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Full model of Building No. 4 of the Athens State Hospital in Unity.
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Floor 1 window detail of the final model.
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Floor 2 window detail of the final model.
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Floor 3 window detail of the final model.
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Decorative roof detail of the final model.
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Interior door example. There were five types of doors.
Each provided the patients more autonomy the closer to the center of the full site.
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Example of an item and related fact.
Items were related to real historical items available at local museums and exhibitions.
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Example of an interior wall image to provide visual context to the facts and locations.
All images are linked to local museums and exhibitions.
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Example of an outdoor fact. Symbols on the ground show locations where the facts will appear.

- Practical Time Travel: The Ridges -

Practical Time Travel: The Ridges is an immersive user agency-centered experience providing facts about the history of the Athens State Hospital; some of the people who worked and lived there; the architecture; and industries related to the site. Through virtual reality, participants can learn historic facts, about motivations of those that lived in the past, and how multiple elements of life and culture are connected through activities involving trial and error, exploration, and puzzle-solving.

Currently available on itch.io

For this project, I researched the site through books, news articles, postcards, floorplans, visits, etc. I created 3D models of the exterior and interior of the building using provided floorplans, recent photogrammatry, found postcards and urban exploration photos.

My favorite asset to create was the Pony Ride Rocker that was chosen as a primary object for our museum studies program's exhibit, orginally slated to take place at the Ridges. I found a pattern from the 1950s, scanned it, and used it with Adobe Illustrator and Blender to create the model, Substance Painter to make the texture, and Unity to piece it together. One of the planned activities of the expanded experience involves finding and piecing together the toy, finding facts along the way. The real version was built by a patient and is part of a Southeast Ohio History Center collection.

The biggest challenge of this project was optimizing it so it did not bog down the experience in VR and finding ways to climb the steep stairs to the upper levels, built to the original plans.

Technology + Mediums Used

Shown at the Following...

2021 Ohio University Student Research and Creative Expo
Awarded Best Use of Social Media Feature

Credits and Special Thanks

Creator: Original Score: Floor plans provided by: Links to organizations and exhibits mentioned in the experience: Special Thanks: MFA Communication Media Art Thesis Committee: For support, testing, and inspiration: For opportunities and support: Models used:
Sources:
  • Brown, Gabriel. "Longview Asylum: Good Intentions Gone Wrong." The Irish in Cincinnati. University of Cincinnati Archives & Rare Books Library: 2017. (link)
  • Brumfield, Sara. "Dairy Barn Celebrates 100th Year." Athens Messenger. 6 June, 2014. Accessed through woub.org. (link)
  • Carmosino, Jessica. "The Cleveland State Hospital." ClevelandHistorical.org. Published 5 Feb 2013. Last Updated 12 Sep 2019. (link)
  • "Columbus State Hospital." AsylumProjects.org. 2 Jan 2018. (link)
  • Downs, Maggie. "Tales from the Ridges." The Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio). Chronicles with Maggie Downs. 27 May 2002. pp. 1. Accessed through Newspapers.com. (link)
  • Genealogy Trails. (link)
  • "History of the Barn." The Dairy Barn Arts Center. (link)
  • Janus: There's More to What You See. Virtual exhibition. (link)
  • Kirkbride Buildings. (link)
  • "The Kirkbride Plan." 99 Percent Invisible. Episode 373. 8 Oct 2019. (link)
  • Kirkbride, Thomas S. On the Construction, Organization, and General Arrangements of Hospitals for the Insane. Philadelphia: 1854. Accessed through Google Books.
  • "Longview State Hospital." AsylumProjects.org. 26 Aug 2014. (link)
  • Mars, Roman, and Kurt Kohlstedt. The 99% Invisible City: a Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020.
  • McCall, Samantha. "ART SHINES IN APPALACHIAN OUTPOST." Columbus Dispatch, The (OH), Home Final ed., sec. NEWS, 14 Sept. 1997, p. 05C. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current, infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/10DF3B87B07C8960. Accessed 19 Oct. 2020.
  • Miller, Alan D.. "OU READY TO EXPAND INTO OLD CENTER - TRUSTEES MAY OK PLANS FOR MUSEUM, RESEARCH FACILITY." Columbus Dispatch, The (OH), Home Final ed., sec. NEWS, 2 Oct. 1993, p. 07C. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current, .newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/10E0DA69C631AD98. Accessed 19 Oct. 2020.
  • Mapes, Netta. "Nurses, Athens State Hospital grounds, August 19, 1912." Ohio University Library Digital Archival Collections. From the Athens Mental Health Center and Netta Mapes collections. 19 Aug, 1912. Photograph. Accessed digitally. (link) Image was modified.
  • Roseboom, Nell. "Nursing Students, Athens State Hospital, circa 1910-1914." Ohio University Library Digital Archival Collections. From the Athens Mental Health Center and Nell Roseboom collections. Photograph. Accessed digitally. (link) Image was modified.
  • Royal, Tiffany and Ben Roode. "Asylums + History = Creepy." The Post (Athens, Ohio). 26 Oct 2000. It's On! Section. Pg. 6. Accessed through Ohio University Library Digital Archives.
  • Woods, Jim. "OLD ATHENS MENTAL HEALTH CENTER IS MOVING LAST PATIENTS TO NEW HOME." Columbus Dispatch, The (OH), Home Final ed., sec. NEWS, 22 Mar. 1993, p. 04C. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current, infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/10E0D98ABB07F428. Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.
  • Tortora, Andrea. "Art galleries add culture to Ohio college town." The Cincinnati Enquirer. Travel. 25 June 2000. pp. 6. Accessed through Newspapers.com (link)
  • Ziff, Katherine. Asylum on the Hill. Ohio University Press: 2012. Kindle Edition.
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