A group of fourth-year bachelor of landscape architecture students have won a coveted spot in the 2018 Winter Stations International Design Competition for their school design project titled Rising Up, inspired by the topography of Toronto’s Don River.

The competition, featured in the Architect’s Newspaper, brings temporary public art installations to the Beaches in Toronto to encourage the public to visit less-populous places during winter.

“I’m totally excited,” said Nadia Amoroso, a professor in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) and the project’s faculty representative. “It’s a great opportunity for the students and for the University of Guelph and the program.”

The Rising Up project team consists of students Alexander Good, Austin Huang, Kevin Sadlemyer, Marc Cote, Stephan Stelliga and Zixiang Chen. They were one of several groups in a fourth-year class that created designs for the 2018 competition. Amoroso says students also received support from Prof. Sean Kelly, SEDRD director, and John Phillips from the College of Arts.

Amoroso says the students interpreted the Don River’s topography with wavy forms, boomerang shapes and pancake-like circles, all representing nature’s uprising against increasing urbanization. Their digital design will be laser-cut to scale out of plywood and metal rods. The students will then assemble the parts along Toronto’s lakeshore in February.

The official launch of the Winter Stations is slated for Feb. 19 and the installations will stay up until the end of March.