a furniture company, IKEA understands how little details like picture frames, mugs, and plants can make a temporary living space safe and cozy.
Currently, IKEA has designed Blue Dots stationed in Romania and Poland, and is working with those stationed in Hungary and Slovakia, as well.
As it is, 6.9 million people have fled Ukraine, most of whom are women and children, two of the most vulnerable groups. Blue Dots hubs pose as sanctuaries for reprieve and safety, and with IKEA’s nuanced understanding of comfortable living environments, the partnership stands to ease and reassure refugees as they wait for more permanent homes.
IKEA follows a long list of brands that have pulled out of Russia in a stance against the war. Now, it is doing its part in helping those traumatized and left homeless by the conflict.
