Since May 2021, the National Gallery-Museum of Alexandros Soutsos has welcomed visitors to its recently refurbished building. The new building complex, with its roots in the heritage of Greek modernism, is a contemporary cultural landmark in the heart of Athens. After the long absence of the main building of the National Gallery from the cultural life of Athens due to the expansion projects, the new facility aims to spread its work through an energetic connection between the urban and the museum experience.
The new modernized building complex of the National Gallery, an open space for access and familiarization with the history of modern Greek art, is articulated in an aesthetic and functional game of built volumes and outdoor spaces. Given the protected shell of the building, its total size was doubled to 20,760 m2: bigger exhibition spaces, contemporary art storage, a 240-seat auditorium, a two-storey art library, up-to-date conservation laboratories, modern offices, new educational areas, a large impressive lobby, where, in addition to the ticket office and the cloakroom, the museum shop and the digital information lounge are located, and finally, a garden-outdoor sculpture gallery and a stylish coffee shop.