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What connection can a metal paint can from the 1930s have with a modern 3D scanning device?
By leveraging modern 3D documentation technology, the shape, dimensions, and texture of an object are recorded with precision, creating a file that can contribute to the safeguarding, documentation, and promotion of industrial heritage. Thus, an industrial object of the past is transformed into a vehicle of memory and knowledge within today’s digital environment.
In the case of Eleusis, this object is connected to the IRIS industry, which was founded in 1924 and became a point of reference for the local community as well as for Greek entrepreneurship. Such a varnish can was selected to serve as an example of the 3D scanning process within the framework of the research project HeritACT.
Among the most characteristic industries that marked Eleusis, IRIS stands out, the first varnish and paint industry in Greece. The IRIS industry was founded in 1924, within the framework of the so-called “Zurich Circle”, under the name “Chemical Factory of Paints and Varnishes IRIS G.P. – Menelaos Sakellariou and Co”. Eleusis was chosen as the location for the industry for the same reasons many other entrepreneurs turned to the area at the time: good geographical position, access to transportation, low land cost, abundant labor, and, above all, availability of raw materials. Resin from the pine forests of Magoula and Mandra served as the raw material for the production of paints, varnishes, and inks.
The factory covered all its needs through internal processes. Only the resin came from outside. The machine shop (koutádiko) made its own cans for the paints, the refinery produced rosin, the workshop repaired the machines, the laboratory carried out analyses and sought new products. The laboratory’s greatest success was the creation of plastic paints (Plastex and Durolac), which achieved great success in the market. There were machines for the application of labels and for the production of powder paints. The company had its own fleet of trucks for the delivery of products.
Despite rapid growth and technological pioneering, everyday life at the factory was not easy. Workers faced harsh working conditions and a constant danger: fire. The raw materials and the final products of production were extremely flammable, which made the workplace unsafe even under strict safety measures. In 1965, a large fire completely destroyed the rosin unit, dramatically reminding everyone how fragile the balance between production and destruction was.
This incident, as well as many other smaller outbreaks of spontaneous combustion that often occurred in the summers, shows that the industrial memory of Eleusis is not limited only to achievements, innovations, and economic development. It is also intertwined with the workers’ toil, the anxiety for safety, the uncertainty of daily life inside the factory. The IRIS industry was part of a collective experience where progress and creation went hand in hand with difficulties and risks, leaving a legacy for the community that deserves to be safeguarded and highlighted.
Today, a century after the founding of the IRIS industry, the industrial heritage of Eleusis is gaining new life. Within the framework of the European research project HeritACT, funded by the Horizon Europe program and based on the principles of the New European Bauhaus, a systematic process of three-dimensional scanning (3D scanning) and modeling (3D modeling) of objects connected to the history and industrial past of the city is being carried out.
One of the first objects selected is a characteristic paint can produced by the IRIS industry. Through the process of three-dimensional documentation, this object is no longer merely a metal box; it becomes a document of cultural memory, available in digital form. An object that can be used for research, education, and broader public access to the city’s cultural heritage.
Within the framework of the HeritACT project, two basic digital solutions are being developed:
- A virtual museum (VR), where the scanned objects are incorporated into a digital exhibition, open and accessible to all. In this way, education, scientific documentation, and cultural democracy are strengthened, as memory becomes a common good.
- An augmented reality (AR) application, which brings the objects into the visitor’s physical environment, creating an interactive experience where the past meets the present through technology.
The three-dimensional documentation and availability of digitized objects constitute an innovative tool for the safeguarding, accessibility, and re-signification of cultural memory. Through a process that respects the authentic material and its historical and emotional value for local communities, accurate digital copies are created that are incorporated into new usage environments.
This approach responds to the new EU policies for the protection of cultural heritage (EU Regulation 2019/880), promoting legality, transparency, and the responsible digital availability of cultural goods.
At the heart of HeritACT lies the conviction that every document, every industrial object, can contribute to the (digital) reconstruction of collective identity in a city that bears strong traces of industrialization, social transformation, and environmental challenges. Thus, each object becomes a bridge between past and present, highlighting the importance of collective memory through the tools of technology and the principles of cultural democracy.
The process is based on the use of the Creality Otter Lite, a portable high-precision scanner that employs structured light. Through advanced algorithms, the scanner records with exceptional detail the texture, shape, and dimensions of each object.
This technology enables fast and accurate scanning even of complex surfaces, producing high-quality point clouds that are converted into three-dimensional models. Subsequently, these data can be processed to create clean geometries and point clouds ready for use in different applications. From virtual museums and applications in education, to scientific research and cultural management, the possibilities are endless:
- Virtual museums and exhibitions, where objects become accessible to a global audience,
- Educational programs, with the possibility for pupils and students to interact with three-dimensional models on digital platforms,
- Scientific research and documentation, as the digital copies allow comparisons, analyses, and studies without requiring direct contact with the original object,
- Cultural management and preservation, offering secure records for future use, as well as the possibility of reuse in new exhibitions or applications and,
At a later stage, three-dimensional printing (3D printing), which makes it possible to create physical copies for museum environments, educational workshops, or research needs.
Three-dimensional modeling is not simply a means of representing the past. It is a holistic methodology for the safeguarding, documentation, study, and promotion of cultural heritage that opens new paths for how we can approach the past through technology. It is a mechanism that ensures that industrial heritage will not be lost to the wear of time. Every object that is scanned and modeled acquires a new dimension: it remains accessible in digital form, protected and available to future generations.
In the case of Eleusis, this process allows not only the preservation of material memory, but also the highlighting of the complexity of industrial history: technological progress, local development, but also environmental destruction and the human stories behind History.
The experience of HeritACT proves that modern technology can serve as a bridge between the past and the future. The virtual museum being developed will function as a platform of experiences. Visitors will be able to explore virtual exhibitions and interactive applications, making the industrial memory of Eleusis accessible to a wider audience.
Each three-dimensional model is not simply a “digital copy”. It is a tool of knowledge and documentation that can be utilized by researchers, cultural organizations, museums, educational institutions, as well as by the local communities themselves. In this way, digital documentation enhances accessibility, promotes the safeguarding of heritage, and creates new possibilities for reuse in museum, educational, and cultural environments.
MENTOR in Culture’s know-how in three-dimensional documentation and modeling constitutes a tool that turns the digitization process into a means of preservation, education, and innovation. This know-how, combined with historical and archival research, as well as participatory work with the community for the collection of oral testimonies, “clothes” the three-dimensional object with the necessary metadata, imparting depth, narrative, and documentation. It is a direction that paves the way for sustainable solutions, services, and applications, showing how cultural heritage can be protected, studied, and highlighted non-invasively, with today’s tools.
The experience gained in Eleusis functions as an example of how modern technology can serve cultural management, and, at the same time, highlights the potential of such practices to find application in other cities, museums, and organizations that wish to invest in a digital future for their heritage.
📎 More information and access to the project’s digital tools: www.heritact.eu