Philadelphia fullerine: A case study in three-dimensional hypermedia

J. Nathan Matias, Elizabethtown College

Abstract

Philadelphia Fullerine, a geodesic hypermedia sculpture designed by the author, is about ethnic and lower class life in mid-19th century Philadelphia. Each of the 60 faces presents primary image material and a short audio documentary. Adjacent faces are linked conceptually. This geodesic sphere has full rotational freedom. Viewers are encouraged to begin anywhere and follow any path of adjacency. This paper examines the underlying theory, design methods, and structure of the sculpture as a case study in the applications and challenges of creating, storing, and navigating three-dimensional hyperstructures with spatial hypertext software and GZigZag. Copyright 2005 ACM.