The style of this apartment was determined by its situation in the historical centre of St Petersburg, close to Mikhailovsky Castle, the Russian Museum and the River Fontanka. However, the modern structure of the building, of quite recent construction and of monolithic form, was in stark contrast with its historic surroundings. Therefore the architect had to make no small effort to solve the problem. Not only decorative methods were used: the actual interior space was adapted.
The drawing room, with its big picture window, faces Mikhailovsky Castle, which was built by order of Paul I, the son of Catherine the Great, a passionate admirer of Italian architecture and advocate of European values.
The drawing room is in the form of a rotunda with a line of Corinthian columns. Panels with stucco relief are in the spaces between the columns.
In a modern building the ceilings are not sufficiently high, so the architect had to increase the size of the mouldings, giving the optical illusion of slightly higher ceilings.