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Creating a Hopeful Wall
How do you create a wall of hope—that is meant to uplift the pride, aspiration and dreams of the Mexican people? What is the difference between a wall that is architecturally beautiful, useful and invisible and one that is architecturally oppressive? These are the questions architecture graduate student Maria Guerra is trying to answer in her master’s thesis: The Third Wall. With the increase of illegal border crossings from Mexico to the U.S., Guerra wants to find a lawful, peaceful way to experience the wall. “On my last trip to Tijuana, I saw the two walls that separate the U.S. from Mexico. There is a sense of paranoia with the multiple surveillance cameras and border patrolmen with police dogs on the lookout as though expecting an attack by its neighboring country and thus making me feel anxious.” After researching the surface conditions of Tijuana at the San Ysidro Border Crossing, there appeared to be a lack of pedestrian oriented and inviting spaces. Being the world’s busiest border crossing, the chaos of vehicles, sound, and surveillance led Maria to consider the underground as a place of quiet, protection and hope. She also looked into the history of ancient Mexican cultures such as the Mayan and Aztec. “Both believed the underworld and earth to be sacred. The Mayans built stone temples in underground caves as a path to a mythical underworld known as Xibalba while the Aztecs used the underground for burial temples of their emperors and where sacred artifacts were stored.” Guerra became inspired to do something of a similar nature, designing a sacred wall underground that parallels the existing U.S. wall. While the U.S. wall is about paranoia, separation, desolation, the proposed third wall will be a celebration of life, light, color, fragrance, and engagement hosting a library, a library which offers the Mexican people with spaces of hope and knowledge. Through education people can find better opportunities in their community, essentially leading them to a more prosperous life. The underground structure would serve as a destination of empowerment to those who would traditionally make the dangerous and illegal journey across the border through the desert and river. This is a project that hits home for Guerra, whose family emigrated from Mexico when she was 5 to make a better life for themselves. “My family lived in poverty in Mexico and my father looked to the American dream as a way out,” she said. “I am the first person in my family to go to college, so in a way, my dad succeeded and reached that goal through his children. I think that makes him love this country even more.” Having spent summers interning at Miller Hull in Seattle and MJ Neil Associates in Wenatchee, Guerra and her husband Alejandro Guerra are considering moving to either city after her graduation in December. “Wherever I go, I want to make my family and my community proud,” said Guerra. “Being a female minority pushes me to work even harder and even though I have encountered some racism – those words make me stronger. I’ve worked hard to reach my dream.”
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