Archinect - News

New border wall commences in South Texas despite landowner resistance

2019-10-25T12:36:00-04:00

...construction workers on Wednesday began building the first new border wall in South Texas just south of the town of Donna...it will connect to an existing border wall that was built in 2008 under the 2006 Secure Fence Act. On Sept. 29, CBP in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract to Gibraltar-Caddell Joint Venture for up to $296 million to build 22 miles of noncontiguous border wall starting east of Santa Ana.

The new construction has prompted concern from locals in the area, as the work has begun on private land.

According to Border Report, "many other landowners in the region have so far refused CBP access to survey their lands, and have not sold their properties for wall construction."

Border wall construction begins in Arizona

2019-09-16T13:31:00-04:00

The president and his administration said last week that they plan on building between 450 and 500 miles of fencing along the nearly 2,000-mile border by the end of 2020, an ambitious undertaking funded by billions of defense dollars that had been earmarked for things like military base schools, target ranges and maintenance facilities.

The construction has commenced in Yuma, Arizona, where the 30-foot-tall fencing will replace existing shorter barriers. "The Trump administration says the wall—along with more surveillance technology, agents and lighting—is key to keeping out people who cross illegally," reports The Columbian. The administration has come under fire in recent weeks for redirecting funding previously allocated for other military projects toward the construction of the wall.

Architects continue to speak out against border security construction projects

2019-08-15T18:00:00-04:00

The Architecture Lobby, a national group that organizes and advocates on issues related to the profession, published a call for design professionals to sign a public pledge condemning “all policies that use the built environment as an instrument of torture and oppression” and refusing to work on any project—be it an ICE office, a detention facility, or a wall—related to the Trump administration’s policies on immigration.

After the devastating and inhumane conditions detained individuals at the border have experienced in recent few years, groups of architects and organizers are increasingly speaking up against design projects relating to border control. As Fast Company's Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan points out, "someone designed each of these spaces, of course."

Since May, over 52,000 people have been detained at these border control sites, and close to 1,000 children have been separated from their families, according to the article. Ethical practices between architects and large firms vary, unfortunately. Border security has grown to be a highly lucrative market. However, several members of the design community are taking a stand to boycott any projects involved with the Trump administration's plans for detainment centers.

In July, The American Institute for Architects (AIA) issued a statement discussing the buildings at the border. Since their statement was published, many members of the architectur...

Rhetoric aside, border wall length remains unchanged

2019-07-23T14:02:00-04:00

The Trump administration has not installed a single mile of new wall in a previously fenceless part of the U.S.-Mexico border in the 30 months since President Trump assumed office, despite his campaign promise to construct a “big beautiful wall.”

According to The Washington Examiner, while the Trump administration has replaced over 51-miles of existing border wall fencing, the administration has not actually added any new lengths of wall along the US-Mexico border.

In President Donald Trump's two years in office, the administration, according to a report from the department of Customs and Border Patrol, has installed an average 1.7-miles of barrier per month, none of it in areas that did not previously have a barrier already installed, The Washington Examiner reports.

One reason? Environmental approvals and reviews are more stringent along areas that have yet to receive wall segments.

Border Wall submissions are in, including proposals with solar panels, tourist destinations, nuclear waste storage, art, and a shared "co-nation"

2017-04-05T19:29:00-04:00

The government won't identify companies until contracts are awarded around June 1 — and even then, only the winners — but some bidders released plans on their own

Although many political agendas have trickled into the realm of design, the border wall continues to be a hot topic for architects. Since the inception of this project, social media has highlighted the "We Won't Build Your Wall" campaign, which has been prevalent at a number of architectural schools in the U.S. and overseas. This campaign did not stop the U.S. government from soliciting ideas and proposals from contractors which were due Tuesday. The request for proposals (RFPs) deadline for the U.S.-Mexico border wall are in, and the Associated Press points out that companies will not be revealed until an award is given. However, some proposals have been released by the bidders themselves.

The sample list presented in the article give variations on the future wall with some employing different traits such as using art, renewable energy resources, novelty architecture, and nuclear waste storage.

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SOLAR PANELS

Gleason Partners LLC of Las Vegas proposes solar panels to cover sections...

A world divided: mapping border fences globally

2015-09-17T13:31:00-04:00

Europe will soon have more physical barriers on its national borders than it did during the Cold War. This year’s refugee crisis, combined with Ukraine's ongoing conflict with Russia, has seen governments plan and construct border walls and security fences across Mediterranean and eastern Europe... Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, 40 countries around the world have built fences against 64 of their neighbours.

The Economist takes a look at the world's borders, (mostly) new and old. Of the 40 countries that have built physical border walls since the fall of the Berlin Wall, 30 of those happened after 9/11, and 15 this year alone. Check it out the interactive graphic here.

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