Happy New Year's Eve, and I hope this post finds you well! This is my recreation of the Curia Julia, which served as the Senate House in the Forum Romanum. The Senate House was remodeled (and rebuilt) multiple times over the course of Ancient Rome's history, but by far the most famous version (and longest lasting) is the one commissioned by Julius Caesar in 44 BCE and completed during the reign of Augustus in 29 BCE. This build is an attempt to recreate this famous version, which you could still see today in the ruins of the Forum.

The exterior is based off of recognizably credible 3d rendered recreations that one can find online from a simple google search. It is also based off of the the current structure's ruins. As with most of my builds, I incorporated a few "creative liberties" to the interior, but I nonetheless attempted to make it feel authentic and interesting. By far the most amount of time spent on this structure was the interior of the Senate chamber as I made a ton of revisions during the process of construction. I wanted to make sure it was the best interior design/recreation I've made with regards to detailing, palette, and (somewhat) replication.

The scale of this structure is more synonymous with a 4:1 scale. I do not consider this a continuation of the 5:1 build series nor the start of a new series. I have a few other standalone projects I'd like to complete over the next few months, but in full disclosure, publication will not be as active as it once was earlier this year.

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End of Year Statement:

On a more serious note, this is my final build of 2023. I have so much exciting stuff planned for 2024, and I hope I can get around to all of it! This year has been absolutely crazy (in a good way) with regards to my building career. Starting this past March with the publication of my Forum of Trajan map, I've been so happy and grateful to hear about the interests I've peaked, inspiration I've provided, and joy that I've brought through my builds. It has also been a year of personal growth -- academically, mentally, etc. But especially with regards to how I think of building in Minecraft, architecture in general, and my interests as a person. However, the most important thing that has changed for me over this past year was the "why." Why do I do this? Why do I spend hundreds of hours building all of these projects? Earlier this year it was just for fun, and when I started way back during the pandemic it was out of boredom in an attempt to fill the time. But now, I've found a greater and more humbling purpose in why I spend my time building: to educate. Now I'm no PhD or expert in all things Roman history and architecture, but I hope I could be able to share what I've learned (and at least the excitement I feel) to the world. I want to continue doing that in a way that is easily accessible and somewhat tangible, particularly through Minecraft. Thus, I don't plan on going anywhere :) I still plan to continue building (albeit a little bit less frequently due to reasons) and sharing my content for free so you could enjoy as well.

Wishing you a great New Year, and I hope your plans/goals/aspirations/resolutions for 2024 come to fruition. Let's all work together to make 2024 a year of success, growth, and happiness all around. See you around :D