HfG-Archiv Ulm online: From exclusive reality to inclusive virtuality

Abstract

The Archive of the Ulm School of Design (HfG-Archiv Ulm) began operating in 1987. It was created as a joint effort between the city council and a group of alumni that saw the necessity of preserving the institution’s memory and legacy after its closure. The first version of a website for the Archive was envisioned in 1999. Its goal was to present information on the HfG Ulm, display the Archive collection, and communicate related events to a massive audience. The HfG-Archiv Ulm website maintained the same structure and interface for almost 20 years. With the years of existence, it became an archive on its own. The virtual components acted as extensions of the tangible and intangible objects stored in the physical archive. Over the years of its existence, the website accomplished the mission of collecting and storing the Archive’s material and activities. At the same time, it was an instrument for research, education, and exposure for the Ulm School of Design. The project served as a communication tool for the Archive and became an archive of activities, events, publications and updates. The WWW was not conceived as a medium to preserve information, but it could work as such. In addition, the universal access of a website grants the possibility of reaching a physical place in Germany, achieving Winograd’s locomotion metaphor. We speak of navigating from one site to another, touching and following links — all metaphors of spatial locomotion that engage people opening new ways of thinking, learning, and doing. As technology changes, future work could amplify the experience of visiting the Archive by creating a contemporary virtual model, enhancing the opportunity to expand knowledge and spaces of interaction.