Immersive Projection: A Case Study on the Duke Chapel Interior

In my thesis, I explore the potential of projection mapping for storytelling by using Duke Chapel interior as an example. Through the investigation of what filmmaker Frederick Backer calls “Projectionism,” I focus on the “projectile” (image) and “receiver” (surface) of contemporary projection mapping and analyze two case studies. Additionally, I consider the relationship between memory and architecture. Drawing on the Duke University Archives, I selected Duke's West Campus style as the basis for the construction of a storyline for my digital project.

Duke Chapel’s crossing serves as the project’s main canvas and to the thesis outlines the process of constructing a scale model of the Chapel’s crossing through photogrammetry, 3D modeling, and 3D printing technologies. Finally, I discuss the various strategies I used to tell the story of the choice of Collegiate Gothic for the architectural style of Duke’s West Campus and argue for projection-mapping as a powerful method of showing and telling.