Borders & boundaries
Description
Since the beginning of civilization people have fought over land, disputed what nation, tribe or political faction controls what river, mountain range, field or forest. Political borders and boundaries have long been plagued with conflict ranging from migration, immigration, ethnic or religious cleansing and war. We draw our maps with black lines dividing countries, states and provinces, often these lines following elements of the natural landscape such as rivers or mountains. This document will study one such case border conflict, the U.S-Mexico border region, in hopes to discover the potential for border conflicts to be resolved through the means of architecture. The Unites States Southern border with The United Mexican States, commonly referred to as the U.S and Mexico respectively, has been subject to much debate in American politics. It has been a heated debate calling into question; 1. Who should be allowed to cross? 2. How and when should they cross? 3. Should anyone be allowed to cross? Both implement strategies and proposed solutions to ease the tensions along the border have been simple minded and unable to properly address the issues facing the region. From closing the 2,000 mile border with walls and fencing, to opening the flood gates the range of ideas have failed to capitalize and propose investment in the region. Much of the border is impassable by foot or by car, rendering a man made barrier irrelevant and ease of transit difficult to accomplish. Erecting a wall or other physical barrier is not only expensive but fails to prevent any the issues it claims to solve. As declared in the opening statement this thesis will propose an infrastructural and architectural investment in the region. This investment will seek to create a prototypical example of how the border can be a cooperative and less combative region. The architectural project developed will attempt to establish replicable idea that can be used to revitalize sections of the border.