Future Models of the Arnold Arboretum

VIS 2493 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

“Future Models of the Arnold Arboretum” will focus on producing an augmented reality exhibition describing the Arnold Arboretum’s history and speculating on its future. Taking the 1000-year lease as the basis of the inquiry, the seminar will explore the site’s 144 years of the lease so far, and project potential into the 856 years that remain. Blending on-site archival research and fieldwork, computational analysis and digital storytelling, and stakeholder engagement, students will develop materials for a mixed-medium exhibition using a physical model as its base. This seminar is an opportunity for students to engage more directly with the Arboretum’s living and archival collections. The augmented reality model will serve a dual purpose: as an ongoing orientation and teaching tool for visitors to the Visitor’s Center, as well as a platform for design research led by GSD students and faculty exploring the site's history, ecological and urban performance, and projective futures.