Swings installed on the border between Mexico and the United States, late July 2019. -
Christian Torres / AP / SIPA
Swings installed on both sides of the border separating the United States from Mexico have just won the design of the year award from the Design Museum in London (United Kingdom).
70 other competitors were in the running, reports
The Guardian
, relayed by
The Huff Post.
These rocking boards were installed in the summer of 2019 in the Anapra area, near the Mexican city of Ciudad Juárez and the US city of El Paso, New Mexico.
They allow children from both countries to play together despite the wall that separates them.
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A playful and political work
They were designed by Ronald Rael, a professor of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley, and his wife, Virginia San Fratello, associate professor of design at San José State University.
Through this work, the couple wanted to encourage people to favor dialogue over division.
The two spouses chose to paint the swings in pink to pay homage to the Mexicans murdered in the city of Ciudad Juárez.
They were also inspired by political cartoonists.
A timely award
The two teachers had imagined a "rocking wall" in 2009, well before Donald Trump decided to continue the construction of the wall launched under the George W. Bush administration.
But the fact that he was awarded a prestigious prize just before the billionaire's departure from the White House is highly symbolic.
"It is increasingly clear that in view of recent events in our country, we must no longer build walls, but rather bridges," Virginia San Fratello told the
Guardian
.
"The walls do not prevent people from entering our Capitol, nor the virus from moving," she then slipped.
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