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Related: About this forumPink seesaws across US-Mexico border named Design of the Year 2020
Creators say they hope the work encourages people to build bridges between communities
Lanre Bakare
@lanre_bakare
Mon 18 Jan 2021 19.01 EST
American and Mexican families enjoying the Teeter Totter Wall, which crosses the Mexican border with US, in 2019. Photograph: Luis Torres/AFP/Getty Images
A collection of bright pink seesaws that allowed people to interact over the US-Mexico border has won the prestigious Design of the Year award, with its creators saying they hoped the work encourages people to build bridges between communities.
The Teeter Totter Wall, which bridged across El Paso in Texas and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico during a 40-minute session, was described as not only feeling symbolically important but also highlighting the possibility of things by the judging panel.
The creators of the seesaws, Ronald Rael, a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and Virginia San Fratello, an associate professor of design at San José State University, first came up with the idea a decade ago after the Secure Fence Act 2006, which started large-scale building on the border.
They said they hoped the design would help people reassess the effectiveness of borders and encourage dialogue rather than division. San Fratello said: I think its become increasingly clear with the recent events in our country that we dont need to build walls we need to build bridges.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jan/19/pink-seesaws-across-us-mexico-border-named-design-of-the-year-2020
Laelth
(32,017 posts)-Laelth
Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)Deuxcents
(16,226 posts)To turn lemons into lemonade. Now...tear down the wall..recycle the materials n build something for the betterment of these border communities.
Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)Let's hope it all comes back down much sooner than anyone expected.
sheshe2
(83,773 posts)Thank you so much for this uplifting post.
Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)mobeau69
(11,145 posts)in their construction.
Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)ret5hd
(20,491 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,542 posts)They could handle traffic going both ways!
They would be rich, I tall ya, rich!
They are so great. Especially enjoyable, the Very Relaxed Flip, and the Dolphin Flip.
It was an auspicious day when one or more of them had the idea of trying teeter-totters big time.
If the wall is completed, these guys will have lifetime employment! Can probably name their own salaries.
Why should people waste their time with tunnels? So slow!