Lorenzo Rosso Mai Architecture Portfolio 2020

LORENZO ROSSO MAI Architecture Freshman

LORENZO ROSSO MAI Architecture

Freshman

Portfolio

Lrossomai.college@gmail.com 8431

Schoolhouse

Road

Miami,

Fl

33143

Table of Contents

4

GYOTAKU

6

OCTOKINETIC

8

SUGAR CORALS

12

DANGER

16

GREENFRASTRUCTURE

20

LITTERALPHABET

22

HELP FOREST

24

BONE (den)CITY

28

SUITABLE SUBSTRATE

30

THE DAILY LIFE OF AI

32

5

GYOTAKU, 2020 Growing up in Miami, I have been in constant contact with the ocean, which naturally developed my deep passion for exploring the undersea frontier.

This project communicates my admiration and respect for marine life as well as my commitment to a sustainable fishing practice. To do so, I chose the traditional japanese method of printing fish, Gyotaku, literally meaning “fish” (gyo) and “print” (taku). Employing squid-ink, I transferred the hog-fish’s visual qualities, like its distinct form and scale patterns, onto washi paper. This technique, originally used by fishermen to record their catches, enabled me to immortalize this amazing sea creature in an artistic way. Furthermore, I want to stress sustainability involved in the process. Only ever catching fish that I eat, I made sure not to wastefully catch more fish. Also, the squid-ink I chose was naturally sourced.

Gyotaku printing process of a Lachnolaimus Maximus (Hogfish).

6

Dive partner surfacing with the Hogfish.

Hallandale beach, Fl Photograph: Lorenzo Rosso Mai

Gyotaku, 2020, prints Squid ink on Washi paper 18 x 24 inches

7

OCTOKINETIC, 2020 Amazed by its transformative capacity, I chose to work with an octopus to explore the concepts of flexibility, freedom of movement and structureless forms. In an attempt to recreate the organic architecture of the cephalopod’s fluid figure, I inked the invertebrate creature and stamped its tentacles and mantle across a long paper scroll, intuitively repositioning the creature in each print. I then utilized the prints to shoot a stop motion animation video. Through this movement of images, each stamp on the paper roll unfolds the octopus’ infinite plasticity.

Octokinetic, 2020 Squid ink on paper Print dimensions varied

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Octokinetic, 2020 Squid ink on paper 30 x 18 inches

9

Octokinetic, 2020 Octopus monoprint: Squid ink on paper roll (fragments) 84 x 18 inches

10

Octokinetic, 2020 stop-motion film printer sound effects 28 seconds

11

SUGAR CORALS, 2020

Ocean acidification and rising water temperatures are threatening the life of the Florida Keys Coral Reef, where I usually spear fish. Thinking about how the damage to coral is intensifying and becoming more frequent, I set out to recreate the phenomenon and demonstrate its process clearly. I built my own coral by stacking white sugar cubes bonded together with sugar glaze. Since coral loses its pink color and is bleached when it is dying, white sugar cubes served as the perfect material to represent it. After placing the sugar corals inside a glass tank filled with organic matters collected from a beach, I slowly poured warm water into the model coral reef and emulated the destructive processes occurring in coral reefs around the globe. As witness to the destruction of this important ecosystem, I was able to observe and record the slow disintegration of the sugar corals. The photographs portray the transformation of an almost magical setting to decaying ruins, and could presage the future that awaits.

Sugar Corals , 2020 Sugar cube structures 16 x 16 x 16 inches photograph: EM

12

Sugar Corals ,2020, Installation Sugar cube structures, rocks, sea-fans, preserved crab, glass tank, sand 16 x 16 x 16 inches Photographs: Lorenzo Rosso Mai

13

Before

Sugar Corals , 2020, Installation sugar cube structures, rocks, sea-fans, preserved crab, glass tank, sand 16 x 16 x 16 inches

14

After

Sugar Corals ,2020, Installation sugar cube structures, rocks, sea-fans, preserved crab, glass tank,sand, water 16 x 16 x 16 inches

15

DANGER, 2020

Climate change is raising water levels and intensifying hurricanes around the globe, thus posing a double risk for coastal cities like my hometown of Miami. Although negative effects of this, such as increased frequency of floods, already impact Miami, many residents may still not understand just how catastrophic climate change can ultimately be. The goal of this project is to show in a direct and literal way how Miami will be underwater if we don’t enact radical change. For Danger, I repurposed a discarded buoy I found while fishing, by using paint to alter its “DANGER SHALLOW WATER” text to say “DANGER RISING WATER.” I then digitally inserted this marine object into everyday urban environments, explicitly illustrating that they could one day be disastrously submerged. Imagining a tragic yet possible future, Danger offers a warning.

16

DANGER, 2020 Digital Collage Brickell Avenue flooding during hurricane Irma, Miami 2018 Photograph: Reuters

17

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DANGER, 2020 Digital Collage Miami skyline Photograph: Reuters

19

GREENFRASTRUCTURE, 2020

Greenfrastructure , 2020, Collage inkpen, pencil, and photos on sketchbook

20

In recent years mangroves have been decimated to make room for developable land. This could lead to destructive consequences because mangroves have been shielding the Florida coastline from hurricane winds and storm surges for centuries. Reflecting on this issue, I searched for a way to help preserve these tangled trees while also employing its resilience for the benefit of the Miami community. This digital photo-collage attempts to offer a solution to this problem of shoreline erosion. Contrary to the United States Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal of inserting a man-made concrete wall into the ocean, I propose to weather-proof the coast by growing mangrove buffer islands. Through my schematic designs, mangrove island module that I made manually, and photoshop, I wanted to visualize this alternative and green solution.

Greenfrastructure proposal 2020, mangrove island module, photoshop on Brickell shoreline, Miami.

Google earth image

21

LITTERALPHABET, 2020 While volunteering at local beach clean-ups, I was shocked by the wide range of plastic wastes that invade these natural areas.

Inspired by Miami artist Michele Oka Doner’s “Intuitive Alphabet,” a conceptual alphabet of sea-shells, I wanted to reveal another alphabet that also resides on our beaches: a litter alphabet. This system displays my own encounters with pollution as a full spectrum of polymer artefacts. From the adhesive’s “A” to the zip-tag’s “Z”, this alphabet aims to not only raise awareness on the issue of plastic pollution in water systems, but also to precisely illuminate some of the types of plastics that make up this environmental threat.

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Aa

Bb

Cc

adhesive Ii

balloon Jj

caps Kk

juice Tt

knife Uu

tablets

ufo

Qq

Rr

ice cream Ss

question

rope

sunscreen

Dd

Ee

Ff

Gg

Hh

dog bowl Ll

energy

goggles

Mm

flip flop Nn

Oo

hooks Pp

lure Vv

mask Ww

needle Xx

organic

plastic bottle

Yy

Zz

visor

weapon

letter x

yellow

zip tag

Litteralphabet , 2020 Polluting items found during beach clean-ups Dimensions varied Virginia Key, Miami

23

HELP FOREST, 2020 The importance of the planet’s giant kelp and seagrass forests needs to be acknowledged.

They provide essential habitats for diverse marine species along coastal waters. The kelp forests rival the rain forests in terms of oxygen production and their prodigious biodiversity.

Unfortunately, they are endangered by dredging and water quality degradation. Help Forest is a film I created to illustrate these plastic invasions from the perspective of an inhabiting fish. For the film’s set, I recreated a giant kelp forest out of single-use plastic bags, recycled sails and sailing ropes. By mimicking this vertical forest with the same plastics that threaten them, I wanted to blur the line between the natural and the artificial, and emphasize how our waste continuously takes the place of the ocean’s elements. I then used an underwater fish-eye lens camera to record point of view shots diving into and exploring the “ecosystem.” With this film, I attempt to raise awareness on this problem, and ultimately help these vital macroalgae forests.

Help Forest, 2020, Underwater photographs Plastic bags and sails on recycled sailing ropes Bill Baggs State Park, Miami

24

Underwater photographs of artificial kelp installation (15 foot depth)

25

HELP FOREST

Underwater film captured on GoPro Artificial kelp with organic kelp soundscape 67 seconds 2020

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BONE (den)CITY, 2020 For this project, I was inspired by the natural microarchitecture found in fish bones. After meticulously deboning a yellow-eye snapper, I observed its vertebral structure very carefully. It became evident that the total skeleton was composed of individual units that combine to form a more complex structure.

Upon this realization, I began to experiment with the organization of the units to create many different structural possibilities Carefully interlocking, balancing and juxtaposing pieces of bones in a variety of ways created a diversity of architecture that, to me, resembled the diversity of buildings in an urban community.

Pile of Lutjanus vivanus (yellow eye Snapper).

28

Bone (den)City , 2020 Fish bones assemblage Dimensions varied Photographs : Lorenzo Rosso Mai

29

SUITABLE SUBSTRATE, 2020 In the midst of the challenging pandemic, I set out to reflect on the adaptability that we, humankind, need at this moment. This on-site installation attempts to reinvent gardening by responding to the current circumstances.

I wanted to take the influence of severe lockdown policies and the intense presence of facemasks, and use them to create a message of hope. To do so, I revitalized masks by stapling each side to create a fertilizer pouch. This way I converted masks into suitable substrates for seedlings. The second part of this project is the collage which transposes the installation onto the facade of a tall urban structure. With a vertical garden like this one, urban ecologies could express our need for reinventing suitable substrates for all aspects of our lives.

30

Suitable Substrate, 2020, Photograph Repurposed disposable face mask,soil, plants, fungi 5 x 7 inches Coral Gables, Miami

Suitable Substrate,2020, Wall Installation Repurposed disposable face mask, soil, plants on wood panel 80 x 72 inches Coral Gables, Miami

Suitable Substrate,2020, Collage 18 x 30 inches

31

THE DAILY LIFE OF AI, 2020 The digital revolution has led to a society that is increasingly dependent on technology. Further, with the lightning fast rate of technological advancement, we could be very close to a new revolution: the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution.

And what follows this revolution, we cannot be sure.

Through this project, I wanted to create visuals for what this possible future of humanity may look like. I created a prop “external brain link,” wore a bald cap so the link would strongly stand out, and put on a futuristic “hazmat” suit, thus creating the project’s protagonist. The photographic series depicts the protagonist going through his daily life, which is seemingly ordinary. What is extraordinary, of course, is that instead of charging his iPhone, the protagonist charges his own brain. I decided to play the role of the protagonist myself because it is my generation that may be at the forefront of this potential revolution.

Close-up of external brain link concept.

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The daily life of AI, 2020, performance Buckminster Fuller fly’s eye dome, Miami photographs: EM

33

The daily life of AI, 2020, Performance Brickell City Center, Miami Photographs: EM

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The daily life of AI, 2020 Performance Brickell City Center,Miami Photographs: EM

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The symbiosis between built spaces and the surrounding environment is essential. I look forward to learning more about this connection by applying my passion for the environment into my Architecture studies.