Mansfield Whitewater Partnership Willimantic CT

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As a team of artists, landscape architects and energy experts - all with a deep local sensibility and critical expertise - we tapped into the existing sectors within the Mansfield community - artists, craftspeople, technical and construction experts, families, public servants, and interested citizens-- to gauge their attitudes toward the site, their sustainability values, and their reactions to the concepts considered. The voices of the Willimantic community had a strong presence in this design proposal. Open space is often misunderstood. But where it triumphs, it's because the community recognizes, defends and proves its viability.

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The proposed Phase 1, the Solar Boombox artwork, celebrates the vitality, multiculturalism and fun the park embodies as a hub of community energy. Numerous options exist for how interactive the audio content might be for the public.

 

Phase 2 of the design concept is envisioned as a build-out for the Whitewater Park. The plan incorporates elements that integrate and support the conceptual themes of waves, sound, movement, energy and community.

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In this invitation-only competition, hosted by the Land Art Generator Initiative, the primary focus of our vision was the needs of and provisions for the resident community paired with a unique river experience to attract the visitors of tomorrow.

The Solar Boombox artwork celebrates the vitality, multiculturalism and fun that the Willimantic Whitewater Park embodies as a hub of community and natural energy. Inspired by such cultural movements as Pop Art and Hip Hop and artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Andy Warhol and Red Grooms, the Boombox is a magnetic and unifying image. People arriving by bike, by foot, or in vehicles loaded with kayaks find the Boombox a symbol of community in action. Radio waves, serving as a metaphor for energy generated by the waves of the river, are symbolically dispersed by the Boombox’s antenna. Currents of sound, inspired by the river are a feature of an interactive sound system, while infrared waves of solar energy are harvested by solar panels. For this critical new regional riverfront hub, the artistic interpretation of renewable energy generation stands as not only a inter-cultural symbol and an engaging social currency generator, but as a generator of community and economic viability.

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​[w/Ted Efremoff, Matthew Macunas, Richard Dziadul, Lidija Ristovska, Katarina Ristic + citizens of Willimantic CT too numerous to list here]

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*Claudia Dinep and Kristin Schwab were co-founders of Dinep+Schwab LLC, the office of record on this project.

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