local local turns century-old shop into contemporary art gallery beneath the acropolis

Local Local transforms antique shop into art gallery in athens

Beneath the shadow of the Acropolis in Athens’ Monastiraki district, architecture studio Local Local completes the adaptive reuse of a century-old building into Melas Martinos, a contemporary art gallery. The project sees the transformation of an early 20th-century antique store, long owned by the client’s family, into a four-level cultural venue.

Melas Martinos is situated within a historically rich neighborhood where archaeological ruins intermingle with neoclassical houses and concrete mid-century buildings. The property itself had organically evolved over time, with part of the building recently functioning as a small exhibition space. Local Local’s intervention reworks the building into a spatial sequence of galleries while preserving the distinct traces of its past lives.

all images by Lorenzo Zandri

gridded windows of Melas Martinos offer acropolis views

The boutique architecture practice Local Local removes interior walls on the second floor to allow for two open, naturally lit exhibition rooms and replaces a dilapidated floor with timber boards painted a soft grey, a finish echoed on the level above. Throughout the Melas Martinos gallery, white surfaces and gentle grays create a neutral backdrop for changing exhibitions, enabling the temporary return of the family’s antique collections between shows.

Above, red-brick arches define the street facade of the building, and long gridded windows with grey shutters open toward the Acropolis, once again accessible after previously being blocked by ventilation ducts. The second and third floors offer a shaded wraparound balcony surfaced in traditional red-and-white terrazzo, laid by one of the last local craftsmen still practicing the technique. The material subtly recalls the tiled rooftops of surrounding buildings and introduces a moment of expressive texture amid the otherwise minimal composition.

The top floor, once an ad hoc addition clad in aluminum with an asbestos roof, is completely rebuilt to host a fourth gallery and accompanying amenities. Here, too, Local Local integrates the technical needs of the building into the design, rerouting the new ventilation channels and concealing them within the reconstructed volume, freeing up the balconies below and restoring their public use.

Local Local completes the adaptive reuse of a century-old building into Melas Martinos art gallery

Takis Zenetos arches and wood-and-tile floor are preserved

What emerged during construction was a revealing palimpsest, with each floor exposing fragments of the building’s evolving architectural identity, which Local Local chose to preserve. On the first story, remnants of an intricate wood-and-tile floor collage were uncovered beneath a worn carpet, while upstairs, a sequence of arches attributed to Greek modernist Takis Zenetos, added in the 1960s, was left intact. The original handcrafted spiral staircase was also restored; its formerly dark, rustic finish was lightened with a soft grey to align with the shutters and unify the interior palette.

For Local Local, materiality is a way to connect, using finishes that were sourced or crafted locally, each with tactile qualities that reinforce a sense of place. The studio’s renovation refrains from imposing a new architectural language, facilitating the quiet encounter between contemporary art, lived history, and the Athenian cityscape.

Melas Martinos is situated within a historically rich neighborhood

archaeological ruins intermingle with neoclassical houses and concrete mid-century buildings

Local Local’s intervention reworks the building into a spatial sequence of galleries

white surfaces and gentle grays create a neutral backdrop for changing exhibitions

the original handcrafted spiral staircase was also restored

a sequence of arches attributed to Greek modernist Takis Zenetos, added in the 1960s, was left intact

using finishes that were sourced or crafted locally

the second and third floors offer a wraparound balcony

project info:

name: Melas Martinos Gallery | @melasmartinos

architect: Local Local | @localocal_localocal

location: Athens, Greece

photographer: Lorenzo Zandri | @lorenzozandri

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