Borderland Architecture: Translating and Building Skills at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Abstract

The Borderlands of the United States and Mexico are a unique area primed by two cultures on opposing sides of the Rio Grande River. This region of cultural exchange and ambiguity along the border is referred to as Mestizo and Chicano, varying wildly from static border fencing rooted in the defensive infrastructure of warfare that lines the western borderlands. Today, approximately twenty percent of the U.S. construction industry consists of unofficial migrant workers. Many laborers and their families face extensive barriers to gaining personal capital. In addition to labor exploitation, many of these laborers lack formal training. Border towns in the Rio Grande Valley region rank low in U.S. educational attainment statistics, especially for those ages 18 to 64. Therefore, by speculating the potential for the border to be a place for educational access and exchange, the border expands its scope from primarily transferring people, culture, and capital to transferring knowledge. A learning hub in McAllen, TX, aims to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and community empowerment. By offers a non-traditional approach to U.S. immigration, the hub uses education to mediate the complexities of labor, migration, and building techniques in the Borderland. Through construction and architectural collaboration through pedagogy, the learning center creates a space for binational collaboration to prepare migrants for societal integration. To prompt this, one may question what the regions migrant workforce training development look like if the Secure Fence Act of 2006 was not passed? The model speculates diverse spatial programming and outside resources to address the needs of a rapidly evolving community, particularly in border cities like McAllen and Reynosa, with high net migration. By using materials and building techniques of the region, the training center cultivates a culture of stewardship for building management and cultural retention. By designing a space for skill development, safety training, industrial research, and societal integration, the center aims to improve the quality of life for immigrant and local populations at the border. This proposal can transform industrialization’s impact on border towns in Mexico and the U.S. The proposal advocates for a new building configuration that bridges the gap between academia and labor, enhancing interdisciplinarity.