The Pantheon (1:1 scale)
Minecraft Temple by THSchutt (2021)
This particular replica of the Pantheon from Ancient Rome, was originally built in primordial Minecraft back in 2011, under the name TomBuilder (now THSchutt), and was extensively revised and updated over the last decade, with the final version you see now finished in 2020.
The goal of this build was to keep the scale and dimensions as close to the actual size as possible while maintaining aesthetics. Overall, the difference in size between the model and the real edifice is quite small—fortuitously, the 1:1 scaling translates particularly well for this Minecraft build, better than most.
DIMENSIONS: MODEL (blocks) vs. REAL (m)
Oculus Height: 43 vs. 43.3
Total Height: 45.5 vs. 44.3
Oculus Diameter: 7 vs. 9.1
Total Width: 61 vs. 58.0
Portico Width: 37 vs. 34.2
Total Length: 84 vs. 84.0
Portico Depth: 15 vs. 15.6
Interior Globe Radius: 21 vs. 21.7
Portico Columns Height: 14 vs. 11.8
Rotunda Diameter: 43 vs. 43.3
The diameter of the rotunda matches almost perfectly, as does the curvature of the dome, which conceptually follows that of a perfect hollow sphere nestled flush within the interior. Originally when I built the starting model back in 2011, I opted to make the oculus diameter a tad smaller than the real one, for aesthetically this seemed to fit the block configuration better. Now, 11 years later, I am tempted to make the oculus the proper width of 9 blocks or meters, however, I have gotten so used to the 7 block width as it is, that I continue to put aside this update indefinitely.
The portico is slightly too large, but only by a modest amount. This was done to allow for even spacing between the columns. Visually the difference is negligible, although the columns do appear generally heavier and thicker than the real columns do. Using 1x1 based columns as an alternative would have had a far too thin feeling however, so the 2x2 column base was the most appropriate size originally. Recently in Minecraft patch 1.16, the new feature which makes it possible to stack wall blocks without being riddled with holes, leads to many new creative possibilities, such as creating a new sized column that is not far from 1.5x1.5 blocks. I chose not to do this for the Pantheon’s portico, mostly because I already used this technique in a different build of the Greek Parthenon where that option was even more vital. So my Roman Pantheon maintains its Portico with 2x2 sized columns for the sake of having a little variety between builds and to serve as a nod to how the build looked originally back in primordial Minecraft.
I spent some time at the end of 2021, recalculating and reconstructing the dome’s geometry. Rather than building a whole-block dome, I opted to build a half-block dome with much smoother curvature, particularly on the exterior where the slope around the oculus is very gradual. I also redid the coffering underneath the dome, using an even design rather than an odd one, which ended up producing a much better result. While an even design cannot be centered on the odd-design of the groundplan, this in fact mimics the real Pantheon whose coffering is also off-center, purposefully to make the dome feel detached from the rest of the building.
