This blog documents the progress of the “Seeding Sullivant Hall” project; a multidisciplinary collaborative effort to research, document and share the many histories of The Ohio State University’s recently renovated Sullivant Hall. This place-based project celebrates the reinvigorated life of Sullivant Hall and its history by embedding the building’s interior environment with beacon technology that enables access to a database of narratives about the building using smart devices.  Our goals include providing alternative means of navigating the building that offer virtual experiences of place that put occupants with smart devices in touch with the building’s history in a dynamic way.

Initial funding for this the project has been provided by a One Ohio State Framework Project Grant. Testing technology and associated devices began in Fall, 2014.  The project is spear-headed by Professor Maria Palazzi (Department of Design and Director of the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design-ACCAD). In addition, the project team members include Professor Mary Anne Beecher, Ph.D., Department of Design (and blogger);  Tamara Chute, OSU University Archives; Adjunct Professor Clayton Funk, Ph.D., Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy; Matthew Lewis, Ph.D., ACCAD; Professor Susan Petry, Department of Dance; Professor David Staley, Ph.D., Department of History; and Professor Deborah Smith-Shank, Ph.D, Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy.

A proof-of-concept for the application that is part of this project’s infrastructure is under development now. Further assessment of the opportunities that the beacons afford and the design and development of the app are on the agenda for the next several months. At the same time, students in several undergraduate and graduate level courses in the College of Arts and Sciences will be helping to collect and present visual, verbal, and text-based “stories” about the significance of Joseph Sullivant and the history of Sullivant Hall and its past and current occupants.  This information will become the substance of the project.  Please stay tuned to see examples of our findings, updates on our progress and please share any memories of Sullivant Hall here so we can consider including them in our project!