Border Boletín: A fresh idea for the border wall

March 30, 2011 10:54 am • Brady McCombs

University of California at Berkeley professor Ronald Rael envisions a multi-purpose border wall that would feature a place where people from both countries could eat together

A border wall that features a library, burrito stand, rainwater filtration system and a solar farm? That's the idea of one Cal-Berkeley professor.

Ronald Rael, an assistant professor of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley, envisions a multi-purpose wall that brings the two cultures together rather than dividing them.

Here is a summary of his ideas:

• Architect envisions border wall as good neighbor

Here are links to the architectural drawings of the proposal:

• Drawings of the multi-purpose border wall

And there is a YouTube video above where you can listen to Rael explaining his ideas.

I don't expect the Department of Homeland Security to be giving him a contract anytime soon but the ideas and drawings are thought-provoking considering the border wall has become such a symbol of the massive border buildup of the last decade-plus.