The Digital Workhouse project is a multi-year project directed by Professor Susannah Ottaway in collaboration with Professor Austin Mason. This project examines historic architecture and furniture, while drawing from archival documents to re-create a virtual atmosphere and experience of an 18th century workhouse. We create 3-D architectural and object models with Google SketchUp and Blender respectively, and use Unity to combine the virtual models into a walkthrough game experience.
The Virtual Workhouse Digital Archive holds images of workhouse archival documents and photographs of workhouse buildings. Professors Ottaway and Mason co-taught “Bringing the English Past to Virtual Life,” which explores digital tools to teach and learn about eighteenth-century workhouses. More information about the course can be found on the course blog.
DHA work on the project has spanned many years, the DHAs involved are Florence Wong ’16, Graham Earley ’17, Elizabeth Budd ’19 and Tyler Chang ’20.