AI: THE ULTIMATE CREATIVE PARTNER
Ricardo J. Rodríguez De Santiago’s work sits at the intersection of bytes & mortar, where AI amplifies human creativity to explore resilience, speculative futures, and cultural identity. From post-disaster landscapes to folklore reinterpretations, his art challenges professional exceptionalism, advocates for justice, and reimagines architecture’s role in recovery and survival.
Present Futures: Generative AI Art for Climate Change
“Present Futures reflects on architecture’s role in post-disaster recovery, questioning professional exceptionalism and imagining new realities shaped by climate change and resistence.”
- Location: District Architecture Center, Washington, DC
- Date: September–December 2023
- Concept: This collection explores speculative landscapes shaped by climate collapse and adaptation, inspired by Puerto Rico’s post-hurricane struggles. Ricardo critiques recovery efforts while celebrating Puerto Rican resilience.
- Featured Work: “FEMA—Faded Echoes, Muted Actions”
Concept: Inspired by the FEMA tarps that blanketed Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, the work juxtaposes aid and abandonment through haunting AI-generated visuals sublimated on polyethylene.
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Poli/Grafica: Reinterpreting Culture Through AI
“His art, rooted in Puerto Rican idioms and folklore, challenges speculative urbanism and advocates for social justice.” — El Adoquín Times.
- Location: ANTIGUO ARSENAL DE LA MARINA ESPAÑOLA, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Date: April – September 2024
- Concept: Poli/Grafica fuses Puerto Rican folklore, history, and AI storytelling to question colonial legacies and celebrate cultural endurance. Ricardo’s works educate, provoke, and reimagine narratives that endure through generations.
- Featured Work: “Our Islands and Their People”
Concept: A critique of colonial-era photography, this series reclaims Puerto Rican narratives while subverting exotified historical imagery.
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Mission 2130: A Speculative Future for Humanity
“Through Bytes & Mortar, we collaborated with AI to envision a 100-year roadmap addressing architecture, society, and planet-wide challenges—an exercise in speculative design and critical optimism.” — YAF Connection.
- Concept: Mission 2130, developed in collaboration with the AIA YAF Summit 30, imagines humanity’s evolution over the next 100 years. Ricardo’s AI-generated works reflect planetary colonization, regenerative architecture, and the balance between survival and innovation.
- Featured Work: “Green Ascending”
Concept: Nature reclaims abandoned megastructures, symbolizing a regenerative coexistence of technology and ecosystems.
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Interactive Virtual Gallery
Step into an immersive 3D virtual gallery showcasing selected works from Present Futures, Poli/Grafica, and private collections. Navigate AI-driven urban landscapes, cultural reinterpretations, and regenerative ecosystems from your screen.
QUOTES
- “Through these works, Ricardo critiques systemic neglect while celebrating Puerto Rican resilience—creating haunting and thought-provoking visuals.” — El Nuevo Día
- “Through Bytes & Mortar, Ricardo transforms digital tools into vehicles for cultural storytelling, showcasing how AI can enrich creative industries and redefine architecture’s boundaries.” Connection Magazine – Young Architects Forum
- “Ricardo J. Rodríguez De Santiago has become a trailblazer in merging AI technology with architecture and culture, creating over 15,000 generative artworks that explore speculative futures and post-colonial resilience.” – El Adoquín Times, Author Unknown