Donald Trump has promised that if he becomes President of the United States, he’ll build a “beautiful and impenetrable” wall and force Mexico to pay for it – so a group of Mexican architects have taken on the task of designing it for him, too. The firm Estudio 3.14 has envisioned the “gorgeous perversity” of the proposal in a vibrant shade of neon pink, a solid architectural ribbon running from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and packed full of prisons.

“I will build a great wall – and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me – and I’ll build them very inexpensively,” Trump said during his candidacy announcement speech in June 2015. “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”

Estudio 3.14 presents a series of renderings of the structure in the various types of border landscapes one finds along that 1,954-mile stretch. The wall is painted pink in honor of Pritzker Prize-winning Mexican architect Luis Barragán. To understand exactly what the architects are getting at with this project, it’s best to hear it described in their own words.

“Based on Trump’s statements, the economic, ecological and financial aspects have been called into question. However, he continues with his verbal plan. As architects and designers, we have the capacity to imagine and interpret what Trump is saying, and we are convinced that if we can make people see it, they can assess his words and the perversity in his proposal.”

“Because the wall has to be beautiful, it has been inspired in by Luis Barragán’s pink walls that are emblematic of Mexico. It also takes advantage of the tradition in architecture of megalomaniac wall building. Moreover, the wall is not only a wall – as you can see in the hill landscape cross-section it is a prison where 11 million undocumented people will be processed, classified, indoctrinated, and/or deported.”

“The relation between the discipline of architecture and political perversity and/or megalomania has already been seen through previous characters such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, who relied on the imaginative architects of their words and the creators, who materialized their macabre ideas. The proposal is made from the disciplinary field that has worked, since the existence of humanity, for the status quo and benefits from this tradition.”

As far as transportation goes, we have not yet seen any truly innovative changes in our lifetimes. Sure, new types of cars and faster trains pop up every year, but where are the big changes that make us gasp and stare? The Passing Cloud concept might be just that innovation. It is a wanderer’s dream: its course and speed are determined by the winds, and there is no telling where passengers may end up.

(all images via: Dezeen)

The concept was dreamed up by architect Tiago Barros and entered in a design competition that called for high speed rail concepts. Needless to say, this design was so far from the specifications that it did not earn a prize – but it is remarkable anyway.

Passengers would board the “cloud” using ladders, then simply relax as the lighter-than-air structure floats to its next destination. There would presumably be some sort of safety rail feature to keep passengers from falling off like human-size raindrops.

The nylon balloon would sport an interior structure of steel, much like an old-time zeppelin. The designer doesn’t explain how the contraption would work with no navigation system or thrusters (other than the wind), but the concept is not meant to be a serious proposal for a future transport system.

It is, rather, a flight of fancy – a whimsical vision of what might be possible in a different world. Nearly everyone has dreamed of floating around on a lazy cloud from time to time. This concept lets us recall those fun daydreams and consider again how wonderful it would feel to simply float around on a gentle breeze.