The whole world is talking about borders. Whether or not globalization is to blame – border spaces and the politics of bordering dominate current political debates and have done so for quite a while, even before Donald Trump came along. Alexander Gutzmer, editorial manager of the monthly architecture magazine Der Baumeister wrote a book on the topic. He describes the different ways in which borders are reflected upon, mediatized, and instrumentalized in political ways, with the border between Mexico and the USA as prime example. He demonstrates that borders are not only misused for implementing subversive policies but also enable the creation of art with political relevance. Gutzmer will read from his book and in follow discuss his findings with Anja Koller, editor of the urban landscape magazine Topos. The recent issue of Topos is dedicated to the topic of borders, too.
Important Facts
Where: Architekturgalerie München im Bunker, Blumenstraße 22, 80331 Munich
When: 15 October 2018, 7 pm
The Mexican architecture office Estudio 3.14 created the ironic proposal “Prison Wall” for the American-Mexican border fortification. Regardless of the landscape and environment, a pink 3,144 kilometres long structure stretches along the boundary. The gigantic proposal should reveal the absurdity of Donald Trump’s plan.
More than a Wall
The parameters of the design were given by Trump himself, who said that the future wall should have a height of at least 50 feet (more than 15 metres) and should have an appealing appearance. The proposal of Estudio 3.14 bases upon the work of the well-respected Mexican architect Luis Barragán, who often worked with pink fair faced concrete. But the Wall is far more than just a fortification, it’s a giant building, which also acts as a prison. The approximately 11 million Mexicans, who currently live in the U.S. without residence permit, should be jailed there. On the north side, the building houses shopping malls and an access to a wall deck, from where Americans can overlook the separated territory of Mexico. Surely, the estimated 8 billion dollars won’t be enough for this proposal, but experts expect an expense of 20 to 30 billion dollars anyway.
Proposal with a Mission
Estudio 3.14 developed this ironic proposal to show the dimensions of such border fortification and to show the negative impact on the environment. The features of the building express the political resistance against the plans of Donald Trump. Also, with this statement, the Mexican architects wanted to be part of a national debate about an architectural topic and they tried to explore potentials and constraints of the discussion.
