Lifeshelter - Innovative shelter solutions for refugees

Our Mission

We aim to have local production sites in several refugee host countries.

Within five years from now we expect to be one of the world's leading suppliers of durable shelter solutions for humanitarian purposes.

Business Model

Refugee host countries often face severe economic challenges. Sustainable economic growth and decent jobs are crucial preconditions for making these countries more resilient and independent of aid - and eventually lifting them out of poverty.

Instead of making explicit donations, our business model is designed as an income-generating project that aims at creating these conditions, thereby ensuring a more viable and sustainable social impact.

Our Team

Jakob Christensen
COO & founder

M.Sc. Architectural Engineering.
Specialised in Conceptual Design and Experimental Analysis.

M: jc@lifeshelter.com
T: +45 31 32 33 63
Skype: jakobchristensen1
In: jakobc

Jens Odgaard Olsson
CEO

M.Sc. Agricultural Economics.
Specialised in Business Management, Strategy, and Implementation.

M: joo@lifeshelter.com
T: +45 24 82 00 08
In: jensoo

Jon Risvig
Chairman

M.Sc. Strategy, Organization, and Management.
BA. Business Economics and Modern Languages.

M: jon@vpkapital.dk
In: jonrisvig

Eivind Reihs Hegnar
CFO

M.Sc. Innovation Management.
B.Sc. Sustainable Economics.

M: erh@lifeshelter.com
T: +45 30 49 33 53
Skype: ehegnar
In: ehegnar

Erik Bjerregaard
Technical Expert

B.Sc. Engineering.

M: eb@lifeshelter.com
T: +45 29 43 93 30

Tor Brandt
Marketing

MA. Philosophy.
Specialised in Graphic Design, Web Development, and Marketing.

M: tb@lifeshelter.com
In: tor-brandt

Our History

Lifeshelter was founded in 2012 by Architectural Engineer Jakob Christensen. During the first four years we developed, tested, and optimized a pre-fabricated shelter solution, which became the Lifeshelter. The development phase was finalized in May 2016.

It soon became evident, that although the product was very well-received, the price of a Lifeshelter was higher than that of a tent, and well above the target price of the market. Therefore we established a partnership with the Danish Refugee Council to investigate the possibility of producing the shelters locally at a lower cost. Changes in both material compositions and production methods revealed a great potential for local production opportunities.

In August 2017 the locally producable shelter was finally launched, and it immediately received a lot of attention.

Our Inspiration

Arched vaults have been used throughout history as an optimized way of obtaining a stabilized structure. 6.000-years-old such vaults still stand in Nubia by the Nile.

During the 1990s a settlement of 500 houses inspired by this ancient tradition was built in Altiplano, Bolivia in a project led by Danish architect Lars Jørgen Jacobsen.

Lifeshelter has been greatly inspired by this project as well as the ancient tradition it draws upon, and the unique arched shape has proven to be an extremely stable and durable design.