Venice Time Machine is a major research undertaking led by EPFL's DHLab. The project aims to transform centuries of archives into data, then network that data to reconstruct the past using algorithms.

Facing the need to provide access to already-digitized data and to bring several research projects together into a unified interface, DHLab brought me on to explore different interface concepts.

Avec Laurent Bolli

A spatio-temporal browser inspired by audiovisual sequencers.
Each event is represented by a diamond. In the sequencer (Timeline), the length of the diamond corresponds to a duration in time.
The map view allows different geographic representations to be layered (historical maps, aerial or satellite views, photogrammetry).
Messages for empty states or errors.
Geographic markers
The homepage contains only a search field.
Examples of complex searches are available directly within the interface.
Detail of the results page. A histogram shows the density of results spread out over time.
Search results page
The document viewer lets you consult sources in their original context.
The symbol refers simultaneously to the diamonds that represent events, and to the Time Machine's internal geographic coordinate system.
Website promoting the project's expansion to the European level.