A multi-disciplinary, international inquiry into our collective relationships with the river, “Riverscaping: Alles am Fluss: Rethinking Art, Environment and Community” was an 18-month series of events funded by the Five College consortium and the American Delegation of the European Union. One of the culminating events was an international design-build competition.

Caryn’s UMass Amherst Design III Studio competed in design-build competition, which asked designers for proposals at two scales: the regional scale of the Connecticut River Valley and the intimate scale of the river. This second component to the design challenge asked entrants to define, improve, enhance and/or transform one of our four pre-selected sites through a small-scale creative or scientific installation. The studio made proposals for a site in the town of Hadley, which sits along a dike protecting agricultural lands and the town common.

Student Laura Brooks won the design build competition with an installation that raised spectators to a viewing elevation and then carefully framed select views of the river. The project was constructed as part of a summer collaboration between UMass Amherst and Yestermorrow Design | Build School.