Three.js - Can't change loaded JSON position

Question

I have a model of a temple made in Google Sketchup (.obj file). I convert it to JSON and load it to my application. But the problem is that the mesh is moved to a far away position, so I can't see it. I'm trying to change its position but I've failed so far. Below is my code. Can you tell me what's wrong? I'm new to Three.js and I'm at a loss

// Set up the scene, camera, and renderer as global variables.
var scene, camera, renderer;

init();
animate();

// Sets up the scene.
function init() {

  // Create the scene and set the scene size.
  scene = new THREE.Scene();
  var WIDTH = window.innerWidth,
      HEIGHT = window.innerHeight;

  // Create a renderer and add it to the DOM.
  renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({antialias:true});
  renderer.setSize(WIDTH, HEIGHT);
  document.body.appendChild(renderer.domElement);

  // Create a camera, zoom it out from the model a bit, and add it to the scene.
  camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera(45, WIDTH / HEIGHT, 0.1, 20000);
  camera.position.set(0,16,0);
  scene.add(camera);

  // Create an event listener that resizes the renderer with the browser window.
  window.addEventListener('resize', function() {
    var WIDTH = window.innerWidth,
        HEIGHT = window.innerHeight;
    renderer.setSize(WIDTH, HEIGHT);
    camera.aspect = WIDTH / HEIGHT;
    camera.updateProjectionMatrix();
  });

  // Set the background color of the scene.
  renderer.setClearColor(0x333F47, 1);

  // Create a light, set its position, and add it to the scene.
  var light = new THREE.PointLight(0xffffff);
  light.position.set(-100,200,100);
  scene.add(light);

  // Load in the mesh and add it to the scene.
  var loader = new THREE.JSONLoader();

  loader.load( "models/naos_apollona.js", function(geometry){
    var material = new THREE.MeshLambertMaterial({color: 0x55B663});
    mesh = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material);
//mesh.position.set(1,1,1)
    scene.add(mesh);
  });

  // Add OrbitControls so that we can pan around with the mouse.
  controls = new THREE.OrbitControls(camera, renderer.domElement);

}

// Renders the scene and updates the render as needed.
function animate() {

  // Read more about requestAnimationFrame at http://www.paulirish.com/2011/requestanimationframe-for-smart-animating/
  requestAnimationFrame(animate);

  // Render the scene.
  renderer.render(scene, camera);
  controls.update();

}

Answer 1

You really have no idea where in space your model is. So what you need to do is use the bounding box of the model, find its center and subtract that from the position.

mesh = new THREE.Mesh ...;
mesh.geometry.computeBoundingBox ();
var bBox = mesh.geometry.boundingBox;
mesh.position.set (bBox.min.x-bBox.max.x, bBox.min.y-bBox.max.y, bBox.min.z-bBox.max.z);

and there is also a bounding box helper THREE.BoundingBoxHelper() to help you visualize the bounding box of your model.