Plenty of politicians and academic types have condemned the border wall Donald Trump wants to build between the US and Mexico as a folly.
But it’s hard to imagine any words carrying the weight of the massive and very pink barrier designed by a Mexican architectural firm to the exact specs of the Republican presidential nominee. The tongue-in-cheek project, which was created by Estudio 3.14, includes floor plans, maps and detailed computer drawings conceived and drafted by the company’s interns.
The stated goal: “allow the public to imagine the policy proposal in all of its gorgeous perversity.” It’s working, says Norberto Miranda, the firm’s spokesman, adding that they’ve received comments against Trump’s wall from across the world.
Here is how the Mexican designers addressed the most important items on Trump’s wish list.
“It will be beautiful”—check
Since Mexico is paying for the wall, it was only fair that the country make an aesthetic contribution as well, said Miranda. So in honor of renowned Mexican architect Luis Barragán, who is famous for his stark walls and use of bright colors, the imagined divider is pink.
“Impenetrable”—check
The pink wall will be solid and towering.
“It will have a beautiful door”—check
Improved vision
The design team also sought to improve on Trump’s ideas. For example, it addressed a question the candidate is yet to respond in detail: How is the US going to handle the 11 million people who are in the US illegally? Estudio 3.14’s answer is to integrate a prison within the wall where the undocumented immigrants can be held and processed.
Estudio 3.14 also has a clever solution to the thorny issue of getting Mexico to pay for the wall, which president Enrique Peña Nieto has already said his country will not do under any circumstance. The plan calls for a manufacturing plant within another wall section. Its profits would cover the project’s cost in 16 years, per the firm’s calculations.
Other extra features include a cross-border shopping mall, and an overlook from which Americans can enjoy the vista of the landscape they share with Mexico.
The designers envision the wall becoming so iconic, that it would replace the White House on the back of the $20 bill. That would probably beat even Trump’s grandiose dreams for his pet project.
Correction (Oct. 28): An earlier version of this story said the pink wall was inspired by architect Ricardo Legorreta, rather than Luis Barragán.