The Konstantinovsky Congress Centre is a 43,000 m2 project situated next to the 18th century Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, 20 kilometres from the centre of St. Petersburg. The project houses a congress centre, a music chamber, a multifunctional foyer, hotel, business club and spa. The design forms a 21st century addition to Niccola Michetti’s sophisticated 18th century scheme for the grand Konstantinovsky Palace. Erick van Egeraat adopts Michetti’s principles and extends the famous landscape grid to the plot of the new Congress Centre. A new homogenous ensemble is created, which seamlessly integrates Konstantinovsky Palace, VIP accomodation and the new Konstantinovsky Conference Centre. In order to conceal the large scale of the Congress Centre, the spa, business club, conference area and the press room are embedded into a hill. Daylight for the embedded parts is ensured by a series of glass-roofed winter gardens and patios, carved out of the hill. The Centre’s main functions tower above the hill and are covered by a tripartite, seashell-like, and seemingly floating roof. Varying in size, each roof segment represents one of the three main functions – congress hall and concert hall, both enclosed and connected by the multi-functional foyer. The multi-functional foyer is the social heart of the Congress Centre. Multiple layers and balconies allow visitors to see and to be seen. Full-height glass lets light flood in to the building and offers panoramic views to Konstantinovsky Palace and the Gulf of Finland. This transparency connects the building to the surrounding landscape and reveals the activities within the foyer to the outside.