Seesaw through US/Mexico border wall wins design award

A seesaw installation through the US/Mexico border wall has won a design award from London's Design Museum.

Designed by architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, the "Teeter-Totter Wall" is an interactive installation that consists of three see-saws (or teeter-totters, depending on where you're from).

As the installation cut through the border wall, it enabled children from Anapra community in Juarez in Mexico and those in El Paso in Texas to play together.

Rael wrote on Instagram that the whole event was "filled with joy, excitement, and togetherness at the border wall."

Watch the Teeter-Totter Wall in action below: 

As per the BBC, Tim Marlow, the chief executive and director of the Design Museum, said: "The Teeter-Totter Wall encouraged new ways of human connection."

The see-saw was created to show that the two countries are actually quite similar, despite the wall that divides them, which is why it was declared the winner of the 2020 Beazley Design of the Year.

Speaking to CNN in 2019, Rael said: "What you do on one side has an impact on the other, and that's what a seesaw is. It remains an inventive and poignant reminder of how human beings can transcend the forces that seek to divide us."

The see-saw was in existence at the border wall for just 20 minutes, but this was long enough for some children to have fun on it and for its message to be put across.

The Beasley prize is available in architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, and product.

The medical illustrators behind the 3D rendering of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that's appeared in the news throughout the world this year also won an award.

The two designers behind it were Alissa Eckert and Dan Higgins, both of whom work for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, the Impossible Burger 2.0, which has been described as juicier and tastier than its predecessor, also won an award.

Per CNN, Assistant curator Maria McLintock said of the win: "Designs of the Year this year feels more pertinent than ever.

"From designs that create a kinder and healthier world, to those calling out and critiquing systems of oppression, we hope it serves as a time capsule of a shifting world."