Trend Watch August 2019

Joy Through The Wall – Pink Seesaws Connect US-Mexico Communities:

Architectural studio Rael San Fratello has installed three pink seesaws, or teetertotters, between the metal slats of the US-Mexico border wall, so people on either side can play together.

Ronald Rael, who runs Rael San Fratello with architect Virginia San Fratello, posted images and videos of the installation on Instagram.

The equipment was installed between El Paso in Texas and Ciudad Juárez in Mexico, in an opening event of “joy, excitement, and togetherness” says Rael.

It has been one of the “most incredible experiences” of the duo’s careers, he writes in the post.

“The wall became a literal fulcrum for US-Mexico relations and children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side,” he says.

Rael, an architecture professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and San Fratello, an associate professor of design at San José State University, produced the installation with Taller Herrería, a workshop in Ciudad Juárez.

The studio first came up with the idea for the seesaw, named the Teeter Totter Wall, in 2009. Read more on Dezeen.

How Cities are Redesigning to Deal with Heat:

As cities get hotter, there are several ways to prepare for extreme conditions, from changes in infrastructure – like solar and battery ‘microgrids’ that can keep air conditioning on at cooling centres if the heat takes the grid down—to shifts to different cooling technology, like geothermal power, writes Adele Peters for Fast Company.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is number one priority, she writes. In the meantime three simple and helpful solutions are already being trialled by cities around the world.

• Covering cities and building with trees. Melbourne, Milan, Dallas and Madrid are mapping their canopies and planning to plant more trees, or cover balconies and rooftops with greenery.

• Coating streets and roofs with white, reflective finish. New York City has coated more than 10 million square feet. Tokyo and LA are also taking this approach.

• Designing buildings to stay cool without air conditioning. Using automatic shades and windows, for example, and materials like concrete can be cooled in advance of a heat wave.

More detail in ‘Cities are getting hotter, but we can redesign them to keep us cool.’

Photo: Proposed integrated design by Perkins and Will of green-blue urban streetscape at the Churchill Technology and Business Park in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Photo: Perkins and Will.