One of our main motivations behind this project is the upcoming renovation of Willis Hall. Carleton has listed the building as an immediate, high-priority project. These renovations serve the purpose of fulfilling maintenance needs, improving accessibility, and updating the building for future use.
As stated on Carleton’s website, “Willis Hall, the oldest structure on Carleton’s campus, which is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, represents an opportunity to preserve an iconic piece of Carleton’s history, while strengthening the functionality of this beloved landmark.”
While the renovation aims to maintain the building’s historic character, especially its recognizable exterior, it will likely inevitably bring some significant changes to the interior spaces. Because of this, our project focuses primarily on documenting the current interior layout of Willis Hall before those changes occur.
To help preserve these spaces, we created an interactive indoor tour using ThingLink, built from 360° panoramas captured throughout the building. This allows viewers to explore classrooms, hallways, and other non-private rooms as they exist today. In addition to the interior tour, we also created a 3D exterior model of Willis Hall so that viewers can see the current exterior to make our website more holistic.
Together, these digital elements create a record of Willis Hall at an important moment in its history. We have made it our goal to capture both the building’s current interior experience and its historic exterior before the next chapter of renovation begins.