TED Salon: Belonging
Ronald Rael: An architect's subversive reimagining of the US-Mexico border wall
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What is a border? It's a line on a map, a place where cultures mix and merge in beautiful, sometimes violent and occasionally ridiculous ways. And a border wall? An overly simplistic response to that complexity, says architect Ronald Rael. In a moving, visual talk, Rael reimagines the physical barrier that divides the United States and Mexico -- sharing satirical, serious works of art inspired by the borderlands and showing us the border we don't see in the news. "There are not two sides defined by a wall. This is one landscape, divided," Rael says.
Ronald Rael - Architect
Ronald Rael draws, builds, writes, 3D-prints and teaches about architecture as a cultural endeavor deeply influenced by a unique upbringing in a desolate alpine valley in southern Colorado. Full bio
Ronald Rael draws, builds, writes, 3D-prints and teaches about architecture as a cultural endeavor deeply influenced by a unique upbringing in a desolate alpine valley in southern Colorado. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Isn't it fascinating how the simple act
of drawing a line on the map
of drawing a line on the map
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can transform the way we see
and experience the world?
and experience the world?
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And how those spaces
in between lines, borders,
in between lines, borders,
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become places.
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They become places
where language and food and music
where language and food and music
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and people of different cultures
rub up against each other
rub up against each other
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in beautiful and sometimes violent
and occasionally really ridiculous ways.
and occasionally really ridiculous ways.
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And those lines drawn on a map
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can actually create
scars in the landscape,
scars in the landscape,
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and they can create scars in our memories.
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My interest in borders came about
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when I was searching
for an architecture of the borderlands.
for an architecture of the borderlands.
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And I was working on several projects
along the US-Mexico border,
along the US-Mexico border,
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designing buildings made out of mud
taken right from the ground.
taken right from the ground.
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And I also work on projects that you
might say immigrated to this landscape.
might say immigrated to this landscape.
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"Prada Marfa," a land-art sculpture
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that crosses the border
between art and architecture,
between art and architecture,
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and it demonstrated to me
that architecture could communicate ideas
that architecture could communicate ideas
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that are much more
politically and culturally complex,
politically and culturally complex,
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that architecture could be satirical
and serious at the same time
and serious at the same time
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and it could speak to the disparities
between wealth and poverty
between wealth and poverty
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and what's local and what's foreign.
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And so in my search
for an architecture of the borderlands,
for an architecture of the borderlands,
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I began to wonder,
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is the wall architecture?
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I began to document my thoughts
and visits to the wall
and visits to the wall
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by creating a series of souvenirs
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to remind us of the time
when we built a wall
when we built a wall
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and what a crazy idea that was.
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I created border games,
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(Laughter)
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postcards,
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snow globes with little architectural
models inside of them,
models inside of them,
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and maps that told the story
of resilience at the wall
of resilience at the wall
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and sought for ways that design
could bring to light the problems
could bring to light the problems
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that the border wall was creating.
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So, is the wall architecture?
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Well, it certainly is a design structure,
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and it's designed at a research
facility called FenceLab,
facility called FenceLab,
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where they would load vehicles
with 10,000 pounds
with 10,000 pounds
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and ram them into the wall
at 40 miles an hour
at 40 miles an hour
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to test the wall's impermeability.
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But there was also counter-research
going on on the other side,
going on on the other side,
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the design of portable drawbridges
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that you could bring right up to the wall
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and allow vehicles to drive right over.
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(Laughter)
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And like with all research projects,
there are successes
there are successes
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and there are failures.
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(Laughter)
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But it's these medieval
reactions to the wall --
reactions to the wall --
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drawbridges, for example --
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that are because the wall itself is
an arcane, medieval form of architecture.
an arcane, medieval form of architecture.
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It's an overly simplistic response
to a complex set of issues.
to a complex set of issues.
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And a number of medieval technologies
have sprung up along the wall:
have sprung up along the wall:
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catapults that launch
bales of marijuana over the wall
bales of marijuana over the wall
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(Laughter)
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or cannons that shoot packets
of cocaine and heroin over the wall.
of cocaine and heroin over the wall.
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Now during medieval times,
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diseased, dead bodies
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were sometimes catapulted over walls
as an early form of biological warfare,
as an early form of biological warfare,
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and it's speculated that today,
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humans are being propelled over the wall
as a form of immigration.
as a form of immigration.
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A ridiculous idea.
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But the only person ever known to be
documented to have launched over the wall
documented to have launched over the wall
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from Mexico to the United States
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was in fact a US citizen,
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who was given permission
to human-cannonball over the wall,
to human-cannonball over the wall,
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200 feet,
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so long as he carried his passport in hand
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(Laughter)
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and he landed safely in a net
on the other side.
on the other side.
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And my thoughts are inspired
by a quote by the architect Hassan Fathy,
by a quote by the architect Hassan Fathy,
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who said,
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"Architects do not design walls,
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but the spaces between them."
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So while I do not think that architects
should be designing walls,
should be designing walls,
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I do think it's important and urgent
that they should be paying attention
that they should be paying attention
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to those spaces in between.
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They should be designing for the places
and the people, the landscapes
and the people, the landscapes
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that the wall endangers.
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Now, people are already
rising to this occasion,
rising to this occasion,
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and while the purpose of the wall
is to keep people apart and away,
is to keep people apart and away,
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it's actually bringing people together
in some really remarkable ways,
in some really remarkable ways,
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holding social events like
binational yoga classes along the border,
binational yoga classes along the border,
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to bring people together
across the divide.
across the divide.
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I call this the monument pose.
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(Laughter)
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And have you ever heard of "wall y ball"?
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(Laughter)
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It's a borderland version of volleyball,
and it's been played since 1979
and it's been played since 1979
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(Laughter)
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along the US-Mexico border
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to celebrate binational heritage.
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And it raises some
interesting questions, right?
interesting questions, right?
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Is such a game even legal?
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Does hitting a ball back and forth
over the wall constitute illegal trade?
over the wall constitute illegal trade?
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(Laughter)
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The beauty of volleyball
is that it transforms the wall
is that it transforms the wall
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into nothing more than a line in the sand
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negotiated by the minds and bodies
and spirits of players on both sides.
and spirits of players on both sides.
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And I think it's exactly
these kinds of two-sided negotiations
these kinds of two-sided negotiations
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that are needed to bring down
walls that divide.
walls that divide.
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Now, throwing the ball
over the wall is one thing,
over the wall is one thing,
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but throwing rocks over the wall
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has caused damage
to Border Patrol vehicles
to Border Patrol vehicles
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and have injured Border Patrol agents,
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and the response from the US side
has been drastic.
has been drastic.
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Border Patrol agents
have fired through the wall,
have fired through the wall,
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killing people throwing rocks
on the Mexican side.
on the Mexican side.
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And another response
by Border Patrol agents
by Border Patrol agents
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is to erect baseball backstops
to protect themselves and their vehicles.
to protect themselves and their vehicles.
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And these backstops
became a permanent feature
became a permanent feature
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in the construction of new walls.
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And I began to wonder if, like volleyball,
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maybe baseball should be
a permanent feature at the border,
a permanent feature at the border,
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and walls could start opening up,
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allowing communities
to come across and play,
to come across and play,
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and if they hit a home run,
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maybe a Border Patrol agent would
pick up the ball and throw it
pick up the ball and throw it
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back over to the other side.
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A Border Patrol agent buys
a raspado, a frozen treat,
a raspado, a frozen treat,
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from a vendor just a couple feet away,
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food and money is exchanged
through the wall,
through the wall,
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an entirely normal event
made illegal by that line drawn on a map
made illegal by that line drawn on a map
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and a couple millimeters of steel.
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And this scene reminded me of a saying:
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"If you have more than you need,
you should build longer tables
you should build longer tables
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and not higher walls."
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So I created this souvenir to remember
the moment that we could share
the moment that we could share
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food and conversation across the divide.
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A swing allows one to enter
and swing over to the other side
and swing over to the other side
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until gravity deports them back
to their own country.
to their own country.
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The border and the border wall
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is thought of as a sort of
political theater today,
political theater today,
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so perhaps we should invite
audiences to that theater,
audiences to that theater,
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to a binational theater
where people can come together
where people can come together
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with performers, musicians.
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Maybe the wall is nothing more
than an enormous instrument,
than an enormous instrument,
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the world's largest xylophone,
and we could play down this wall
and we could play down this wall
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with weapons of mass percussion.
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(Laughter)
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When I envisioned this binational library,
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I wanted to imagine a space
where one could share
where one could share
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books and information
and knowledge across a divide,
and knowledge across a divide,
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where the wall was nothing more
than a bookshelf.
than a bookshelf.
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And perhaps the best way to illustrate
the mutual relationship that we have
the mutual relationship that we have
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with Mexico and the United States
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is by imagining a teeter-totter,
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where the actions on one side
had a direct consequence
had a direct consequence
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on what happens on the other side,
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because you see, the border itself
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is both a symbolic and literal fulcrum
for US-Mexico relations,
for US-Mexico relations,
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and building walls between neighbors
severs those relationships.
severs those relationships.
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You probably remember this quote,
"Good fences make good neighbors."
"Good fences make good neighbors."
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It's often thought of as the moral
of Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall."
of Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall."
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But the poem is really about questioning
the need for building walls at all.
the need for building walls at all.
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It's really a poem about mending
human relationships.
human relationships.
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My favorite line is the first one:
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"Something there is
that doesn't love a wall."
that doesn't love a wall."
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Because if there's one thing
that's clear to me --
that's clear to me --
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there are not two sides defined by a wall.
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This is one landscape, divided.
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On one side, it might look like this.
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A man is mowing his lawn
while the wall is looming in his backyard.
while the wall is looming in his backyard.
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And on the other side,
it might look like this.
it might look like this.
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The wall is the fourth wall
of someone's house.
of someone's house.
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But the reality is that the wall
is cutting through people's lives.
is cutting through people's lives.
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It is cutting through
our private property,
our private property,
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our public lands,
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our Native American lands, our cities,
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a university,
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our neighborhoods.
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And I couldn't help but wonder
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what it would be like if the wall
cut through a house.
cut through a house.
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Remember those disparities
between wealth and poverty?
between wealth and poverty?
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On the right is the average size
of a house in El Paso, Texas,
of a house in El Paso, Texas,
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and on the left is the average size
of a house in Juarez.
of a house in Juarez.
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And here, the wall cuts directly
through the kitchen table.
through the kitchen table.
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And here, the wall cuts through
the bed in the bedroom.
the bed in the bedroom.
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Because I wanted to communicate
how the wall is not only dividing places,
how the wall is not only dividing places,
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it's dividing people,
it's dividing families.
it's dividing families.
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And the unfortunate politics of the wall
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is today, it is dividing children
from their parents.
from their parents.
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You might be familiar
with this well-known traffic sign.
with this well-known traffic sign.
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It was designed
by graphic designer John Hood,
by graphic designer John Hood,
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a Native American war veteran
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working for the California
Department of Transportation.
Department of Transportation.
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And he was tasked with creating
a sign to warn motorists
a sign to warn motorists
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of immigrants who were stranded
alongside the highway
alongside the highway
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and who might attempt
to run across the road.
to run across the road.
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Hood related the plight
of the immigrant today
of the immigrant today
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to that of the Navajo
during the Long Walk.
during the Long Walk.
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And this is really a brilliant piece
of design activism.
of design activism.
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And he was very careful
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in thinking about using
a little girl with pigtails, for example,
a little girl with pigtails, for example,
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because he thought that's who motorists
might empathize with the most,
might empathize with the most,
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and he used the silhouette
of the civil rights leader Cesar Chavez
of the civil rights leader Cesar Chavez
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to create the head of the father.
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I wanted to build upon
the brilliance of this sign
the brilliance of this sign
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to call attention to the problem
of child separation at the border,
of child separation at the border,
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and I made one very simple move.
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I turned the families to face each other.
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And in the last few weeks,
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I've had the opportunity
to bring that sign back to the highway
to bring that sign back to the highway
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to tell a story,
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the story of the relationships
that we should be mending
that we should be mending
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and a reminder that we should be designing
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a reunited states
and not a divided states.
and not a divided states.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ronald Rael - ArchitectRonald Rael draws, builds, writes, 3D-prints and teaches about architecture as a cultural endeavor deeply influenced by a unique upbringing in a desolate alpine valley in southern Colorado.
Why you should listen
As the San Francisco Chronicle writes, "[Ronald Rael's] imagination is audacious. He speculates on the implications of a border wall, building with mud and using 3D printers to create buildings -- as seen in his books Borderwall as Architecture, Earth Architecture and Printing Architecture, with his partner, architect and educator Virginia San Fratello.
Rael is a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley and is a founding partner of the Oakland based Make-Tank, Emerging Objects. You can see his drawings, models and objects in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Ronald Rael | Speaker | TED.com