Senior Liz Helmin won a CTASLA Honor Award for her project for LAND 3430: Design III.

Project Description: The goal in redesigning downtown Storrs was to provide a seasonally inclusive space that emphasized the importance of placemaking opportunities for visitors, Mansfield residents, EO Smith students, and UConn students. The design included wind and solar/heat mitigation tactics such as the implementation of water in Betsy Patterson Square and shade options including vegetation throughout the downtown. The design pitch emphasized these interventions to take place over a certain period of time and in different stages, allowing there to be time for proper construction documentation and funding to take place. This experience allowed students to meet with Storrs community members and officials, provide design options including site furnishings, stormwater management, and wind mitigation methods, as well as strengthen presentation/communication skills when in dialogue with this community.

Comments from judges: "I really appreciated the process illustrated by the submission. The work clearly illustrates how analysis informed the process of design and allowed the designer to create a unique design that related to the specific site. The graphics were simplistic and powerful allowing for me to visualize the final design and understand the concepts included. I appreciated the thoughts put into not only the user experience but some of the technical aspects of design such as stormwater and materials...