UNBUILD THE WALL

The border wall as an existing vertical divisive plane is removed, and the highway submerged, allowing a visual continuance within the city.

The pedestrian axis. The area of the previous wall is widened and sunk below the city fabric, transformed into an occupiable linear channel below the level of the city accessible to inhabitants of both sides via passport required terminals. Entry and exit points on either side of the channel are staggered, to draw people past modulated programmatic arrays inserted into the walls of the channel. The city grid is part of the journey between one side and the other, but the rules here are yet to be fully written. Interspersed sidewalk cafes, restaurants, bodegas, art galleries and social services create a dynamic site as much destination as a pass through.

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The automobile axis. Car traffic is re-routed below the pedestrian channel. In a similar manner to the pedestrian axis, services are arrayed along either side of the border so that the waiting process to cross over becomes activated with info kiosks and drive throughs. Part linear truck stop, part duty free zone, the border’s existence as a place of cultural and financial exchange is heightened.

WHERE