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Sistine Chapel as a 3D Virtual Reality Simulation

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A screen capture of my recreation of the Sistine Chapel in virtual reality.

A screen capture of my recreation of the Sistine Chapel in virtual reality. (Click to enlarge)

Seven years ago in 2006 I did a project as part of a course at BYU. The object of the project was to produce something substantially creative. I decided to recreate the Sistine Chapel as a computer generated virtual simulation. Since most people may not have a chance to visit the real Sistine Chapel, this would give them a chance to see this remarkable place, examine it, walk around, and view the masterpieces that adorn its walls. So I recreated the Sistine Chapel in a format called Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML), reconstructing all of the high resolution photos I could find of the artwork on the walls and ceiling. Of course, the simulation falls short of the actual experience, as most simulations do, but it gives a good approximation. [Read more…]

Bird’s Eye View of Temple Square (and others)

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Google has recently has added photographs from planes to its “satellite” imagery in Google Maps.  What this means is that many cities in the U.S. now have higher resolution pictures from the sky as you zoom in close, and they are typically more realistic looking since they are at a 45 degree angle.

Below is an example of Temple Square, and the Jordan River temple. These are interactive embedded maps, so you can drag them around with your mouse and look at various parts of Temple Square, in exquisite detail, as if you were in an airplane.

Just think what it’ll all look like when they get 3D aerial photography in Google Maps!


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Jordan River temple (this one is a bit more finicky, if it doesn’t show the 45 degree angle at first, zoom out one level and back in):

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New Webpage for BYU SANE Symposium on Temples on November 7th

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Flyer

Flyer

The BYU Religious Studies Center has posted a new webpage with information about the Students of the Ancient Near East Symposium entitled “Temples and Ritual In Antiquity” that will be taking place at BYU on November 7th.  They have the date, time, location, maps, schedule, phone number, flyer, and other information available.  See it here:

http://www.rsc.byu.edu/comingSoonAntiqua.php

I’m really looking forward to this conference.  I am working with the organizers of the symposium to hopefully videotape all the presentations and make them available online later.  I might even be able to live broadcast one of the rooms to the internet, so those that are unable to attend can still participate.  Stay tuned…

Locations of Five New Temples Announced

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The Church released new details yesterday about the five new temples that will be built, including locations.  I’ve linked the approximate locations to Google Maps below.  Please let me know if any of the linked maps are incorrect:

The Philadelphia temple will be built in downtown Philadelphia, at North Broad Street between Hamilton Street and Noble Street. Several other temples occupy urban sites, including those in Manhattan and Hong Kong. No designs have been completed for this temple or the others announced on Saturday.

For the temple serving the greater Kansas City area, the site will be in Clay County, Missouri, on residential land within the Kansas City limits that is already being developed by the Church. The development is known as Shoal Creek. [As the crow flies, this is about 11.5 miles from the Temple Lot in Independence, Missouri, and only 2-4 miles from Liberty Jail.]

The temple in Córdoba, Argentina, will be situated on the Belgrano meetinghouse site, next to the present mission home of the Church, and the Calgary temple will be built on Church-owned land next to an existing chapel in the northwest part of the city, at the intersection of Rocky Ridge Road and Royal Oak Road.

In Rome, the temple will occupy part of a 15-acre Church-owned site near the ring road skirting the northeast section of Rome. [As the crow flies, this is about 6.5 miles from the Vatican.]

(http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/new-temple-site-locations-announced)