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Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary
“A protest against the wall and a forecast about its future.”—Allison Arieff, The New York Times
"Rael’s courageous mixture of subversion and compromise is not going to hide the affront that the border represents to those who live south of it."— London Review of Books
“ Borderwall as Architecture 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.”— Wired
"Part historical account, part theoretical appraisal, and part design manifesto, Borderwall as Architecture is reminiscent of Rem Koolhaas’ Delirious New York in its sweeping assessment of both the sociocultural peculiarities and outlandish possibilities represented by a prominent structural element."— Architect Magazine
“ Borderwall As Architecture goes into keen scholarly detail on the walls at the US-Mexico border…Rael offers many such concepts in the book, which often have a whimsy about them that reminds me of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities .”
— New Scientist
“[Rael’s] imagination is audacious, and he smartly frames his “grand tour” of the border as a procession of vignettes that shift easily between history, architectural what-ifs and what you might call postcards from the front.”— San Francisco Chronicle
"...in raising questions that not many others are asking about the relationship between two countries that share 2,000 miles of border, his book serves an important purpose."— The Daily Beast
Borderwall as Architecture is an artistic and intellectual hand grenade of a book, and a timely re-examination of what the physical barrier that divides the United States of America from the United Mexican States is and could be. It is both a protest against the wall and a projection about its future. Through a series of propositions suggesting that the nearly seven hundred miles of wall is an opportunity for economic and social development along the border that encourages its conceptual and physical dismantling, the book takes readers on a journey along a wall that cuts through a “third nation”—the Divided States of America. On the way the transformative effects of the wall on people, animals, and the natural and built landscape are exposed and interrogated through the story of people who, on both sides of the border, transform the wall, challenging its existence in remarkably creative ways. Coupled with these real-life accounts are counterproposals for the wall, created by Rael’s studio, that reimagine, hyperbolize, or question the wall and its construction, cost, performance, and meaning. Rael proposes that despite the intended use of the wall, which is to keep people out and away, the wall is instead an attractor, engaging both sides in a common dialogue. Included is a collection of reflections on the wall and its consequences by leading experts Michael Dear, Norma Iglesias-Prieto, Marcello Di Cintio, and Teddy Cruz.
"Rael’s courageous mixture of subversion and compromise is not going to hide the affront that the border represents to those who live south of it."— London Review of Books
“ Borderwall as Architecture 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.”— Wired
"Part historical account, part theoretical appraisal, and part design manifesto, Borderwall as Architecture is reminiscent of Rem Koolhaas’ Delirious New York in its sweeping assessment of both the sociocultural peculiarities and outlandish possibilities represented by a prominent structural element."— Architect Magazine
“ Borderwall As Architecture goes into keen scholarly detail on the walls at the US-Mexico border…Rael offers many such concepts in the book, which often have a whimsy about them that reminds me of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities .”
— New Scientist
“[Rael’s] imagination is audacious, and he smartly frames his “grand tour” of the border as a procession of vignettes that shift easily between history, architectural what-ifs and what you might call postcards from the front.”— San Francisco Chronicle
"...in raising questions that not many others are asking about the relationship between two countries that share 2,000 miles of border, his book serves an important purpose."— The Daily Beast
Borderwall as Architecture is an artistic and intellectual hand grenade of a book, and a timely re-examination of what the physical barrier that divides the United States of America from the United Mexican States is and could be. It is both a protest against the wall and a projection about its future. Through a series of propositions suggesting that the nearly seven hundred miles of wall is an opportunity for economic and social development along the border that encourages its conceptual and physical dismantling, the book takes readers on a journey along a wall that cuts through a “third nation”—the Divided States of America. On the way the transformative effects of the wall on people, animals, and the natural and built landscape are exposed and interrogated through the story of people who, on both sides of the border, transform the wall, challenging its existence in remarkably creative ways. Coupled with these real-life accounts are counterproposals for the wall, created by Rael’s studio, that reimagine, hyperbolize, or question the wall and its construction, cost, performance, and meaning. Rael proposes that despite the intended use of the wall, which is to keep people out and away, the wall is instead an attractor, engaging both sides in a common dialogue. Included is a collection of reflections on the wall and its consequences by leading experts Michael Dear, Norma Iglesias-Prieto, Marcello Di Cintio, and Teddy Cruz.
200 pages, Paperback
Published April 4, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 29, 2020
An unexpectedly exciting little volume!
The book is composed of several essays/chapters of various length authored by different contributors. It starts out a little unsteadily, edging into the territory of droning theoretical musings hardly connected to reality (the kind of musings I, a theory nerd, love, but slog through slowly nonetheless); I was kind of expecting that, so braced myself for a snooty and uneventful work, but no! The book quickly adopts a more self-assured and adventurous tone, really taking off.
The bulk of it (Recuerdos/Souvenirs: A Nuevo Grand Tour by Ronald Rael) is a collection of various strategies to rethink, rebuild, reimagine the border between Mexico and the US and the structures that demarcate it as productive areas, useful, innovative spaces fostering symbiotic relationships and creating opportunities for genuine use. The pages are brimming with ideas on existing and speculative approaches to creating, transgressing or transforming the border barrier. Some proposals strike one as quite realistic and, perhaps, even unfairly not implemented, while others are far out there, pushing the boundaries of boundaries (thank you, thank you). Existing exclusionary practices are also covered by some, mentioned either to inform and set the stage, to ponder their potential or to flip one’s understanding and outlook on them.
A delight to read and a great source of inspiration. Highly recommended.
The book is composed of several essays/chapters of various length authored by different contributors. It starts out a little unsteadily, edging into the territory of droning theoretical musings hardly connected to reality (the kind of musings I, a theory nerd, love, but slog through slowly nonetheless); I was kind of expecting that, so braced myself for a snooty and uneventful work, but no! The book quickly adopts a more self-assured and adventurous tone, really taking off.
The bulk of it (Recuerdos/Souvenirs: A Nuevo Grand Tour by Ronald Rael) is a collection of various strategies to rethink, rebuild, reimagine the border between Mexico and the US and the structures that demarcate it as productive areas, useful, innovative spaces fostering symbiotic relationships and creating opportunities for genuine use. The pages are brimming with ideas on existing and speculative approaches to creating, transgressing or transforming the border barrier. Some proposals strike one as quite realistic and, perhaps, even unfairly not implemented, while others are far out there, pushing the boundaries of boundaries (thank you, thank you). Existing exclusionary practices are also covered by some, mentioned either to inform and set the stage, to ponder their potential or to flip one’s understanding and outlook on them.
A delight to read and a great source of inspiration. Highly recommended.
July 24, 2021
I found this book around two years in a closing bookstore, but I was deterred by the academic tone of the foreword and it was sitting on a shelf for some time. Then, early this year I saw a news about the border teeter totter wall (depicted on the cover) winning a design award, and finally I mustered guts to open the page again.
This book is mainly about "unsolicited" proposals to make the border wall more interesting while exploring the historical and current stories along the border. Some of the utilitarian proposals are not particularly imaginative (solar wall, greenhouse wall, hot water wall), while other artistic proposals (library wall, xylophobia wall and teeter totter wall of course) were creative and an interesting reminder of how people on both sides of the border have interacted in the past. In the end, the real border "walls" are (still) not really a wall but rather a fence which allows limited interaction of people.
Despite the title, there are not much constructive to think about broader issues of border and immigration. This book was written by academics who think that the border wall is fundamentally useless, and there is no chance their proposals are taken seriously by those who do want to construct more walls. Until there is a real talk between them, we won't see real xylophobia wall and hear the tune of international performance.
This book is mainly about "unsolicited" proposals to make the border wall more interesting while exploring the historical and current stories along the border. Some of the utilitarian proposals are not particularly imaginative (solar wall, greenhouse wall, hot water wall), while other artistic proposals (library wall, xylophobia wall and teeter totter wall of course) were creative and an interesting reminder of how people on both sides of the border have interacted in the past. In the end, the real border "walls" are (still) not really a wall but rather a fence which allows limited interaction of people.
Despite the title, there are not much constructive to think about broader issues of border and immigration. This book was written by academics who think that the border wall is fundamentally useless, and there is no chance their proposals are taken seriously by those who do want to construct more walls. Until there is a real talk between them, we won't see real xylophobia wall and hear the tune of international performance.
January 1, 2019
Timely and very intriguing read. It’s a really well organized quick read with lots of fascinating visuals — do it!
August 31, 2022
I definitely enjoyed reading but would I recommend? Probably not
February 6, 2025
US-Mexico border meaning, possibilities, creative improvements
Read
August 9, 2025A mockery of borders and a manifesto against them. I loved this.
April 13, 2017
"Borderwall as Architecture" written by Ronald Rael was a book that truly gave insight into the climate of border control and immigration. This book went into extensive detail as to what the wall separating the US from Mexico would look like, would cost, how it functions, and so on and so forth. Another aspect of this book that was interesting was its inclusion in social movements and changes that occurred due to border walls and immigration issues. Rael sought out to cover all points of this topic, and it felt as if he covered anything and everything regarding the issues of these complex architectural systems. While this book is more focused on the perspective that goes against borderwalls and border control, he does present both sides to this subject in a both serious and comedic way. I would highly suggest this read if you are looking for an interesting take on immigration and borderwalls. 10/10 !!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews