Currently, most global citizens have been directed into lockdown due to COVID-19. After spending more than two months under these circumstances, two broad reflections emerge—regardless of the personal challenges faced by each household. The first is that we might adapt and live in relative harmony within our living spaces; the second is that our living space may not be adequate for our comfort. We will delve into this second point to empathize with vulnerable populations who choose to abandon their lives in one place to migrate toward better opportunities, and to examine how architecture addresses—or fails to address—the migration emergency.
Reflecting on preventive isolation allows us to approximate the reality of those forced to leave their homes under extreme circumstances. While we may wonder if there is a better place to live where our personal and collective safety is not threatened, for us, staying remains an option, as safeguarding our health is still within our control. But for those with no choice, who venture on journeys where—beyond paying the high monetary fees demanded by human smugglers to get them from one point to another—there is an incalculably higher, unguaranteed price: their own lives and those of their companions. This is to say nothing of the dreams and aspirations of each individual.
How dire must a person's situation be for dreaming of and aspiring to a better life to become a luxury? Across the globe, there are various circumstances where migration becomes an emergency. Let us look at the RAE's definitions for these concepts, which describe an *emergency* as: "The action and effect of emerging [...] A situation of danger or disaster that requires immediate action," and architecture as "The art of designing and constructing buildings."
