⁠Border Library and Public Park Agua Prieta, Sonora, 2023

The library is located adjacent to the border crossing between Agua Prieta and Douglas in the Sonoran Desert, through which nearly six thousand people pass daily. Previously, these individuals lacked a shaded area, a place to sit, or restrooms. The project connects the border crossing area to the city and transforms the border wall into a linear park that culminates in the Library at one end and a sports center at the other. This park stretches over a kilometer in length, with a brick pavement featuring various patterns. It alternates benches, vegetation, children’s play areas, a bike path, and small plazas at the ends of the streets to minimize the violent impact of the wall on nearby residential neighborhoods. This strip of land adjacent to the wall was once an abandoned backyard, and now it has been transformed into a play, sports, and recreation area that expands the possibilities for social interaction. The park literally enters the library and becomes a small shaded plaza, equipped with bleachers and restrooms, with a covered waiting area next to the border crossing to facilitate pedestrian crossings and access to transportation. The upper floor of the building houses a book area, workspaces, reading areas, a collection, and a computer center.