Final Project Source Documentation and Update (Modeling Old Carleton)

As the term progresses, so does our progress on our final project. Currently, we have asked David Bliss from the archives for the original proposed blueprints for both the unbuilt 1885 men’s gymnasium and the unbuilt 1917 women’s gymnasium. David has responded with a positive that they exist, and we are welcome to look at them this coming week to decide on which building we would like to attempt to model. If that falls through, our backup plan is to use a proposed library blueprint that has already been digitized. To do this digitalization and create our 3D model, we have decided to use Blender3D.

Although it hasn’t all been smooth sailing to get to where we are, one of the biggest and earliest problems we have encountered is the interest in creating 3D models of old buildings by other people on campus. We do not want to redo the work someone else has done and not provide a new contribution to the history of Carleton’s campus. Therefore, to solve this problem, we have pivoted to modeling unbuilt buildings that Carleton still has the blueprints for. This is where we have run into our second issue. We currently have many choices of proposed unbuilt buildings. We have not fully solved this problem, but we are leaning towards one of the two gymnasiums as we are sure that David has these blueprints, and we have asked about them. Thus, our original plan of possibly focusing on the old Goodsell Observatory or Willis Hall has been scraped. Some more choices in addition to the 1855 men’s gymnasium have been added.

As for the contribution of each person in the group, here are our takes in our own words:

Jane – Most of my work on the project is going to be in the later half of the project, doing most of the 3D modeling work because it’s the area I have experience with. Up until now, I’ve assisted with drafts of some of the emails and blog posts in a minor way. I’ve also been out sick for a few days since the start, so I’ve unfortunately not been able to contribute as much as I’d like.

Breanna – I am the person behind writing up these WordPress posts. That has been my main contribution to this project so far. I have also reviewed some of the drafts of emails that have been sent to David, but that has been minor. I have also attempted to do a little bit of research on the buildings, but that really has been Aurelia, as I got almost nowhere in regards to blueprints.

Aurelia – I have been in contact with David Bliss about blueprints of the unbuilt men’s gymnasium and women’s gymnasium. I have communicated with my team members to set up a time to meet with them and go over the blueprints. I have also begun to gather information about other unbuilt buildings on campus using a timeline created by previous Hacking the Humanities students.

Our sources are still a work in progress at the moment. We have not decided which building we are going to do, and we did not get a chance to meet with David prior to the weekend. Here are our current collected sources that may or may not be used in the creation of our model. As a note, a lot of our sources follow the same format and therefore the format, rights, and privacy/ethics categories are the same or very similar.

Timeline

• Citation – “Timeline – Imagined Futures, Forgotten Pasts.” A History of Carleton’s Campus, Perlman Teaching Museum, 2022, campushistory.sites.carleton.edu/timeline/.
•  Format – This is a website that has data in a timeline format. We do not need to change the structure.
•  Rights – Carleton owns this source. We are allowed to use this to gain information on what buildings exist that we could focus our project on because it is public information that we are citing.
•  Privacy/ethics – Carleton College is depicted in this source. There is no sensitive information that needs to be removed, as it has already been removed. There are no ethical considerations when using this source.

Proposed Library Plan

• Citation – Holmes and Flinn. (August 29, 1921). Proposed Library Building [drawing]. Collection 21 (1872-2006, Box/Drawer 129, Folder 2: Holmes and Finn, Item 37). Laurence McKinley Gould Library, Carleton  College.
•  Format – This is currently in drawing format that has been digitized. We are okay with this as we will use the drawing to scale the 3D model and base the design on the image.
•  Rights – Carleton College currently owns the rights. We are allowed to use the whole image to make our model. We know this because it is public information, as you do not need to have an account to view it, and we will be citing it.
•  Privacy/ethics – Carleton College is depicted in this data along with the firm that designed the building. I don’t believe there is any sensitive information as it is publicly shown. There are no other ethical considerations when using this source.

Unbuilt Men’s Gymnasium

• Citation – Rowe, Arthur H. Gymnasium [drawing]. Collection 21 (1872-2006, Box/Drawer 128, Folder 2: Rowe, Arthur H., Item 25). Laurence McKinley Gould Library, Carleton  College.
•  Format – This is currently in drawing format that has not been digitized. We are okay with this as we will use the drawing to scale the 3D model and base the design on the image.
•  Rights – Carleton College currently owns the rights. We are allowed to use the whole image to make our model. We know this because it is public information, you only need to request to view it. Since we are making a significant change to how the data is presented so that it is a meaningful contribution or commentary, it is acceptable to proceed using this image, especially as we are working on a project for Carleton College.
•  Privacy/ethics – Carleton College is depicted in this data along with the firm that designed the building. I don’t believe there is any sensitive information. However, because I have not seen the source in person, I am unsure what else is included in this document.

Proposed Union Building

• Citation – Magney, Tusler and Setter. (June 28, 1948). Proposed Memorial Union Building [drawing]. Collection 21 (1872-2006, Box/Drawer 137, Folder 2: Magney, Tusler and Setter, Item 28). Laurence McKinley Gould Library, Carleton  College.
•  Format – This is currently in drawing format that has not been digitized. We are okay with this as we will use the drawing to scale the 3D model and base the design on the image.
•  Rights – Carleton College currently owns the rights. We are allowed to use the whole image to make our model. We know this because it is public information, you only need to request to view it. Since we are making a significant change to how the data is presented so that it is a meaningful contribution or commentary, it is acceptable to proceed using this image, especially as we are working on a project for Carleton College.
•  Privacy/ethics – Carleton College is depicted in this data along with the firm that designed the building. I don’t believe there is any sensitive information. However, because I have not seen the source in person, I am unsure what else is included in this document.

Proposed Women’s Dorm

• Citation – Holmes and Flinn. (1917 – 1920). Proposed Women’s Dormitory [drawing]. Collection 21 (1872-2006, Box/Drawer 131, Folder 3: Holmes and Finn – Norse Hall and Women’s Dormitory, Item 67). Laurence McKinley Gould Library, Carleton  College.
•  Format – This is currently in drawing format that has not been digitized. We are okay with this as we will use the drawing to scale the 3D model and base the design on the image.
•  Rights – Carleton College currently owns the rights. We are allowed to use the whole image to make our model. We know this because it is public information, you only need to request to view it. Since we are making a significant change to how the data is presented so that it is a meaningful contribution or commentary, it is acceptable to proceed using this image, especially as we are working on a project for Carleton College.
•  Privacy/ethics – Carleton College is depicted in this data along with the firm that designed the building. I don’t believe there is any sensitive information. However, because I have not seen the source in person, I am unsure what else is included in this document.

Proposed Women’s Dining Hall

• Citation – Holmes and Flinn. (1917-1928). Proposed Women’s Dining Hall [drawing]. Collection 21 (1872-2006, Box/Drawer 129, Folder 2: Holmes and Finn, Item 60). Laurence McKinley Gould Library, Carleton  College.
•  Format – This is currently in drawing format that has not been digitized. We are okay with this as we will use the drawing to scale the 3D model and base the design on the image.
•  Rights – Carleton College currently owns the rights. We are allowed to use the whole image to make our model. We know this because it is public information, you only need to request to view it. Since we are making a significant change to how the data is presented so that it is a meaningful contribution or commentary, it is acceptable to proceed using this image, especially as we are working on a project for Carleton College.
•  Privacy/ethics – Carleton College is depicted in this data along with the firm that designed the building. I don’t believe there is any sensitive information. However, because I have not seen the source in person, I am unsure what else is included in this document.

Proposed Women’s Gymnasium

• Citation – Holmes and Flinn. (December 15, 1923). Proposed Women’s Gymnasium [drawing]. Collection 21 (1872-2006, Box/Drawer 132, Folder 1: Holmes and Finn, Item 66). Laurence McKinley Gould Library, Carleton  College.
•  Format – This is currently in drawing format that has not been digitized. We are okay with this as we will use the drawing to scale the 3D model and base the design on the image.
•  Rights – Carleton College currently owns the rights. We are allowed to use the whole image to make our model. We know this because it is public information, you only need to request to view it. Since we are making a significant change to how the data is presented so that it is a meaningful contribution or commentary, it is acceptable to proceed using this image, especially as we are working on a project for Carleton College.
•  Privacy/ethics – Carleton College is depicted in this data along with the firm that designed the building. I don’t believe there is any sensitive information. However, because I have not seen the source in person, I am unsure what else is included in this document.