3D scans of athenian facades shape porcelain objects by yiannis ghikas and myran

the designer scans artificiel patterns from buildings in kypseli and kolonaki using photogrammetry and 3d modeling.

yiannis ghikas edited by thomai tsimpou July 12, 2025 3 min

yiannis ghikas turns building textures into porcelain objects

Product designer Yiannis Ghikas, in collaboration with Myran Scandinavian Design, introduces Artificiel, a series of porcelain objects based on the sculpted cement surfaces found on mid-20th-century apartment buildings in Athens. The project documents and translates the city’s vanishing artificiel facades, once crafted by hand and now threatened by new insulation regulations, into tangible domestic forms, like cups and bowls, using digital scanning and traditional casting techniques.

To preserve this overlooked layer of the city’s material history, the designer scans three types of surviving artificiel patterns, chtení (fine), thrapína (medium), and koutaliá (coarse), from buildings in Kypseli and Kolonaki neighborhoods using photogrammetry and 3D modeling. These digital textures are then used to produce molds for porcelain objects, which were cast and manufactured in Portugal.

artificiel athens 8 — 100ml, 180ml and 300ml cups | all images by Giorgos Vitsaropoulos, unless stated otherwise

relocating the fading architectural skin of athens

Artificiel refers to a colloquial term for a finishing method that gave many Athenian ‘polykatoikia’ buildings their textured cement exteriors. These surfaces were shaped manually by skilled construction workers known as ‘pelekanoi’ between the 1930s and 1970s. Though once a defining feature of Athenian urban architecture, they are now being covered or destroyed as external thermal insulation becomes the new norm under contemporary building standards.

Through Artificiel, Athens-based Yiannis Ghikas, together with Myran, offers a way to engage with the architectural skin of Athens in a moment when it risks being erased. Rather than preserving these surfaces in place, the series relocates these surfaces into a different context, one that is domestic and tactile. It draws attention to a vernacular aesthetic that is often ignored, yet remains central to the city’s visual identity.

artificiel athens 9 — Yiannis Ghikas collaborates with Myran Scandinavian Design for Artificiel

artificiel athens 6 — this series is based on the sculpted cement surfaces found on Athens’ mid-20th-century apartment buildings

artificiel athens 2 — Koutalia pattern on the espresso cup

3d-scans-athenian-facades-porcelain-objects-yiannis-ghikas-myran-designboom-large02 — cast and manufactured in Portugal

artificiel athens 10 — the project documents and translates the city’s vanishing artificiel facades | image by Alina Lefa

artificiel athens 11 — translating facades into domestic forms through digital scanning | image by Vassilis Karidis

artificiel athens 12 — the designer scans three types of surviving artificiel patterns | image by Alina Lefa

3D scans of athenian facades shape porcelain objects by yiannis ghikas and myran - 1 — digital textures are used to produce molds for porcelain objects | image courtesy Yiannis Ghikas

3D scans of athenian facades shape porcelain objects by yiannis ghikas and myran - 2 — a way to engage with the architectural skin of Athens | image courtesy Yiannis Ghikas

3D scans of athenian facades shape porcelain objects by yiannis ghikas and myran - 3 — these surfaces were shaped manually by skilled construction workers known as ‘pelekanoi’ | image courtesy Yiannis Ghikas

the Chteni pattern and the tool used the Thrapina pattern and the tool used the Koutalia pattern and the tool used

project info:

name: Artificiel Athens
designer: Yiannis Ghikas | @yiannisghikas X Myran | @myrandesign

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