River Deep, Mountain High

This spring’s “Architecture Through Film” series will focus on how rivers shape our cities and ourselves. The five films, ranging from critical documentaries to classic American cinema, provide an opportunity to examine how filmmakers portray rivers while also providing a backdrop for discussing our own relationships with waterways.

The films will be screened at Amherst College, and discussion will follow each film. KRA’s Andy Grogan and Hampshire College’s Thom Long will act as moderators. The series is sponsored by Western Massachusetts AIA and the Five College Architectural Studies Program. The complete schedule and location is available here.

The idea for this spring’s series emerged from a grant that the Five Colleges were awarded for their “Riverscaping” study. “Riverscaping” is a partnership with citizens, artists, and community leaders in Hamburg, Germany, an area that shares similar environmental and historical qualities with Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley. Participants will explore ways to reconnect with rivers as a means to improve the environment and communities. More information is available at riverscaping.org.

Back to School

– Elizabeth Morgan will be teaching a junior-year writing class in the Architecture Department at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst this fall.

– Andy Grogan is a guest critic this semester for Boston Architectural College’s Community Design Center studio. The studio will focus on a “Life Center” for the town of Needham, MA.

Signing the Steel at UMASS

Sometimes, it’s okay to write your name on a building.

KRA’s Elizabeth Morgan, AIA, and Chuck Roberts, AIA, and Patricia O’Flaherty from Eastern General Contractors recently made their mark on a steel beam for the UMass Marching Band Building.

The beam will soon show signatures of all those involved – clients, contractors, designers, engineers – to pay homage to all the hard work that went into the design & construction of the building.