Which is why the news that Ikea has committed to deliver 10,000 units of its flatpack refugee shelter to UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) could potentially prove a big deal.

Like its furniture, Ikea's Better Shelter arrives in flatpack form, and ships in just two large cardboard boxes. It can be assembled without any specialist tools in around four hours by a group of four people with some basic training. As we reported back when it was still a prototype, the shelter comprises a metal frame of pipes and connectors with stiffening wires to support walls and a roof made of plastic panels. It looks pretty lightweight but comes with an anchoring system and is sure to be more solid than a tent, and Ikea says it's rated to last around three years.