Preston McMahon Portfolio 2020-2023
Preston McMahon
Designer, 3D Artist, Technologist Email: mcmah327@umn.edu Phone: (605) 254 6516 Website: PrestonMcMahon.com Instagram: @PrestonM1
EDUCATION
HONORS & AWARDS
EXPERIENCE
CERTIFICATIONS
SOFTWARE & SKILLS
University of Minnesota, College of Design, Twin Cities GPA: 3.75 Master of Landscape Architecture Bachelor in Environmental Design
May 2022 May 2020
l ASLA-MN Student Chapter President l Design Student & Alumni Board Student Member l Graduate Teaching Assistant
2019-21 2019-20 Spring 2021-22
l University of Minnesota Olmsted Scholar l Capstone Award- Salovich Fellowship l ASLA Nationals Travel- Salovich Fellowship l UMNLA Undergraduate Student Excellence Award
2022 2022 2021 2020
l Reefscapers l Reefscapers l PEBL Design l PEBL Design l Biota Landscapes
Summer 2023 - Present Summer 2022 - 2023 2021 - Spring 2022 Summer 2021 Summer 2019-20
Assistant Project Manager Digital Content Creator Intern Designer Crew Lead/Foreman Crew Lead/Foreman
l Advanced Open Water & Coral Restoration Diver PADI Certifications (>200 hours of working underwater) l FAA Recreational Drone Pilot Certification
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AutoCAD Architecture Adobe Creative Suite Blender3D Rhino3D & Grasshopper Enscape/Lumion
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Unreal Engine ArcGIS Pro & Online Agisoft Metashape Reality Capture LIDAR & Photogrammetry
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Drone Imagery, Videography, and Mapping Python, Javascript, HTML, ChatGPT VR Environment Creation Digital & Physical Fabrication Tools
Portfolio Contents
Dedicated environmental designer committed to creating resilient solutions that prioritize equitable access, environmental awareness, rigorous research, and the preservation of natural ecosystems. Leveraging a skillset rooted in 3D graphics and cutting-edge technologies to make a positive impact in the conservation of our underwater environments. Actively seeking new opportunities to further enrich my skillset and apply my adept problem-solving abilities in an innovative, forward-thinking setting.
Mapping, Modeling, & Monitoring Coral Relocation Efforts
4-5
Repair, Reveal, Reconnect: Coral Reefs & Humans- A VR Project
6-7
Exposing an Invisible Ecology Through VR
8-9
Resilient Design & Parametric Biomimicry
10-11
Analyzing & Addressing Ecological Disaster
12-13
Industrial Relics Informing a New Park
14-15
Green New Deal Super Studio: Design Justice & Equity
16-17
Digital Drafting & 3D Representation
18-19
Detailing & Construction
20-21
Mapping, Modeling, & Monitoring Coral Relocation Efforts in Addu Atoll Addu Atoll, Maldives Work produced under Reefscapers for Van Oord India l Mapping of over 60,000, or >2 Hectares, of relocated massive/submassive coral colonies in high resolution using orthomosaic imagery. Used to identify coral, genus, survival, health, and environmental variables across multiple sites. l Quantifying the change in health and survival of relocated coral colonies over a 6 months period post relocation. l Implementing 2D and 3D graphics to further communicate the method of coral frame propagation used by Reefscapers. l Using orthomosaic imagery to refine old GIS maps of coral propagation sites in order to have more accurate geolocations as well as to re-organize over 20 years of coral frames used for propagation. l 3D models of coral pyramids was used to track and identify exact species/colonies which were recorded for gametogenesis and spawning as part of a long-term study of coral spawning in the Maldives across several atolls. N
SPR-B Orthomosaic Meters 2 3 0.5
Reefscapers Coral Relocation South Palm Resort Site2 Addu Atoll, Maldives
4
Coral Colonies Massive: 328 Digitate: 10 Foliose: 25 Sea Cucumber: 2
2 Years Growth
1 Year Growth
SPR-026 34 Coral Colonies 19 Coral Fragments Meters
.125
0.5
1
Frame SPR-026 consists mostly of Acropora and Pocillopora sp. Most corals have already began to fuse to the frame at the time of monitoring. Slight color loss has been noted for many of the coral fragments, however this is typical behavior as the small fragments are in a period of high stress.
Front
Left
Back
Right
Back
F1 - A. digitifera F2 - A. digitifera C1 - A. digitifera C2 - P. damicornis C3 - A. millipora F3 - A. digitifera C4 - P. verrucosa F4 - A. digitifera F5 - A. digitifera
Front
Initial Attachment
Left
Right
Images taken: 18-03-2023
Repair, Reveal, Reconnect: Coral Reefs & HumansA VR Project Key Largo, Florida MLA Independent Capstone Project Spring 2022 l Creating a VR environment of the coral reefs near Key Largo Based on my own Diving, 360 videography, and coral restoration work. l My VR experience starts in my childhood bedroom where I created the Ocean around me through Art. l Virtually re-living my memory as my first visit to the Ocean revealed a beach too polluted to swim in. l By using my own story of wonder & grief around about our oceans, my goal with VR is to share a guided experience of the coral reef to inform and inspire others. Through empathy, care is born, for coral restoration and climate action. l Capturing the complexities for organic reef forms through photogrammetry. (Pictured Below)
3D Capturing Coral Restoration Trees- Bay Island Reef Restoration, Honduras
Artistic Representation for Virtual Environment Depicting Childhood Memory
EXPOSING AN INVISIBLE ECOLOGY THROUGH VR Bassett Creek, Minneapolis, MN Independent Studio Project, Fall 202 l Project Article Published: https://design.umn.edu/news/making-space-emotion
l Bassett Creek was buried beneath Minneapolis in the early 1900s, It has become a forgotten and degraded ecosystem. l I create this VR experience to bring people into the creek; where it begins its descent underground and where it emerges through a pipe into the Mississippi River. l Creating 360 videography to connect the visible world to the buried creek, brought back to light in a virtual world. l Interactive virtual model of the surrounding city of Minneapolis, allowing users to see the site, and apply different GIS overlays in order to see the city from a different lens. (See image below.)
Spatially Experiencing Projects using VR in the Studio
Selected Detail: Bringing Bassett Creek to the viewer- 360 Video & VR environment
Bassett Creek Watershed
Bassett Creek, imagined scene from the underground location at Fruen Mill
RESILIENT DESIGN & PARAMETRIC BIOMIMICRY Applicable to coral reefs world wide Independent studio project Spring 2020 l With a studio focused on resilient materials and innovative problem solving, I examined the issue of coral reef restoration and the ability to apply a more sustainable approach. l Inspired by the natural design of a sea sponge and interpreting the qualities in a designed element. l Understanding the material life cycles: for sustainable sourcing, construction methodology, and environmental impacts for short and long term. l Selected recycled CMU’s to create an easy to construct modular structure that has both ecological and aesthetic power. l Helping the reef as it attracts and educates divers through the assistance of coral restoration. l Creating hand models to further understand scale, space making, and lighting. (See image below.)
Concrete Manufacturing redesigned: Thinking through the process of capturing carbon, and seeding coral structures.
Healthy Coral Reef
Structures create space for resistant corals to develop, helping to re-establish shorelines and habitat
Dead Coral Causing Shore Erosion, and low fishing yields
Coral eventually overtake structures, and habitat and coastlines are able to recover
Open top to allow for light and easy dive penetration Holes to provide habitat for fish, and surface area for coral and algae to attach Concrete block structure
Holes for divers to penetrate and explore 6” Concrete foundation Min. 3’ foundation screws Varied depth sand bed
Undisturbed bedrock
ANALYZING & ADDRESSING ECOLOGICAL DISASTER Salton Sea, California Independent studio project Fall 2021 l With this studio, my goals were to deepen my understanding of the site by exploring with on site fieldwork, LIDAR, Aerial Photography, 3D Scanning, and Photogrammetry. l Created high detail models from satellite data and imagery l Scanning objects with hundred of images to capture complexities across different scales of experiencing a landscape. l Design moves were then able to inform a textural landscape reconnecting major points across the sea, to act as a node for the seas shrinking, as well as a future for programmable space which responds to the seas historical flood capacities. l Design was in response to several ecological issues specifically around the decrease in water level, and issues for toxic sediment and dust that exposes as the sea rapidly shrinks. Salton Sea, 2020
1500 A.D. Ancient Lake Cahuilla
Aerial Photography and Topographical Surveying Anza Borrego, CA
Topography Model Representing Materiality and Eventual Shoreline
Salton Sea, 2040
A Changing Datum of the Salton Sea. Recycling Abandoned Materials to act as a medium for space making & dust Capture.
Salton Sea, Photogrammetry Model of Abandoned Relics- Capturing Time and Space.
INDUSTRIAL RELICS INFORMING A NEW PARK Upper Harbor Terminal, Minneapolis, MN Independent design proposal & designer for class context model l My design proposal for the abandoned terminal focused on making connection between the neighborhood and the Mississippi River. l Key project for learning digital fabrication: CNC Routing, 3D Printing, Laser&Water Jet Cutter. l Working between 2D and 3D representation helped me to see, design, and iterate space making l Led to the creation of a professional level model in which the Landscape Architecture Firm working on the project was able to use for their own designs and public meetings. l Site model was created using Rhino3D in reference to GIS topography data and Open Street Maps. (As pictured below.)
Presenting to Local Designers Actively Working on the Site Design
GREEN NEW DEAL SUPER STUDIO: DESIGN JUSTICE AND EQUITY Juxtaposition Arts, Minneapolis, MN Independent Studio Project, Spring 2021 l North Minneapolis is a community which has historically experienced strategic economic disinvestment based on class, race, and ethnic profiling of its residence. l Juxtaposition Arts was founded by the community to work against the historic precedent and create a stronger community focused on its youth. l Juxtaposition has a current plan for expansion, and with this creating an opportunity to capture storm water on site and within the surrounding community. l Located in an area for high risk of storm water pollution, this project focuses on harnessing the power of art to educate and create awareness for storm water collection and retention.
Exploring the Broadway Corridor to find important points for public space and storm water capture.
Juxtaposition Arts Campus
Understanding the urban grids impacts on watersheds and flows.
Kemps LLC Building
I-94
DIGITAL DRAFTING & 3D REPRESENTATION Technical & Construction Detailing l Given hand drawn plans drawing by Richard Neutra, recreated in AutoCAD l Constructed a 3D Model in Rhino3D l Basic Textures were introduced and UV mapped l Model was rendered in Enscape. l VR tour of architecture and landscape created. l The following page is from a separate project, design and development of a basic construction package for a University of Minnesota plaza space.
DETAILING & CONSTRUCTION Asplund Residence, Woodland, MN Professional work with PEBL Design, Summer 2021 l Construction foreman on this project. I was responsible for leading crews & subcontractors for construction of residential landscape. l Knowledgeable and experienced in construction, materials, and methods.
l Operation of Machinery and equipment: skid loaders, excavators, chop saws, plate compacters, laser levels, and other small machinery. l Ability to create and implement design details (as seen below.)
Monitoring Orthomosaic of Sheraton Maldives Resort Coral Frame Restoration Site December, 2022
Preston McMahon Designer, 3D Artist, Coral Restoration & 3D Mapping Specialist mcmah327@umn.edu l (605) 254-6516