Despite its size, the compassionate Netherlands has welcomed a large number of refugees during the largest migration since World War II, perhaps remembering the terrified families that fled Hitler.
To house all the newcomers is naturally a challenge, but a design competition has yielded creative ideas.
Jon Comulada writes at Upworthy, “As the worldwide refugee crisis continues, innovative solutions are needed so that the people fleeing civil war and sectarian violence have a safe place to live. …
“In January 2016, the Netherlands launched a design competition called ‘A Home Away From Home’ in which entrants were tasked with designing temporary housing for refugees and disaster victims. All of the winning designs rethought the idea of public housing, adding amenities and innovations to make the buildings more like fully functioning homes than simply a bed to sleep on.
“The winners of the contest recently appeared on display in Amsterdam as part of Dutch Design Week and included things like solar power, water purification systems, and ingenious use of space and material.
“The cube design of the Farmland [below] means dozens can be stacked, placed together, and moved easily. The architects of this design imagined the miniature villages establishing a ‘DIY economy’ with local towns. …
“Home is a concept many of us take for granted, but it’s not a small thing. It makes us feel safe, comfortable, and human.
“The current refugee crisis hasn’t showed signs of slowing down, and with climate change creating more and more dangerous weather systems, we’re likely to see climate refugee numbers grow sharply. All of those people are going to need places to live. Innovative solutions like these help them to not only live, but live with dignity and opportunity.”
Check out several other designs from the competition at Upworthy, here.
Photo: A Home Away From Home
This Farmyard shelter is designed to transform vacant farmland into mini villages. 
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
Definitely better than living in tents.
Could be good for many kinds of emergency housing situations.
I kind of fantasize about living in a tiny house . . . but I know it wouldn’t be as much fun as it looks like. Still, for people who have nothing this would be huge. I have always been so impressed with the generosity of the Dutch and their openness to change and creativity in dealing with it.
Maybe the can-do spirit goes back to building dikes. If dikes can reclaim land, what other impossible things can we do?
Thank you for posting this. So great to read about a nation still joined in the common good. Communities and nations thrive when the yin-yang between rights and obligations is understood.
I know there is backlash in the Netherlands, too, but I trust in the basic humanity of the kind of people who sheltered Anne Frank in that country.