Life-threathening hypothermia can occur when temperatures are between 32 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. But most warming centers and homeless shelters do not open until temperatures descend much colder.

For people who are unsheltered — meaning, they have no place to sleep that is fit for human habitation — hypothermia is a grave risk. Additionally, using fire or other warming methods poses other safety risks, like outdoor encampments catching fire and burning those inside.

While the ultimate solution to these problems would be stable and permanent housing for those in need, a Czech organization has invented an emergency shelter that could help people in the meantime.

It’s called the Iglou.

This emergency shelter is indeed igloo-shaped, an arch-like structure that is made with materials that help retain heat for unsheltered people to stay when the temperatures drop.

“It’s made of a special material that ensures the igloo is 18 degrees warmer than outside,” Hana Bauerová, from the organization Prevent Prachatice, told Radio Prague International. “So our clients don’t freeze to death.”

The interior of the Iglou is made with a silver heat-trapping thermal material and the shelters are easy to set up, with two people assembling the foldable frame. Iglou structures are also non-flammable.

“If a client smoked in there, they couldn’t catch anything on fire,” Bauerová added.

The city of Prachatice (which lies near the German and Austrian borders) has purchased some Iglou structures in collaboration with Prevent, an organization that helps people facing addiction, homelessness, and support services for people in need.

Structures will be lent out in coordination with social workers, prioritizing individuals who are actively engaging with assistance programs in the city.

“We provide Iglous only to cities and charities with night shelters or with outreach workers who frequently visit people experiencing homelessness,” the Iglou website explains.

“These charities know the circumstances of people sleeping rough and can best decide who needs an Iglou.”

According to Iglou, more than 1,200 of these thermal shelters have been distributed in 10 locations in Europe and Canada.

Of course, more robust solutions are needed across the globe to combat rising levels of homelessness. But in the meantime, the inventors of Iglou are hopeful that their shelter can provide a small reprieve from the cold.

“Iglou is an emergency shelter and only used for that purpose,” Iglou wrote on Facebook. “We believe all the ones who want should have a real home. But we also know the reality and thousands are still sleeping rough during freezing nights, and some freeze to death. The Iglou is for them to prevent that.”

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Header image courtesy of Iglou