6 Ways to Sneak Subversive Design Into Trump’s Border Wall
Architect and researcher Ronald Rael does not support a border wall between the US and Mexico. But he accepts it. “The wall is a material condition that exists,” he says of the almost 700 miles of fence that already run along the 1,900-mile border. “Why not use it as an armature for a new kind of infrastructure?”
In his forthcoming book, Borderwall as Architecture ($30) Rael explores how architects can undermine the wall not just structurally, but conceptually. Today, the wall symbolizes xenophobia and fear. Designs that promote social, economic, and ecological development on both sides of the border could rewrite that narrative. In the past, groups have gathered on both sides of the wall to hold yoga meetups and stage horse races. Rael draws inspiration from these and other examples to highlight opportunities for subversion and change. “We can smuggle in design,” he says.
Fog Wall
Fog is a serious impediment for border patrol agents. When it blankets the region, it clouds their detection systems. Rael imagines a fog-capturing infrastructure that could intersect with the actual border, like stitches. This harvesting system could funnel clean water to communities in Mexico---Rael offers Tijuana as an example---that lack clean drinking systems. You can't see it here, but another proposal of Rael's includes stormwater-collecting shed roofs. That so-called Hydro Wall could augment the benefits of a Fog Wall.
Rael San Fratello/University of California PressCactus Wall
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument sits just north of the Arizona-Mexico border. The tall, tubular cacti are native to the Sonoran Desert—but metal and fencing are not. “If the wall continues to be constructed, we will begin embarking on the construction of wall that isn’t contextual, pays no attention to the people, the ecology, and wildlife," Rael says. What if, he says, you could redirect Homeland Security's construction funds towards an ecological project that strategically plants more organ cacti along the border?
Rael San Fratello/University of California Press
Xylophobia
The idea for a xylophone wall came to Rael from an unlikely source: The Simpsons. On the show, Homer confuses xenophobia with "xylophobia," claiming a fear of the percussion music. Building patches of wall out of large-scale xylophone bars definitely pushes the limits of whimsy, but it's not as fanciful as you might think; Rael points to musician Glenn Weyant, who has used a cello bow, a mallet, and some electronic equipment to "play" the fence along the Arizona-Mexico border. Rael says you could replicate Weyant's guerrilla act to transform the wall into a public arts center.
Rael San Fratello/University of California PressLibrary Wall
The Haskell Free Library and Opera House sits right on the border of Vermont and Quebec. The location is deliberate; the Library is meant to bridge two cultures. The Haskell library inspired Rael's Library Wall, which he says could "allow for transnational exchanges of books, ideas, and knowledge through a cross-border book exchange program." You can imagine extended structures on either side---one for the library, one for the biblioteca---that welcome visitors, for free, while facilitating book clubs, language classes, and school visits.
Rael San Fratello/University of California Press
Solar Wall
Rael calls the border the richest untapped potential for solar development in the US. He makes an economic argument here. The Olmedilla Photovoltaic Park in Spain, one of the largest in the world, cost $530 million to build. The 87 miles of border wall spanning Nogales, Arizona and Douglas, Arizona cost $333.5 million to build. For that price, Rael says, the US government could construct 54 miles of 40-foot-wide solar farms---enough to power 40,000 households.
Rael San Fratello/University of California PressField of Dreams
Along stretches of the Arizona-Mexico fence, some Border Patrol agents have erected metal baseball backstops. The walls protect the agents and their vehicles from rock throwers. Often, the people throwing rocks are teenagers. In 2014 reports surfaced of agents using excessive force against rock-throwers. But Rael sees the baseball backstops as an opportunity to bring sport---fair, competitive, athletic sport---to the region. "What if instead of this type of childishness, a different kind of play were promoted at the border?" he writes.
Rael San Fratello/University of California Press
