Refugium. Life in motion

The refugee crisis is an omnipresent polemic that is widespread throughout local and international news. Particularly within the recent war that has struck Syria, the influx of migrating refugees has hit an all time high, topping that even of the migration of refugees seen during WW2. With currently over 60 million people classed with refugee status globally, the problem is one of the most crucial facing humanity at this point in time. There is yet a further relevance to the situation which has now become too large to ignore. It is a problem that has not been dealt with on a historic level, with very little theory or concept developed around a larger solution to many of the issues that refugees face, further more there are predicted to be over 250 million people who will become refugees within the next 20 years. The major problem which we face as architects when facing this problem on a global level is that the reasons for people becoming refugees are often outside of our scope of work, as they are due to political, economical, natural disaster, famine, civil war or other reasons. It is also not our place to work with a god complex, prescribing a predetermined formula on how different cultures and different countries should deal with the influx of refugees within their cities, as again the number of role player from outside our field are to high. The scope of our work therefore falls between this. The focus on the Journey taken by the refugee to get from point A to point B. This is the part of the refugees struggle that is often most traumatic, with human trafficking, exploitation, rape, sinking boats and closed borders just some of the many obstacles that they face. - AS ARCHITECTS WE MAKE A STAND - The solution lead to us taking the JOURNEY out of this migration and projecting this as a line encompassing the globe. This line utilizes the data analyzed as well as the lessons learnt from the existing refugee camps in order to formulate a Utopic critique of the current crisis, geopolitical contestations and lack of large scale intervention within the realm of architecture and urbanism. A series of doors will allow the refugees enter the structure and at the same time exit it, as long as the inhabitants behind the door are kind enough to unlock it.