Church Builder is 3D Computer Environment

3D computer graphics

3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

  created by Brian Farrimond of the School of Computing at Liverpool Hope University

Liverpool Hope University

Liverpool Hope University is a university in Liverpool, England. Two of its three founding colleges were established in 1844 and 1856, the third opening in the 1960s. It is the only ecumenical university in Europe. Based on two campuses, the main campus is located in Childwall and the second...

. It allows children as young as 9 to create virtual models

Virtual world

A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...

 of Churches and Cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

s.

Description of Church Builder

Church Builder is a piece of software aimed at primary school children aged between 9 and 11 years. The developers' objective was to produce a 3D modelling tool that children could learn to use in 15 minutes, yet creating realistic, complex models quickly.

3D models are increasingly used to visualize

Visualization (graphic)

Visualization is any technique for creating images, diagrams, or animations to communicate a message. Visualization through visual imagery has been an effective way to communicate both abstract and concrete ideas since the dawn of man...

 objects for presentation in schools, and the active creative engagement with such ICT materials is recognized as beneficial to developing multiple intelligences in children. Normally such software is difficult to master, especially for children. However, because Church Builder's primitives deal with church elements, such as nave

Nave

In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

s, transept

Transept

For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...

s etc., rather than polygon

Polygon

In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...

s and boxes, the creation of specific 3D models can be almost immediate.

The current version of the software provides the first component of a tool kit which can be used for modelling a range of types of buildings including churches, castles and palaces that can be placed in virtual worlds, modelling the heritage of the locality and which can be shared.

Software Construction and Underlying Principles

Church Builder has minimal system requirements, and is basically a tool treating the underlying data of the 3D models as a tree structure

Tree structure

A tree structure is a way of representing the hierarchical nature of a structure in a graphical form. It is named a "tree structure" because the classic representation resembles a tree, even though the chart is generally upside down compared to an actual tree, with the "root" at the top and the...

 of nodes

Node (computer science)

A node is a record consisting of one or more fields that are links to other nodes, and a data field. The link and data fields are often implemented by pointers or references although it is also quite common for the data to be embedded directly in the node. Nodes are used to build linked, often...

, consisting of parameter

Parameter

Parameter from Ancient Greek παρά also “para” meaning “beside, subsidiary” and μέτρον also “metron” meaning “measure”, can be interpreted in mathematics, logic, linguistics, environmental science and other disciplines....

ized representations of the components of the objects being modeled. The tool automatically generates graphics primitives that enable the visualization of and interaction with the object, allowing children to rapidly build sophisticated model church structures

Published Articles

• Farrimond, B., Bonar-Law, J. & Hetherington, R., 2007, Kiddy Cad: A Child-Friendly Parametric Approach for 3D Modelling Software, Computer Aided Design & Applications, Vol 4, Nos 1-4,