WHERE THE RIVER HIDES

Interaction Design
Jan - May 2025
Team: Silvan Roth and Dominic Sutter
Mentors: Joëlle Bitton, Karmen Franinović, Luke Franzke
Location: Switzerland
Ecological Design, Interaction Design

Designing ecological interventions that support river ecosystems and invite care.

Where the river hides is a interdisciplinary design exploration along the Töss River in Switzerland, looking at how small, accessible interventions might support river ecosystems under pressure. Native species like the brown trout and minnow are increasingly threatened by heatwaves and droughts, raising questions about how communities and simple design ideas could play a role in caring for the river.

Fieldwork impressions along the Töss, analogue photos by Silvana De Paola

Fieldwork impressions along the Töss, video by Dominic Sutter

Rivers at risk

Many rivers across Europe are drying out. Heatwaves are lasting longer, rain is becoming scarce, and ecosystems are under growing pressure. The Töss River in Switzerland shows what may become reality for many others: its natural groundwater fluctuations, combined with climate change and human interventions, have made droughts more frequent and more severem causing fish and other aquatic species to die in the summer months.

Fieldwork impressions along the Töss, analogue photos by Silvana De Paola

Fieldwork impressions along the Töss, analogue photos by Silvana De Paola

Understanding ecological interconnection

Rivers connect landscapes, species, and people. They’re habitats, pathways, and places of life. But when we straighten, confine, or overuse them, their natural rhythms break down. Combined with climate change, this leads to rising temperatures, droughts, and floods. If we want rivers to stay alive, our interventions need to work with their dynamics, not against them.

Prototyping with the river

Drawing from environmental engineering and ecology, we found that the most effective solutions are often surprisingly simple: offering aquatic species hideouts, shade, and a steady flow of fresh water. Civil engineering introduced us to flow deflections: techniques that use fluid dynamics to subtly reshape the river’s course and improve habitats along the riverbed and undercut banks. Local fishing associations have long applied this knowledge in small- to medium-scale interventions, while community-led flood protection efforts use woven willow branches to reinforce riverbanks.

Our proposal combines these approaches: a woven willow obstacle that redirects the river’s flow, deepens the riverbed, and erodes part of the bank to form a shaded refuge pool. Vegetation helps stabilize the structure, provides natural shade, and integrate it into the ecosystem.

Scale prototype visualizing intervention concept

A way of restoring, but also of learning, participating, and building a relationship with the landscape.

Planned river restoration takes time, resources, and complex decision-making. Large-scale projects often take years to materialize. But what if care for the river could also begin with small, accessible actions? By rethinking how we intervene, we can imagine simple, low-cost structures that support both the ecosystem and the connection between people and place.

We imagine a future where these structures are not fixed installations, but living, adaptable elements shaped by many hands. Willow weaving requires little technical knowledge, just curiosity and care. Over time, locals walking along the river could help maintain and reshape them, strengthening the river’s resilience while building a sense of shared responsibility. Beyond the structure itself, this process becomes a way to reconnect with the river, to learn by doing, and to see how small gestures can contribute to larger ecological care.

Visual exploration of community engagement, generated with AI by Silvan Roth

Visual exploration of community engagement, generated with AI by Silvan Roth

Visual exploration for community communication, poster by Silvana De Paola

Poster by Silvana De Paola

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