diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..620ef7d8332699a31fb89fa5f93c99ad389e262e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+*.blend filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+*.blend1 filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+*.bin filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+*.glb filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+*.jpg filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+*.png filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+*.tif filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+*.psd filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+*.gltf filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f64181f0e271d7eba3ba146d8dc9cbf229c5f285..d2bf98a016f588760241f9dc7f90f6197c458404 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
+<<<<<<< HEAD
+=======
 
+>>>>>>> develop
 # IDE specific files
 .project
 .cproject
diff --git a/.gitmodules b/.gitmodules
index 97fc7d9d689b41b55f2c3308a086f8f167869258..4b9737e41ad03ecb661709c24531482f3d0e056d 100644
--- a/.gitmodules
+++ b/.gitmodules
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 [submodule "lib/glfw"]
 	path = lib/glfw
 	url = https://github.com/glfw/glfw.git
+[submodule "modules/asset_loader/lib/fx-gltf"]
+	path = modules/asset_loader/lib/fx-gltf
+	url = https://github.com/jessey-git/fx-gltf.git
+[submodule "modules/asset_loader/lib/json"]
+	path = modules/asset_loader/lib/json
+	url = https://github.com/nlohmann/json.git
+[submodule "modules/asset_loader/lib/stb"]
+	path = modules/asset_loader/lib/stb
+	url = https://github.com/nothings/stb.git
 [submodule "modules/camera/lib/glm"]
 	path = modules/camera/lib/glm
 	url = https://github.com/g-truc/glm.git
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 520b6242f86ccc3db6e1de78cf16ec26d550efb2..4289a74308776017f099d048cf749c9693e6609f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@
 
 ![Vulkan-Chan](https://gitlab.uni-koblenz.de/uploads/-/system/project/avatar/3712/VulkanChan.jpg)
 
+## Repository
+
+Git LFS is used for bigger resource files like meshes and textures. So you need to install Git LFS and use `git lfs install` after cloning.
+
+More information about Git LFS [here](https://git-lfs.github.com/).
+
 ## Build
 
 Git submodules are used for libraries. 
diff --git a/modules/CMakeLists.txt b/modules/CMakeLists.txt
index e9911a597d036e1123628bfc50b2fb7718e7a58c..f29ff2fc86c88aa8bae2560f199d3882c9919b65 100644
--- a/modules/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/modules/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 
 # Add new modules here:
+add_subdirectory(asset_loader)
 add_subdirectory(camera)
 add_subdirectory(testing)
diff --git a/modules/asset_loader/CMakeLists.txt b/modules/asset_loader/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..8d4c0d6c104187de2d807cceceff529d83d236d6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/asset_loader/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
+project(vkcv_asset_loader)
+
+# setting c++ standard for the module
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
+
+set(vkcv_asset_loader_source ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/src)
+set(vkcv_asset_loader_include ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/include)
+
+# Add source and header files to the module
+set(vkcv_asset_loader_sources
+		${vkcv_asset_loader_include}/vkcv/asset/asset_loader.hpp
+		${vkcv_asset_loader_source}/vkcv/asset/asset_loader.cpp
+)
+
+# adding source files to the module
+add_library(vkcv_asset_loader STATIC ${vkcv_asset_loader_sources})
+
+# Setup some path variables to load libraries
+set(vkcv_asset_loader_lib lib)
+set(vkcv_asset_loader_lib_path ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/${vkcv_asset_loader_lib})
+
+# Check and load NLOHMANN_JSON
+include(config/NLOHMANN_JSON.cmake)
+
+# Check and load FX-GLTF
+include(config/FX_GLTF.cmake)
+
+# Check and load STB
+include(config/STB.cmake)
+
+# link the required libraries to the module
+target_link_libraries(vkcv_asset_loader ${vkcv_asset_loader_libraries})
+
+# including headers of dependencies and the VkCV framework
+target_include_directories(vkcv_asset_loader SYSTEM BEFORE PRIVATE ${vkcv_asset_loader_includes})
+
+# add the own include directory for public headers
+target_include_directories(vkcv_asset_loader BEFORE PUBLIC ${vkcv_asset_loader_include})
diff --git a/modules/asset_loader/config/FX_GLTF.cmake b/modules/asset_loader/config/FX_GLTF.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..37cd162422d8277022067498f5d5ba3e26e2ae1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/asset_loader/config/FX_GLTF.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+
+if (EXISTS "${vkcv_asset_loader_lib_path}/fx-gltf")
+	set(FX_GLTF_INSTALL OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
+	set(FX_GLTF_USE_INSTALLED_DEPS OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
+	set(BUILD_TESTING OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
+	
+	add_subdirectory(${vkcv_asset_loader_lib}/fx-gltf)
+	
+	list(APPEND vkcv_asset_loader_libraries fx-gltf)
+else()
+	message(WARNING "FX-GLTF is required..! Update the submodules!")
+endif ()
diff --git a/modules/asset_loader/config/NLOHMANN_JSON.cmake b/modules/asset_loader/config/NLOHMANN_JSON.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..018f6a19809fd3e53e6e790a6fe6447348e43c09
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/asset_loader/config/NLOHMANN_JSON.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+
+if (EXISTS "${vkcv_asset_loader_lib_path}/json")
+	set(JSON_BuildTests OFF CACHE INTERNAL "")
+	
+	add_subdirectory(${vkcv_asset_loader_lib}/json)
+	
+	list(APPEND vkcv_asset_loader_libraries nlohmann_json::nlohmann_json)
+else()
+	message(WARNING "NLOHMANN_JSON is required..! Update the submodules!")
+endif ()
diff --git a/modules/asset_loader/config/STB.cmake b/modules/asset_loader/config/STB.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..da20d3ec07f98c865b4c6e38518f668b226cbfb9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/asset_loader/config/STB.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+
+if (EXISTS "${vkcv_asset_loader_lib_path}/stb")
+	list(APPEND vkcv_asset_loader_includes ${vkcv_asset_loader_lib}/stb)
+else()
+	message(WARNING "STB is required..! Update the submodules!")
+endif ()
diff --git a/modules/asset_loader/include/vkcv/asset/asset_loader.hpp b/modules/asset_loader/include/vkcv/asset/asset_loader.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..6df014563a8991e464e02eb10f210c079913d3cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/asset_loader/include/vkcv/asset/asset_loader.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+#pragma once
+/**
+ * @authors Trevor Hollmann
+ * @file include/vkcv/asset/asset_loader.h
+ * @brief Interface of the asset loader module for the vkcv framework.
+ */
+
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+#include <cstdint>
+
+/* These macros define limits of the following structs. Implementations can
+ * test against these limits when performing sanity checks. The main constraint
+ * expressed is that of the data type: Material indices are identified by a
+ * uint8_t in the VertexGroup struct, so there can't be more than UINT8_MAX
+ * materials in the mesh. Should these limits be too narrow, the data type has
+ * to be changed, but the current ones should be generous enough for most use
+ * cases. */
+#define MAX_MATERIALS_PER_MESH UINT8_MAX
+#define MAX_VERTICES_PER_VERTEX_GROUP UINT32_MAX
+
+/* LOADING MESHES
+ * The description of meshes is a hierarchy of structures with the Mesh at the
+ * top.
+ *
+ * Each Mesh has an array of one or more vertex groups (called "primitives" in
+ * glTF parlance) and an array of zero or more Materials.
+ *
+ * Each vertex group describes a part of the meshes vertices by defining how
+ * they should be rendered (as points, lines, triangles), how many indices and
+ * vertices there are, how the content of the vertex buffer is to be
+ * interpreted and which material from the Meshes materials array should be
+ * used for the surface of the vertices.
+ * As a bonus there is also the axis aligned bounding box of the vertices.
+ *
+ * The vertex buffer is presented as a single block of binary data with a given
+ * length in bytes.
+ * The layout of the vertex buffer is described by an array of VertexAttribute
+ * structs that define the type of attribute, the offset, length and stride in
+ * bytes and number and type of components of the attribute.
+ * These values can directly be given to vulkan when describing the content of
+ * vertex buffers. */
+
+namespace vkcv::asset {
+
+/* This enum matches modes in fx-gltf, the library returns a standard mode
+ * (TRIANGLES) if no mode is given in the file. */
+enum PrimitiveMode {
+	POINTS=0, LINES, LINELOOP, LINESTRIP, TRIANGLES, TRIANGLESTRIP,
+	TRIANGLEFAN
+};
+/* With these enums, 0 is reserved to signal uninitialized or invalid data. */
+enum PrimitiveType { POSITION=1, NORMAL, TEXCOORD_0 };
+/* The indices in the index buffer can be of different bit width. */
+enum IndexType { UINT32=0, UINT16=1, UINT8=2 };
+
+typedef struct {
+	// TODO not yet needed for the first (unlit) triangle
+} Material;
+
+/* This struct describes one vertex attribute of a vertex buffer. */
+typedef struct {
+	PrimitiveType type;		// POSITION, NORMAL, ...
+	uint32_t offset;		// offset in bytes
+	uint32_t length;		// length of ... in bytes
+	uint32_t stride;		// stride in bytes
+	uint16_t componentType;		// eg. 5126 for float
+	uint8_t  componentCount;	// eg. 3 for vec3
+} VertexAttribute;
+
+/* This struct represents one (possibly the only) part of a mesh. There is
+ * always one vertexBuffer and zero or one indexBuffer (indexed rendering is
+ * common but not always used). If there is no index buffer, this is indicated
+ * by indexBuffer.data being empty. Each vertex buffer can have one or more
+ * vertex attributes. */
+typedef struct {
+	enum PrimitiveMode mode;	// draw as points, lines or triangle?
+	size_t numIndices, numVertices;
+	struct {
+		enum IndexType type;	// data type of the indices
+		std::vector<uint8_t> data; // binary data of the index buffer
+	} indexBuffer;
+	struct {
+		std::vector<uint8_t> data; // binary data of the vertex buffer
+		std::vector<VertexAttribute> attributes;
+	} vertexBuffer;
+	struct { float x, y, z; } min;	// bounding box lower left
+	struct { float x, y, z; } max;	// bounding box upper right
+	uint8_t materialIndex;		// index to one of the meshes materials
+} VertexGroup;
+
+/* This struct represents a single mesh loaded from a glTF file. It consists of
+ * at least one VertexVroup and any number of Materials. */
+typedef struct {
+	std::string name;
+	std::vector<VertexGroup> vertexGroups;
+	std::vector<Material> materials;
+	// FIXME Dirty hack to get one(!) texture for our cube demo
+	// hardcoded to always have RGBA channel layout
+	struct {
+		int w, h, ch;	// width, height and channels of image
+		uint8_t *img;	// raw bytes, free after use (deal with it)
+	} texture_hack;
+} Mesh;
+
+
+/**
+ * In its first iteration the asset loader module will only allow loading
+ * single meshes, one per glTF file.
+ * It will later be extended to allow loading entire scenes from glTF files.
+ *
+ * @param path must be the path to a glTF file containing a single mesh.
+ * @param mesh is a reference to a Mesh struct that will be filled with the
+ * 	content of the glTF file being loaded.
+ * */
+int loadMesh(const std::string &path, Mesh &mesh);
+
+
+}
diff --git a/modules/asset_loader/lib/fx-gltf b/modules/asset_loader/lib/fx-gltf
new file mode 160000
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f4f18f2017a049a23748c9c9aad42ba2de20bfd5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/asset_loader/lib/fx-gltf
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Subproject commit f4f18f2017a049a23748c9c9aad42ba2de20bfd5
diff --git a/modules/asset_loader/lib/json b/modules/asset_loader/lib/json
new file mode 160000
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0972f7ff0e651f09a306dba791cc42024b8642c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/asset_loader/lib/json
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Subproject commit 0972f7ff0e651f09a306dba791cc42024b8642c1
diff --git a/modules/asset_loader/lib/stb b/modules/asset_loader/lib/stb
new file mode 160000
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..c9064e317699d2e495f36ba4f9ac037e88ee371a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/asset_loader/lib/stb
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Subproject commit c9064e317699d2e495f36ba4f9ac037e88ee371a
diff --git a/modules/asset_loader/src/vkcv/asset/asset_loader.cpp b/modules/asset_loader/src/vkcv/asset/asset_loader.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..d0949cbc3454283b0084c57abf95a06a036c4e9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/asset_loader/src/vkcv/asset/asset_loader.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,207 @@
+#include "vkcv/asset/asset_loader.hpp"
+#include <iostream>
+#include <string.h>	// memcpy(3)
+#include <stdlib.h>	// calloc(3)
+#include <fx/gltf.h>
+#define STB_IMAGE_IMPLEMENTATION
+#define STBI_ONLY_JPEG
+#include <stb_image.h>
+
+namespace vkcv::asset {
+
+/**
+* convert the accessor type from the fx-gltf library to an unsigned int
+* @param type
+* @return unsigned integer representation
+*/
+// TODO Return proper error code (we need to define those as macros or enums,
+// will discuss during the next core meeting if that should happen on the scope
+// of the vkcv framework or just this module)
+uint8_t convertTypeToInt(const fx::gltf::Accessor::Type type) {
+	switch (type) {
+	case fx::gltf::Accessor::Type::None :
+		return 0;
+	case fx::gltf::Accessor::Type::Scalar :
+		return 1;
+	case fx::gltf::Accessor::Type::Vec2 :
+		return 2;
+	case fx::gltf::Accessor::Type::Vec3 :
+		return 3;
+	case fx::gltf::Accessor::Type::Vec4 :
+		return 4;
+	default: return 10; // TODO add cases for matrices (or maybe change the type in the struct itself)
+	}
+}
+
+/**
+ * This function unrolls nested exceptions via recursion and prints them
+ * @param e error code
+ * @param path path to file that is responsible for error
+ */
+void print_what (const std::exception& e, const std::string &path) {
+	fprintf(stderr, "ERROR loading file %s: %s\n", path.c_str(), e.what());
+	try {
+		std::rethrow_if_nested(e);
+	} catch (const std::exception& nested) {
+		std::cerr << "nested: ";
+		print_what(nested, path);
+	}
+}
+
+int loadMesh(const std::string &path, Mesh &mesh) {
+	fx::gltf::Document object;
+
+	try {
+		if (path.rfind(".glb", (path.length()-4)) != std::string::npos) {
+			object = fx::gltf::LoadFromBinary(path);
+		} else {
+			object = fx::gltf::LoadFromText(path);
+		}
+	} catch (const std::system_error &err) {
+		print_what(err, path);
+		return 0;
+	} catch (const std::exception &e) {
+		print_what(e, path);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	// TODO Temporary restriction: Only one mesh per glTF file allowed
+	// currently. Later, we want to support whole scenes with more than
+	// just meshes.
+	if (object.meshes.size() != 1) return 0;
+
+	fx::gltf::Mesh const &objectMesh = object.meshes[0];
+	// TODO We want to support more than one vertex group per mesh
+	// eventually... right now this is hard-coded to use only the first one
+	// because we only care about the example triangle and cube
+	fx::gltf::Primitive const &objectPrimitive = objectMesh.primitives[0];
+	fx::gltf::Accessor posAccessor;
+	
+	std::vector<VertexAttribute> vertexAttributes;
+	vertexAttributes.reserve(objectPrimitive.attributes.size());
+	
+	for (auto const & attrib : objectPrimitive.attributes) {
+		fx::gltf::Accessor accessor =  object.accessors[attrib.second];
+		VertexAttribute attribute;
+
+		if (attrib.first == "POSITION") {
+			attribute.type = POSITION;
+			posAccessor = accessor;
+		} else if (attrib.first == "NORMAL") {
+			attribute.type = NORMAL;
+		} else if (attrib.first == "TEXCOORD_0") {
+			attribute.type = TEXCOORD_0;
+		} else {
+			return 0;
+		}
+		
+		attribute.offset = object.bufferViews[accessor.bufferView].byteOffset;
+		attribute.length = object.bufferViews[accessor.bufferView].byteLength;
+		attribute.stride = object.bufferViews[accessor.bufferView].byteStride;
+		attribute.componentType = static_cast<uint16_t>(accessor.componentType);
+		
+		if (convertTypeToInt(accessor.type) != 10) {
+			attribute.componentCount = convertTypeToInt(accessor.type);
+		} else {
+			return 0;
+		}
+		
+		vertexAttributes.push_back(attribute);
+	}
+
+	// TODO consider the case where there is no index buffer (not all
+	// meshes have to use indexed rendering)
+	const fx::gltf::Accessor &indexAccessor = object.accessors[objectPrimitive.indices];
+	const fx::gltf::BufferView &indexBufferView = object.bufferViews[indexAccessor.bufferView];
+	const fx::gltf::Buffer &indexBuffer = object.buffers[indexBufferView.buffer];
+	
+	std::vector<uint8_t> indexBufferData;
+	indexBufferData.resize(indexBufferView.byteLength);
+	{
+		const size_t off = indexBufferView.byteOffset;
+		const void *const ptr = ((char*)indexBuffer.data.data()) + off;
+		if (!memcpy(indexBufferData.data(), ptr, indexBufferView.byteLength)) {
+			std::cerr << "ERROR copying index buffer data.\n";
+			return 0;
+		}
+	}
+
+	const fx::gltf::BufferView& vertexBufferView = object.bufferViews[posAccessor.bufferView];
+	const fx::gltf::Buffer& vertexBuffer = object.buffers[vertexBufferView.buffer];
+	
+	std::vector<uint8_t> vertexBufferData;
+	vertexBufferData.resize(vertexBufferView.byteLength);
+	{
+		const size_t off = vertexBufferView.byteOffset;
+		const void *const ptr = ((char*)vertexBuffer.data.data()) + off;
+		if (!memcpy(vertexBufferData.data(), ptr, vertexBufferView.byteLength)) {
+			std::cerr << "ERROR copying vertex buffer data.\n";
+			return 0;
+		}
+	}
+
+	IndexType indexType;
+	switch(indexAccessor.componentType) {
+	case fx::gltf::Accessor::ComponentType::UnsignedByte:
+		indexType = UINT8; break;
+	case fx::gltf::Accessor::ComponentType::UnsignedShort:
+		indexType = UINT16; break;
+	case fx::gltf::Accessor::ComponentType::UnsignedInt:
+		indexType = UINT32; break;
+	default:
+		std::cerr << "ERROR: Index type not supported: " <<
+			static_cast<uint16_t>(indexAccessor.componentType) <<
+			std::endl;
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	const size_t numVertexGroups = objectMesh.primitives.size();
+	
+	std::vector<VertexGroup> vertexGroups;
+	vertexGroups.reserve(numVertexGroups);
+	
+	vertexGroups.push_back({
+		static_cast<PrimitiveMode>(objectPrimitive.mode),
+		object.accessors[objectPrimitive.indices].count,
+		posAccessor.count,
+		{indexType, indexBufferData},
+		{vertexBufferData, vertexAttributes},
+		{posAccessor.min[0], posAccessor.min[1], posAccessor.min[2]},
+		{posAccessor.max[0], posAccessor.max[1], posAccessor.max[2]},
+		static_cast<uint8_t>(objectPrimitive.material)
+	});
+	
+	std::vector<Material> materials;
+
+	mesh = {
+		object.meshes[0].name,
+		vertexGroups,
+		materials,
+		0, 0, 0, NULL
+	};
+
+	// FIXME HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK
+	// fail quietly if there is no texture
+	if (object.textures.size()) {
+		const std::string mime_type("image/jpeg");
+		const fx::gltf::Texture &tex = object.textures[0];
+		const fx::gltf::Image &img = object.images[tex.source];
+#ifndef NDEBUG
+		printf("texture name=%s sampler=%u source=%u\n",
+				tex.name.c_str(), tex.sampler, tex.source);
+		printf("image   name=%s uri=%s mime=%s\n", img.name.c_str(),
+				img.uri.c_str(), img.mimeType.c_str());
+#endif
+		
+		size_t pos = path.find_last_of("/");
+		auto dir = path.substr(0, pos);
+		
+		mesh.texture_hack.img = stbi_load((dir + "/" + img.uri).c_str(),
+				&mesh.texture_hack.w, &mesh.texture_hack.h,
+				&mesh.texture_hack.ch, 4);
+	}
+	// FIXME HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK HACK
+	return 1;
+}
+
+}
diff --git a/projects/CMakeLists.txt b/projects/CMakeLists.txt
index f7687bca4ba7cb05835c8afda1396ad319a035c7..7ca73a0811df7f1568508b56312ce3348237a695 100644
--- a/projects/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/projects/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
 
 # Add new projects/examples here:
 add_subdirectory(first_triangle)
+add_subdirectory(first_mesh)
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/.gitignore b/projects/first_mesh/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..85ce58a41ce7dcbe4f4a41bbf4779d82cede0106
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+first_mesh
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/CMakeLists.txt b/projects/first_mesh/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..ae9c5604cb83c6f3a16773e896521117460839f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
+project(first_mesh)
+
+# setting c++ standard for the project
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
+
+# this should fix the execution path to load local files from the project
+set(CMAKE_RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR})
+
+# adding source files to the project
+add_executable(first_mesh src/main.cpp)
+
+# this should fix the execution path to load local files from the project (for MSVC)
+if(MSVC)
+	set_target_properties(first_mesh PROPERTIES RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY_DEBUG ${CMAKE_RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY})
+	set_target_properties(first_mesh PROPERTIES RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY_RELEASE ${CMAKE_RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY})
+    
+    # in addition to setting the output directory, the working directory has to be set
+	# by default visual studio sets the working directory to the build directory, when using the debugger
+	set_target_properties(first_mesh PROPERTIES VS_DEBUGGER_WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_RUNTIME_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY})
+endif()
+
+# including headers of dependencies and the VkCV framework
+target_include_directories(first_mesh SYSTEM BEFORE PRIVATE ${vkcv_include} ${vkcv_includes} ${vkcv_asset_loader_include})
+
+# linking with libraries from all dependencies and the VkCV framework
+target_link_libraries(first_mesh vkcv ${vkcv_libraries} vkcv_asset_loader ${vkcv_asset_loader_libraries})
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/boards2_vcyc_jpg.jpg b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/boards2_vcyc_jpg.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2636039e272289c0fba3fa2d88a060b857501248
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/boards2_vcyc_jpg.jpg
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:cca33a6e58ddd1b37a6e6853a9aa0e7b15ca678937119194752393dd2a0a0564
+size 1192476
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.bin b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.bin
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..3303cd8635848bee18e10ab8754d5e4e7218db92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.bin
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:9bb9b6b8bbe50a0aaa517057f245ee844f80afa7426dacb2aed4128f71629ce4
+size 840
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.blend b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.blend
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..62ccb2c742094bcfb5ed194ab905bffae86bfd65
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.blend
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:a6c1e245f259c610528c9485db6688928faac0ab2addee9e3c2dde7740e4dd09
+size 774920
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.blend1 b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.blend1
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..13f21dcca218d7bc7a07a8a9682b5e1d9e607736
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.blend1
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:f4496f423569b8ca81f3b3a55fad00f925557e0193fb9dbe6cdce7e71fb48f7b
+size 774920
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.glb b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.glb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..66a42c65e71dcf375e04cc378256024dd3c7834d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.glb
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:198568b715f397d78f7c358c0f709a419e7fd677e54cdec7c19f71b5ed264897
+size 1194508
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.gltf b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.gltf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..428176144843dd06c78fe1d11a6392a0ea02b22d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/cube/cube.gltf
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:f82f455647a84ca6242882ae26a79a499d3ce594f8de317ab89488c5b79721ac
+size 2823
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.bin b/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.bin
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..57f26ad96592b64377e6aa93823d96a94e6c5022
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.bin
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:412ebd5f7242c266b4957e7e26be13aa331dbcb7bbb854ab334a2437ae8ed959
+size 104
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.blend b/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.blend
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..2421dc5e1bb029d73a9ec09cc4530c5196851fd7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.blend
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:387e544df173219fbf292a64a6656d1d782bbf71a5a9e9fdef0a308f47b05477
+size 758144
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.glb b/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.glb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..4148620cd6af0dadbc791aa1c52bb5431a40884b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.glb
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:f4be087a605212d139416b5352a018283b26b99260cbcddb7013a1beeb331227
+size 980
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.gltf b/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.gltf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..a188e6ee16a5e8486cf307c7bda8cfd99bdbeea6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/resources/triangle/Triangle.gltf
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:d5fc354e040f79cff329e919677b194c75e3a522c6406f75c1108ad9575f12ec
+size 2202
diff --git a/projects/first_mesh/src/main.cpp b/projects/first_mesh/src/main.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..b37429e1f7080b70aaab514125f86fbe03f329b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/first_mesh/src/main.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+#include <iostream>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <vkcv/asset/asset_loader.hpp>
+
+
+int main(int argc, const char** argv) {
+	vkcv::asset::Mesh mesh;
+	
+	const char *path = argc > 1 ? argv[1] : "resources/cube/cube.gltf";
+	int result = vkcv::asset::loadMesh(path, mesh);
+	
+	if (result == 1) {
+		std::cout << "Mesh loading successful!" << std::endl;
+	} else {
+		std::cout << "Mesh loading failed: " << result << std::endl;
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	/* Demonstration of how to use the vkcv::asset::Mesh struct. */
+	const char *primitive_modes[] = {
+		"points", "lines", "line loop", "line strip", "triangles",
+		"triangle strip", "triangle fan"
+	};
+	const char *primitive_types[] = {
+		"unknown", "position", "normal", "texcoord0"
+	};
+	printf("Mesh %s (%s) has %lu vertex group(s) and %lu material(s):\n",
+			mesh.name.c_str(), path, mesh.vertexGroups.size(),
+			mesh.materials.size());
+	for (size_t i = 0; i < mesh.vertexGroups.size(); i++) {
+		printf("--- vertex group %lu ---\n", i);
+		const auto &vg = mesh.vertexGroups[i];
+		printf("primitive mode: %d (%s)\n", vg.mode,
+				primitive_modes[vg.mode]);
+		printf("index buffer: %lu bytes for %lu indices ",
+				vg.indexBuffer.data.size(), vg.numIndices);
+		const auto itype = vg.indexBuffer.type;
+		printf("(%s @ %p)\n",
+				itype == vkcv::asset::UINT32 ? "UINT32" :
+				itype == vkcv::asset::UINT16 ? "UINT16" :
+				"UINT8", vg.indexBuffer.data.data());
+		printf("\tindices: ");
+		const size_t n = vg.numIndices;
+		if (vg.indexBuffer.type == vkcv::asset::UINT32) {
+			uint32_t *idx = (uint32_t*)vg.indexBuffer.data.data();
+			for (size_t j = 0; j < n; j++) printf("%u ", idx[j]);
+		} else
+		if (vg.indexBuffer.type == vkcv::asset::UINT16) {
+			uint16_t *idx = (uint16_t*)vg.indexBuffer.data.data();
+			for (size_t j = 0; j < n; j++) printf("%u ", idx[j]);
+		} else
+		if (vg.indexBuffer.type == vkcv::asset::UINT8) {
+			uint8_t *idx = (uint8_t*)vg.indexBuffer.data.data();
+			for (size_t j = 0; j < n; j++) printf("%u ", idx[j]);
+		} else {
+			fprintf(stderr, "ERROR Invalid IndexType: %d\n",
+					vg.indexBuffer.type);
+			return 0;
+		}
+		printf("\n");
+		printf("vertex buffer: %lu bytes for %lu vertices with %lu "
+				"attributes (starting at %p)\n",
+				vg.vertexBuffer.data.size(), vg.numVertices,
+				vg.vertexBuffer.attributes.size(),
+				vg.vertexBuffer.data.data());
+		printf("attributes:\toffset\tlength\tstride\tcomponents\n");
+		for (const auto att : vg.vertexBuffer.attributes) {
+			printf("%11s\t%u\t%u\t%u\t%hhux%hu\n",
+					primitive_types[att.type],
+					att.offset, att.length, att.stride,
+					att.componentCount, att.componentType);
+		}
+	}
+	
+	return 0;
+}