I played way too long around with some new cc, reconstructing the Aula Regia. Sadly I won't be using this cause of its anarchronistic nature being built round 90 years ofter the reign of Augustus in the Flavian period
Monterey Bay Aquarium

oozey mess
d e v o n
will byers stan first human second
wallacepolsom
Sade Olutola

Discoholic šŖ©
NASA
Three Goblin Art

titsay
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
I'd rather be in outer space šø
KIROKAZE
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let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
Aqua Utopiaļ½ęµ·ć®åŗć§čØę¶ćē“”ć
Jules of Nature

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@thecityofmarble
I played way too long around with some new cc, reconstructing the Aula Regia. Sadly I won't be using this cause of its anarchronistic nature being built round 90 years ofter the reign of Augustus in the Flavian period
Small Updates on the Forum of Augustus
I added my first private conversions of cc to Sims 3, which of course had to be two statues made by @thejim07 for Sims 4: The famous Augustus of Prima Porta statue, as well as the actual Caryatid statue from this forum. I have to say it feels good to finally see these two in my world and they will definitely pop up here and there in my builds!
Soon, the gates will open...
Architectual Study I: Facade of the Circus Maximus (Statue of Virgil for height comparison, WIP)
Anatomy of the Roman Temple, Pt. I
The Romans are perceived to be a people of order and structure, symbolized by their empire-wide road and aqueduct network and their elaborate jurisdiction system. And of course, by their architecture. Influenced not only but mainly by the Greek culture, Roman architecture expanded with the borders of the Roman state of Europe and parts of Africa and Asia, influencing the western way to build since centuries.
The system on which Romans built their cities and buildings also expanded on to their religious structures and especially their temples. It was first written down by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio during the reign of emperor Augustus and is describes the architectural orders of columns, number of columns in the front and sizes of a building, as well as their height and space in between them.
For my project, I didnāt begin by reading Vitruvius (which might have prevented me from several alterations over time), but simply by trying to replicate the surviving temples on the forum and taking reconstructions of historians as visual guideline. The limitations of Sims 3 and its Build tool made me make concessions when it comes to the total dimensions of buildings.
As sort of slf-inspection, I want to highlight some overall roman design philosophies on my built temples and pin point some improvements to be made in the future:
The temple of Castor and Pollux on the roman forum is a typical Hexastyle temple, meaning it has six columns in the front, which is a design mostly suited for medium-sized temples. All roman temples consist of the Podium (red), the cella room (yellow), and the pediment (green), which all could be further divided into smaller architectural features.
The temple has a peripteral style, meaning that cella, the main room of the temple housing the statue of the god, is surrounded by freestanding columns on all sides. Vitruviusā rules of ratio dictate that a temple with 6 columns in the front has to have 11 columns on the sides.
To pinpoint on first flaw in my design is the use of columns of the ionic order, easily identified by the circular swirl on its capitals. This version of the temple, inaugurated after renovations under Tiberius in 6 CE features in reality columns of the Corinthian order. This is well documented by the simple fact that 3 of the side columns survive to this day. Iām not sure what made me overlook this feature, but this will be changed in a future revisit of the lot.
The space between columns, called the intercolumniation is described by Vitruvius differs on the certain column order. For the Corinthian order, the intercolumniation averages 2 diameters of a column, but then the relative proportion of height to diameter in the column has to be taken into account, as also the width of the peristyle.
In this example we can see that most of the intercolumniation are mostly around 1,5 ā 1 diameter of a column with the spacing not always consistent.
The roof and the pediment, housing often times paintings or statues depicting gods or mythological stories, should never has an side angle of more than 22°, according to Vitruvius (this one I got correct).
Also, Corinthian columns are normally 10 of its diameters high. Due to the constraints of S3 and the fact, that I can only alter that ratio by switching between one-, two- or three-story height, I opted for most of my builds for the two-story height configuration, with tools like the OMSP resizer or @ omedapixelās S3DT increasing the overall dimensions by two. Although not exact, it comes close the the proper ratio and most importantly looks fairly pleasant.
As you can see, there are many things to consider when designing a roman temple (and lots of things to mess up). Maybe next time Iāll post a picture of one of my interpretations youāll be able to spot a error ā feel free to nit-pick š
"There is a placeāthis was once the heart of the ancient cityāwhere now you see the Regia and its sacred buildings.ā
Ovid (Fasti 6.263ā268)
"He built no magnificent works except the house on the Palatine, called even to this day the Domus Tiberiana."
Suetonius on Tiberius
Ancient Roman Insula Deco Building
Collaboration with @murfeelee
Ancient Roman apartment building placeable in Edit town mode and Create a World. Two sizes with 24 color options.
Edit town mode > Landmarks
Credit to AlexFerrart3D at SketchFab for creating this 3D object. Thank you to @murfeelee for converting this object to sims 3!
Happy Simblreen!
Download
@simblreenofficial
Portico of Danaids and Temple of Apollo Palatinus on the Palatine hill.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ā Improvements on the city centre
The Forum Romanum, the beating heart of the Eternal City, was a place of constant transformation. From its humble beginnings in the Roman Kingdom ā once a swamp only recently drained by the construction of the Cloaca Maxima ā to its grand, marble-and-gold-clad appearance in the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, the Forum underwent continuous cycles of building, enlargement, and repair. Since much of the site has been excavated over the past few centuries and has been the subject of countless academic studies, the Forum is among the best-documented areas of ancient Rome. It therefore seemed a fitting starting point for my project (incidentally, the previously mentioned jb-builds began his āLatiumā project in a similar fashion).
My depiction of the Forum developed gradually ā from one temple or basilica to another ā until it eventually included all the major buildings of the Augustan era.
However, once I had completed the main stage of development, several issues became apparent. For one, there remained a vacant space on the slope of the Capitoline Hill next to the Temple of Concordia ā the future site of the Temple of Vespasian, which would not be built until decades later. Moreover, the central area still felt somewhat inaccurate and empty. I therefore conducted further research and added additional details, which you can see here:
The vacant slope has now been filled with what I imagine could have been the Basilica Opimia. This building, whose precise location remains uncertain due to the lack of archaeological evidence, is only briefly mentioned by two Republican-era sources and by the historian Varro. It was said to have stood near the Temple of Concord, which itself was restored and enlarged during the reign of Augustus. Many historians believe that this restoration led to the basilicaās demolition or at least to its being overshadowed by Augustusā redevelopment of the Forum. Since it seems unlikely that such a central spot would have remained empty for more than seventy years, I prefer to imagine that the basilica was only partially dismantled, leaving a portion adjacent to the Porticus Deorum Consentium intact.
My interpretation envisions a small, rather narrow structure with two porticoes on either side and a central hall. Its exterior, in contrast to the gleaming marble of neighbouring monuments, appears darker and earthier ā a deliberate reflection of its age and of the less prosperous mid-Republican period. My updated version of the Temple of Concordia, enlarged in this phase, now overshadows the basilica, reducing it to the role of a placeholder soon to be replaced.
I also added the Carcer (state prison), an interpretation of the Tarpeian Rock on the Capitoline Hill, and a new version of the Gemonian Stairs ā now fully functional rather than purely decorative.
Curia The Curia has been given a portico on its faƧade facing the Forum, along with several statues that would likely have represented distinguished senators and consuls of Romeās past. In front of the building lies the Lapis Niger, an enigmatic rectangular area paved in black stone. According to legend, this marks the spot where Romulus vanished into a mysterious fog. In the Imperial period, the area was enclosed by a stone border to signify its sacred character.
Sacellum of Venus Cloacina First mentioned in the 2nd century BCE, this small shrine was dedicated to honouring the Cloaca Maxima, Romeās ancient sewer system. It was associated with the Etruscan goddess Cloacina, later identified with Venus for reasons that remain obscure. The shrineās appearance during Augustusā reign can be reconstructed fairly easily: coins issued by the Second Triumvirate depict a round structure with two elevated statues ā likely representing Cloacina and Venus.
Temple of Janus Geminus Though modest compared to the grand temples of the Forum, the Temple of Janus Geminus held great symbolic importance in the Roman world. Its open doors signified that Rome was at war, while their closure marked a time of peace. Procopius provides a detailed description of the temple in the 5th century CE. My current visualisation does not yet feature the bronze doors he describes ā Iāll likely return to this structure once I find a suitable design.
Ficus, Olea, Vitis Amid the forest of stone monuments lies a small patch of greenery containing a fig tree, an olive tree, and a vine. Pliny records that the fig and vine grew naturally near the Lacus Curtius (the small, swampy pool visible on the Forum), while the olive tree was planted to provide shade. I have yet to find models that perfectly match the description, so for now, a single small tree must suffice.
This will be all for now. As you can see, although Iāve made considerable progress in this area, there remains ample room for further detailing and refinement.
Growing the eternal city and the 'gardener' approach
Some might say that trying to replicate Ancient Rome on your own is a task too big to tackle ā and I agree! The chance that Iāll never consider this project truly complete is pretty high. But I donāt necessarily see this as a project that needs to hit the 100% mark. Iām doing it for the fun of it, trying to learn something new about antiquity with every monument I build.
And I wonāt create 58 different versions of insulae just to fill a certain part of the map. Instead, I approach it as a āgardenerā ā a term used to describe the writing style of A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin ā where characters and storylines evolve naturally over time. While you still have a general idea of the story or your goal, you allow yourself to go with the flow, follow your current interests and see where it leads you.
As you'll see throughout my documentation of this project, there will be many unfinished lots and areas ā simply because I reached a point where I want to focus on a different topic. After all, who wants to build ten apartment blocks when you could be constructing a temple on the Palatine Hill?
That said, there is still a goal to be achieved. With my current progress, Iām aiming to recreate the area from the Forum Romanum (including the two Imperial Fora during Augustusā reign) to the Palatine Hill in the southeast of the map (extending to the Circus Maximus), as well as the Capitoline Hill and the Campus Martius in the west, with the Velabrum and Forum Boarium filling the space in between.
This alone is a massive task and still takes quite a lot of time ā but itās not unrealistic.