CHArt CHArt Computers and the History of Art - 1999 Conference Paper Abstract
Built in 1857-8, Holmwood House is the finest and most elaborate villa designed by Alexander 'Greek' Thomson, who now enjoys an international reputation as one of Scotland s most original designers. The house was built in a modern, abstracted version of the architectural language of the Greeks, and decorated internally in bold primary colours. It has been called 'one of the most important and experimental of nineteenth-century Scottish interiors', and these are now the subject of painstaking conservation work. Holmwood was acquired by the National Trust for Scotland in 1994, and 1999 sees its first full season of opening.
The paper's authors were approached by the Trust in early 1999 to design and create a commercial CD-Rom guide to Holmwood which would be available for visitors to both use in the house and purchase following their visit. The authors had previously designed 'Glasgow on Disc', a commercial CD-Rom guide to the architecture of Glasgow which was used to support the city s successful 1999 City of Architecture and Design bid.
The Holmwood CD-Rom is one of the first in-depth analyses of an individual building using multimedia. It includes virtual tours of the property using QuickTime VR and interactive plans, and information about the conservation and restoration work; while background on previous owners of the house provides a social and historical perspective. Illustrated essays on nineteenth century Glasgow, and on Thomson and his work in the city put the achievements at Holmwood in their broader context.
The paper will explore the mechanics and challenges of designing such a visually-led product, including managing the project, gathering and structuring the information for inclusion, screen design, the creation of the virtual tours, and the problems of accurately representing the built environment digitally.