The Boys in the Boat

In Spring 2022, UW students from the Division of Design and Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) explored concepts for interactive exhibits about the history of the ASUW Shell House, home of the UW’s 1936 rowing team.

This team, whose story is told in Daniel James Brown’s book The Boys in the Boat, won a gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, defeating the world’s best crew teams in a stunning victory in front of Adolf Hitler.

The UW student teams developed prototypes of exhibit designs in a course led by UW faculty. They were advised by ASUW Shell House Capital Campaign Manager Nicole Klein. The teams presented their project concepts at a showcase event on Tuesday, June 7th, 2022, in the Shell House.

More about the course and the projects can be found below.

Faculty:

• Andrew Davidson, Associate Teaching Professor, HCDE
• Kristine Matthews, Associate Professor, Visual Communication Design
• Plamena Milusheva, Physical Experience Designer

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Background

In 1936, the UW Rowing team took the gold medal at the Berlin Olympics, defeating the world’s best crew teams in a stunning victory in front of Adolf Hitler. This inspiring story was chronicled in Seattle author Daniel James Brown’s best-selling 2013 book “The Boys in the Boat.” For more details about the 1936 Olympic rowing event, check out this excellent 2017 PBS documentary: “The Boys of ’36.”

The team’s home was an iconic building on the UW campus known as the ASUW Shell House (pictured above with the 1936 medalist team). This building, which had previously served as a US Navy hangar and training facility for seaplanes in World War I, dates from 1918 and still exists, but has been languishing unused for many years.

The UW has launched a capital campaign for the restoration of the Shell House with comprehensive plans for its new life: The Next 100 Years Campaign. In addition, a feature film adaptation of “The Boys in the Boat,” directed by George Clooney, is in production.

This ASUW Shell House campaign video (5:06) provides a short history of the Shell House and the motivation for its restoration project:

The restoration planning team, led by campaign manager Nicole Klein, envisions the new Shell House building as a student space for meetings and classes, an event venue, and a cultural center, including historical exhibits.

It is the latter purpose that was the focus of our investigation — exploring ideas and concepts for engaging interactive exhibits about the history and legacy of the ASUW Shell House.

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Virtual Tour

Explore the ASUW Shell House in this 3D Virtual Tour:

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Design Challenge

In this course, students worked in three-person, multi-disciplinary teams to engage in user research, ideation, design, and prototyping of concepts for interactive exhibits that could be a part of the restored ASUW Shell House experience. These exhibits could range from permanent installations to temporary pop-ups that bring to life the history and engaging stories about the building.

Many aspects of the Shell House site and building were explored, from the indigenous Native American significance of the site (before the ship canal was constructed), to the US Navy origins of the hangar, to the home of the UW crew teams and famed boat builder George Pocock, the role of women in rowing at the UW, and the ASUW period after the crew teams moved to their current home at Conibear Shellhouse.

After engaging in the research and design process, teams developed prototypes of their concepts, and presented these concepts to stakeholders at the end of the quarter. The results are presented below.

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Showcase Videos

• Introductions
• Projects
1. Joe Rantz: A day in the life of Joe Rantz
2. Western Red Cedar: Following the story of the Western Red Cedar through its significance in Seattle history
3. Headlining History: The road to the 1936 Olympics as told through the news
4. Shell House Soundscapes: Soundscape kiosks in and around the Shell House
5. Mind in Boat: An audiovisual experience of the UW coxswain legacy, technique, and tradition
• Closing

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Introductions (7:58)

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Joe Rantz (7:25)

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Western Red Cedar (8:35)

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Headlining History (6:15)

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Shell House Soundscapes (14:28)

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Mind in Boat (11:14)

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Closing (1:20)

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