riverscaping. alles am fluss

international and northeastern US public realm public art/design-build competition

The objective of this competition is to uncover new public realm art, architectural and environmental approaches to riverscapes at two scales: regional and intimate. Each designer/artist/team will produce an overall strategy for connecting and relating the four defined sites (and those between) while paying attention to the unique and individual characteristics of each community through site specific work. At its core, the competition asks three main questions of its designers/artists/teams: 

• What models from Hamburg could be applied to our region to assist us in envisioning inventive and progressive solutions to ongoing issues common to post-industrial cities? 

• How can we utilize the river as the catalyst for awareness, change and growth within a region considering the following areas: economy, politics, environment, community, agriculture, transportation, public space, art, recreation, mapping, graphics?

• How can small-scale, local river art/environmental installations have a lasting effect on a community and its collective visions of the future? 

We have identified four primary issues that face both of our regions:  Environment; Diversity and Connection; Creative Economies; Collective History and Education. Each submission must identify and uitilze at least one of these frames for their entry. 

Entrants will design and present an approach to addressing this (above selected) issue using art, science, planning or other inventive means first at a regional scale. Then, focusing on one site (of your choice), designers/artists/teams will design a small-scale artistic/architectural/scientific installation to be placed along the river addressing the topic of choice and site specific issues. 

Site committees have been formed for each location to provide a specific site criteria, provide additional information and Question/Answer period and to represent their community as judges on the competition. These committees are made up of a cross-section of members of the community from citizens to planners to organizers.  

Release date: September 12, 2011

Deadline: December 10, 2011

Eligibility: 

Experimental Honors Planning Design Award: This $2000 competition is open to designers/artists/teams internationally. 

Design-Build Awards: open to designers/artists/teams from the northeast region of the USA: CT, MA, NH, VT, ME, NY, NJ, RI. Four $7500 awards.

Presented by Five Colleges Inc. and the Five College Architectural Studies Program

Funded by the Delegation of the European Union, Five Colleges Inc., Hampshire College, University of Massachusetts Amherst Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning

Consultant: Urban Arts Institute at Massachusetts College of Art and Design