Dezeen Magazine

Five designs that challenge Trump's US-Mexico border wall

Following the installation of seesaws across the US-Mexico border wall, we've pulled together five examples of projects by architects and designers that respond to US president Donald Trump's plans to develop a wall between the two countries.


No-To-Scale imagines Trump's wall as a 1,954-mile-long dinner table

Dining Table by No-To-Scale Studio

Rather than building a barrier, Malaysian design office No-To-Scale Studio proposed creating a 1,954 mile-long dining table. Comprising a slab of "continuous polished marble", the structure would squash typical associations with a border by instead inviting guests on either side to enjoy each other's company.

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The Prison Wall by Estudio 3.14

The Prison Wall by Estudio 3.14

Guadalajara-based Estudio 3.14 came up with The Prison Wall proposal in 2016, just after Trump announced his plans to bolster the border as part of his election campaign. The bold pink conceptual structure references the style of Mexican architect Luis Barragán to celebrate the Mexico's architectural heritage.

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IKEA Börder Wåll

IKEA Börder Wåll

Released by satirical news site The Postillon, this spoof of an IKEA flat-pack furniture kit offered a "practical, ready-made solution" to cheaply building the continuous barrier between the two countries.

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Teeter Totter wall by Rael San Fratello at US-Mexico border

Teeter Totter Wall by Rael San Fratello

Earlier this week, architectural studio Rael San Fratello installed three pink seesaws between the slatted steel barrier to allow for children and adults on either side to play together. The studio said the installation provided a visual representation of the idea that "actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side".

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Mar-A-Lago border wall prototype by New World Design

Mar-a-Lago by New World Design

New World Design opted for an alternative way to highlight the absurdity of Trump's proposal by starting a crowdfunding campaign to build a golden picket fence around the president's compound in Palm Beach, Florida.

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