This virtual house was designed using SketchUp software from @Last; the decorative textures (paintings, mosaics) were developed using Adobe Photoshop. In Sketchup, problems were solved as they presented themselves: the basic blocks of the building were easy to draw, but how about the inward sloping roofs of the atrium and peristyle? Once we had these, how about the fluted columns? What sort of transition did the Romans themselves use between the columns and the roof, or between the column bases and floor of the peristyle or impluvium? Problems led us into more complex geometries, and the infamous "follow me" tool. For paintings and mosaics, we scanned pictures and then copied and flipped layers to make the basis for a continuous 3rd or 4th style scheme. Again, we learned as we went--our initial approach was to import images and "glue" them to walls, but at the end we relied much more on converting the images to materials and "painting" them on the walls in SketchUp. The beauty of this approach is that these painted textures can be repositioned in SketchUp, allowing for precise joins with walls, floors, and corners. Neither students nor professor had any knowledge of SketchUp when the semester began, and this necessarily led to comprises in complexity and "finish." However, SketchUp on the whole is not that difficult, and the Photoshop techniques were also fairly easy to master.

Key areas for improvement:

1) begin from a floor plan so that realistic wall thicknesses are present. This is really important for the surface-depth play of Roman decorative schemes.

2) provide more complex solutions for the tops of columns (e.g. create capital components).

3) provide overhangs, gutters, and terracotta elements for the roof lines.

4) incorporate the house into a "Pompeian" setting.

5) develop a much larger pool of mosaics and mythological paintings, in color.