Ronald Rael

“Ronald Rael” by Noelle Chow, Daniella Lumkong, and Brian Tanabe

We had heard of Ronald Rael by his famous “Teeter-Totter Wall,” which uses the US-Mexico Border Wall to support a bright pink seesaw that requires a rider in both countries. Drawn in by his unique take on architecture as activism, we wanted to learn more about the philosophy that informs his design decisions. Our personal favorite aspect of our pop-up book is the interactive seesaw towards the end. We strived to demonstrate Rael’s purpose — to show that when one side moves, it affects the other. To move in harmony, both sides must work together.

Sources and Additional Reading:

“An architect’s subversive reimagining of the US-Mexico border wall,” TED. 2018. https://www.ted.com/talks/ronald_rael_an_architect_s_subversive_reimagining_of_the_us_mexico_border_wall?language=en

“Building a House the Eco-Friendly Way with 3D Printing | KQED Arts,” KQED Arts. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBFpV_1pewI

“Rael San Fratello.” https://www.rael-sanfratello.com/

“Ronald Rael,” UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design. https://ced.berkeley.edu/ced/faculty-staff/ronald-rael

“Ronald Rael,” UC Berkeley Research. https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/faculty/ronald-rael

“Borderwall as Architecture: A Manifesto for the U.S.-Mexico Boundary (Ahmanson-Murphy Fine Arts Imprint),” Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.com/Borderwall-Architecture-Manifesto-U-S-Mexico-Ahmanson-Murphy/dp/0520283945

“Why this artist used seesaws to protest at the border,” KQED. 2019. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/pink-seesaws-at-the-border-wall-showed-that-play-is-a-form-of-protest

“California professors install seesaws along U.S.-Mexico border wall,” NBC. 2019. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-professors-install-seesaws-along-u-s-mexico-border-wall-n1036056