Architect's Studio

This 3400 square foot building used to be a neighborhood landmark known as Pete’s Body Shop. Pete's was not just a vehicle body repair shop but a community hang-out spot since the 60’s in Maryville, a historically predominantly African American neighborhood right off the Charleston Peninsula. The design of this adaptive-reuse project was not only inspired by its history and nature as a community-centering hub, but by the nature of its former use as an automotive repair facility. Matteo, who used to be a body shop mechanic before going back to school to become an architect, felt this project close to his heart and decided to incorporate his auto body shop background into the design of the building and its details, paying homage to their analogous roots.