Dutch architect MVRDV has developed a modular clubhouse for the Azraq camp in Jordan, which is home to about 41,000 refugees from the fighting in Syria.
The idea is to fit a standard 20ft shipping container with sports equipment, television and Wi-Fi.
The box is painted orange on the outside, sky-blue on the inside, and is fitted with a window and extra doors. It comes with roof-mounted solar panels for light, phone charging and internet access.
The design is now in its third iteration. Previous clubhouses were installed at a shelter in Boa Vista, Brazil, for Venezuelan refugees and the M’bera refugee camp in Mauritania, which provides safety for 100,000 Malian refugees (pictured).
This version was produced for refugee sports organisation KLABU. Jan van Hövell, the charity’s founder, said: “This collaboration is a testament to what can be achieved when design meets a purpose – creating opportunities for people to play, learn, and dream together, no matter where they are.”
Gideon Maasland, a director of MVRDV, said: “Sometimes the most powerful design comes from the simplest concept. Taking a shipping container, ordinarily the most mundane, everyday object, and transforming it into a bright, multi-functional clubhouse providing sports opportunities for refugees has been a deeply rewarding challenge.”
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