Through the construction of an immersive sensory
platform of an immigrant’s journey to the U.S. through the US-Mexico border, an
opportunity is created for immigrants to remember vividly silenced and
forgotten stories and for all to immerse themselves in the politically
contested experience that many divisive systems have construed to their own
benefit. By generating a shared experience of the crossing and by visually
sharing stories, this highly politicized experience is retold with
humanity--emphasizing goals, dreams, and necessities that drove immigrants to
endure the hardships of the environment at the US-Mexico border.
When the first border was proposed to the United States of Mexico, the final line of division was still being disputed within the United States of America. The line was drawn out of a desire to own all the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The desire for land was a desire for power, power that could help establish respect to a very young country. The respect was gained at the cost of others. Tribes divided, cultures ignored, and lives lost. Today, that line continues to erase the stories lived but never written.
The line is now a wall. A wall that claims the lives of those who dream of a better future, a better life. Yet, those who survive the pilgrimage are met with societal hardships sustained throughout their lives. Governmental rhetoric writes the stories of those who can’t and imposes its own power-driven agenda.
As architects, we can analyze the reality of constructed space and rewrite the stories told or untold. Architecture as a platform of storytelling provides the opportunity to not only validate the hardships of immigrant travelers but focus on their dreams, ambitions, and goals. This new story allows others to relate, sympathize, and reevaluate their perception of people who have never had the opportunity to introduce themselves.