Marzia Micali | Portfolio University of Pennsylvania
Nizza di Sicilia
Growing up in a small town in Sicily, I have experienced beautiful Mediterranean landscapes and architecture, and I have developed a strong interest in art, history, and aesthetics. While studying architecture in the South of Italy, I was able to be involved in maintaining my family’s citrus grove, placed between the majesty of Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea. My internship experience in The Netherlands brought me closer to the field of landscape architecture and ecology since I was inspired by the interrelation between design, nature, and sustainability. As a designer, I like to take inspiration from different sources in art and nature, synthesizing and integrating their elements with the history and the identity of the people who will inhabit them. During my process, photography, physical models, and drawings are my favorite tools to experiment with design as a form of research.
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https://issuu.com/marziamicali marziamicali@gmail.com +1 (267) 357 34 34 Philadelphia, PA 19146
E D U C AT I O N University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design Master of Landscape Architecture Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria Bachelor’s + Master’s of Architecture
May 2021 Philadelphia, PA Mar. 2019 Reggio Calabria, IT
R E L E VA N T E X P E R I E N C E OLIN Landscape Architecture Intern
Jun. 2020 - Aug. 2020 Philadelphia, PA
APS s.r.l. Landscape Architecture and Architecture Intern
Jan. 2018 - Jun. 2019 Reggio Calabria, IT
Nio Architecten Architecture Intern
Jul. 2017 - Oct. 2017 Rotterdam, NL
SKILLS Adobe After Effects Adobe InDesign Adobe Illustrator Adobe Lightroom Adobe Photoshop Microsoft Office
ArcGIS Pro ArcMap Artlantis Studio AutoCAD
Grasshopper Rhinoceros SketchUp V-Ray
Laser-cut Modelmaking
Digital Photography Printmaking
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C ON T E N T S Ac ad em i c stu d i o s
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I mprinting: octopus garden Power Docks: redevelopment of an industrial area Fragments in Prague: waterfront design Film District: urban redevelopment DNA Cathedral: monument to the 6th extinction The Dropping Time: utopian island
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Professi ona l work
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APS Scape | Patios de Paisage: urban square APS Scape | Artists Villa: villa with gardens
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Other work
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IMPRINTING
octopus garden Site: Cefalù, Sicily, Italy Instructor: Rebecca Popowsky, Richard Weller Studio V | Weitzman School of Design | Fall 2020 Honorable Mention | LA+ CREATURE The studio was divided into two six-week projects. The first part was an entry into the LA+ CREATURE international design ideas competition. Imprinting comes from the idea of creating a dialog between humans and octopi, exploring this term in both of its meanings: to impress or stamp a mark on a surface and to attach by recognizing another animal, or thing, as an entity of habitual trust. Each species has its object, linked together by a series of delicate cables tethering the seabed to the surface. Octopus houses are concrete blocks with interior sections that they can use to hide, camouflage, hunt, play, and contribute to a new ecosystem thanks to the debris and shells they collect. Moreover, a platform placed on the surface, designed to bring humans to the animal, connects tidal motion to the habitat below, holding the underwater world and the surface world together.
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THE OCTOPUS GARDEN
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INTERDEPENDENCE | model studies of the octopus den
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POWER DOCKS
redevelopment of an industrial area Site: Danskammer Point, Newburgh, NY Instructor: Ellen Neises Studio IV | Stuart Weitzman School of Design | Fall 2019 The New York Transition studio investigated landscape architecture’s role in the scenario of the 2050 climate action plans connected to the disunity of existing fossil fuel and nuclear energy plants. Danskammer Generating Station is a peaker power plant placed on the shore of the Hudson River. During my design process, I considered the characteristics of the site to transform it into a new transportation and energy storage hub, taking advantage of the industrial and electric facilities already present. The design aimed to create a space where people could observe and engage the river, being in contact with the port and the energy installations, and always have a strong relationship between social and industrial activities. The maritime facilities, the beaches, and other program areas are connected through a series of landforms, which host inside the batteries for energy storage.
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HUDSON RIVER VALLEY
vulnerable areas developed areas Hudson River SLR 2100 transmission lines power plants to be closed
CARBON EMISSIONS | total emissions, transportation, electricity | sources: US EPA, IPCC, 2018
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DANSKAMMER POINT
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POWER DOCKS
the floating village
the passengers port
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the beach
the islands
the freight port
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LANDFORMS AND STRUCTURES
POWER DOCK | passengers port, energy storage hub, transmission lines
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THE PASSENGERS PORT | landforms and energy storage hub
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THE FLOATING VILLAGE | repurposed barges
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FRAGMENTS IN PRAGUE
waterfront design Site: Císarská louka, Smíchov, Prague, Czech Republic Instructor: Valerio Morabito Studio V | Stuart Weitzman School of Design | Fall 2019
The studio’s theme was to redesign an industrial area and an existing island in the South of Prague, responding to the city’s cultural history reflected in the ornaments of its architecture and exploring this concept in relationship with the river. The design process started with analyzing the geometry and the shapes of Prague’s architecture, landscapes, infrastructure, extracting its details as ornaments. The redrawing and simplification of them created an alphabet of the city and set up new landscape energy between the Land and the Island, inspired by landscape frames. The Island is characterized by heavy vegetation that opens to specific landmarks when it interrupts. During the design elaboration, these frames have been emphasized to create a new identity and connection between the river’s two sides while maintaining their formal function: urban square and transit hub in the Land, and nature trail in the Island.
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THE LAND AND THE ISLAND
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THE LAND | urban square, connected to public transporation
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LANDSCAPE FRAMES | piers system, urban square
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FILM DISTRICT
urban redevelopment Site: Park and Boulevard System, Chicago, IL Instructor: Karolina Czeczek Studio IV | Stuart Weitzman School of Design | Spring 2020 Collaboration with Salonee Chadha The studio focused on how investment in metropolitan form and infrastructure can improve existing communities’ quality of life along the Park and Boulevard System in Chicago, an area currently suffering vacancy due to systemic racial segregation. The physical divide between the neighborhoods manifests itself across all community demographics and socio-economic health measures, aggravated by the high unemployment rate. Therefore, the main aim was to provide employment avenues, envisioning an extension of the Film industry to the East of North Lawndale. The new development centered around three critical public spaces: Art District Amphitheatre, Film District Plaza, Industrial District Podium. Moreover, the introduction of a light rail mobility system through our segment increased accessibility to the neighborhoods from other areas of Chicago.
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FILM DISTRICT | public realm, development corridor, light rail station
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D NA C AT H E D R A L
monument to the 6th extinction Site: National Mall, Washington, D.C. Instructor: Rebecca Popowsky, Richard Weller Studio V | Weitzman School of Design | Fall 2020 The studio was divided in two six-weeks projects. The second part was an entry for a speculative competition for the design of a monument to the 6th extinction in Washington DC. The DNA Cathedral is a commemoration of the symbiotic relationships between species and of the beauty of biodiversity. The design is characterized by 7762 poles, signifying the number of critically endangered species classified by IUCN, which create one single entity, like a cathedral window pattern. The memorial is divided into two levels, the ground one for the public, the forest of DNA codes, and the underground, with a conference center. The concept of biodiversity loss is given by exploring space and the disappearance of the poles in the underground when a species becomes extinct. In response to a memorial for an ongoing event, the Cathedral of the 6th Extinction is also open to different ends. If the decline of biodiversity continues, the poles will disappear from the ground, leaving a mark, a sign of something beautiful and unique that is no longer there.
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ABOVEGROUND | public space, two scenarios: all species alive, all species extinct
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UNDERGROUND | convention center, two scenarios: all species alive, all species extinct
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DROPPING TIME
utopian island Site: Nothern Pole of Inaccessibility Instructor: Valerio Morabito Elective | Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria | Fall 2019 Collaboration with Eleonora Lo Faro The course was inspired by the LA+ IMAGINATION competition, based on designing an imaginary island to be placed everywhere. The concept draws on J. G. Ballard’s Book, “The Drowned World,” which deals with natural disasters caused by men in relationship to climate change and sea-level rise. The island is created as a manifestation of the end of the world, dedicated explicitly to the effects of temperature changes. Taking inspiration by simplifying an iceberg shape, the island means to measure changes, forcing the visitor to interface the issue in a tridimensional way. Placed on the Nothern Pole of Inaccessibility, this utopian island represents a data center, measuring the arctic sea ice thickness, sea-level rise, ice volumes, and forecasts.
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DATA COLLECTION | iceberg ispiration, ice extent
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MEASURING TIME | conceptual section, sea level previsions
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PA T I O S D E PA I S A G E
urban square Site: Collado Villalba, Madrid, Spain Office: APS s.r.l Internship | Summer 2018 The object of the contest was the selection of the best proposal for the remodeling of the Plaza de Los Belgas in Collado Villalba. The project idea is characterized by the realization of two linear public spaces, which allow the creation of a series of activities, including commercial ones, along Calles Los Madronos and Calle Virgen de la Cabeza. The design provides two accessible and perceptively visible area, the market on the level on the street and the plaza more protected in the middle segment, which hosts various activities. They are connected through different sets of slopes, stairs, seats.
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THE MARKET | pergola system, water feature, central garden
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ARTISTS VILL A
villa and gardens Site: Changshan, China Office: APS s.r.l Internship | Summer 2019 The villa was designed to be part of a system in which each one has its own personality and style with the final aim to create a village for artists. The design is based on the concept of seven gardens and their relationship to the different parts of the villa. The artists would always be surrounded by nature even when they are inside, and they can be inspired by it. The ground floor is dedicated to a communal area in which guests can exchange ideas, work, and eat together while the other two stories are dedicated to private rooms.
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SEVEN GARDENS | relationships between private and open spaces
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ARTISTS RESIDENCE | art studio, private rooms
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00 A B C D E F
OTHER WORK Details Construction Systems, Workshop IV Grading Workshop III Parametric design Media VI Data analysis Media III Process work Studio V Photography Digital Photography
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A. DETAILS | community tech pavillion, green roof system, Autocad + Adobe Illustrator
1. Aluminium panel 2. Metal supports 3. Thermal insulation 4. Wood panel 5. Solar panel 6. Leaf grid 7. Rainwater collection tank 8. Counter frame 9. Mobile frame 10. Double glass 11. Upright 12. Fixed frame 13. Concrete 14. Self-drilling plug 15. Self-drilling plus 16. Draining gravel 17. Interlocking system 18. Folder
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B. GRADING | cut and fill on vacant land, Autocad + Adobe Illustrator
38’ 36’ 34’ 46 ’ 44 ’ 42 ’
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18’ 16’ 14’
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C. PARAMETRIC DESIGN | horizontal and vertical systems, Rhino + Grasshopper
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D. DATA ANALYSIS | suitability analysis of Buffalo, ArcGIS Pro + Adobe Illustrator
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1. Elevation 2. Slope 3. Census Block Population 4. Suitability Analysis 5. Weighted Sum 6. River Flood
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E. PROCESS WORK | snapshots of design process, six-week studio competition
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F. PHOTOGRAPHY | digital photography, post-production, Adobe Bridge + Lightroom
UNPREDICTABLE BODIES | human body as sculptural abstraction | second place t-art magazine’s photo contest
LIQUID VISIONS | investigations of reflections on water
DIVERGING GEOMETRIES | explorations of geometrical resemblances between city and nature
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Marz i a Mi c a li Master of L and s cape Architec ture University of Pe nn sylvania marzi amic a li@ g mai l.c om +1 (267) 357 34 34