RESEARCH ARTICLE

An augmented and interactive exhibition of an archived model for Frederick Kiesler’s Endless House, 1959

  • Chantelle Niblock , 1 ,
  • Laura McGuire 2 ,
  • John Harding 3 ,
  • Gerd Zillner 4 ,
  • Chris Hamill 1 ,
  • Andrew Whitney 5
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  • 1. School of Natural and Built Environment, Queens University of Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT7 1NN, UK
  • 2. School of Architecture, University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA
  • 3. School of Architecture, University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6UR, UK
  • 4. Austrian Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Private Foundation, Mariahilfer Straße, 1060, Wien, Austria
  • 5. Hotknife Digital Media, Nottingham, NG1 3HD, UK

Received date: 22 Oct 2021

Revised date: 02 Apr 2022

Accepted date: 07 Apr 2022

Published date: 29 Dec 2022

Copyright

2022 2022 Higher Education Press Limited Company. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Abstract

This research explores the potential of an immersive and interactive online archive to enhance our understanding of historic architecture through the study of models. It reports on implementing an augmented reality mobile application that exhibits a model for the unbuilt Endless House, 1959, by Frederick Kiesler. A reflective critique, from the researcher’s point of view, and initial feedback from a small sample of architecture students, provides an insight into users’ experience of the exhibition, its value as a research tool, and as an educational resource. Building on existing technologies and established research methods, we present an alternative way of exhibiting a large-scaled model for public engagement and research collaboration between academics, archivists, and conservators. Results discuss the development of the mobile application with interactive features specifically designed for an architectural audience. It touches on issues associated with documenting, interpreting, and exhibiting architectural models, emphasizing accessibility, accuracy, engagement, combining 3D and 2D digital assets, and user experience. It was found that the interactive and immersive features of the exhibition enhanced the researchers’ scope to spatially inspect the model, visually experience it, collaborate with others, and strengthen connections between the model and other examples of Kiesler’s textual and visual archival materials.

Cite this article

Chantelle Niblock , Laura McGuire , John Harding , Gerd Zillner , Chris Hamill , Andrew Whitney . An augmented and interactive exhibition of an archived model for Frederick Kiesler’s Endless House, 1959[J]. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2022 , 11(6) : 993 -1006 . DOI: 10.1016/j.foar.2022.04.002

Outlines

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