Photos: the new Grimaldi Forum in 2025

Monaco’s main congress and cultural centre, the Grimaldi Forum, is set to grow enormously as it fuses into the new Mareterra eco-district. Here’s what it will look like in just two and a half years’ time.

A year after it celebrates a quarter of a century of existence, the Grimaldi Forum will in 2025 unveil a vast extension, boosting exhibition capacity by an impressive 50%.

The new site, created as part of the land reclamation project, will add an extra 6,000 m2 to the current 35,000 m2 space.

It will consist of three zones: the Diaghilev Gallery, the Carré and Patio Rooms, and the Pinède Hall – the largest of the three spaces. Each will offer plenty of surface area to accommodate exhibition stands and meeting rooms, as well as catering.

In making the most of the Principality’s exceptional location and its 300 days of sunshine per year, 2,000 m2 of outdoor space will also be created, including the new Indigo terrace, the Emeraude Forecourt, the Patio, the Ravel terrace with a view of the open sea, and the covered Patio.

The new dimension is made possible thanks to Mareterra, the new eco-district that is currently under construction by the Monegasque government.

This six-hectare extension of the Principality will offer housing, a car park, shops, restaurants, a pine trees forest and a marina. Answering to very strict environmental requirements, it is part of the Principality’s objective to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

With the 1,500 solar panels installed on the Grimaldi Forum’s roof supplying energy to the surrounding buildings and this new district, it is natural then that the congress and cultural centre, which has been certified ISO 14001 since 2008, is part of this ambitious project.

The new Mareterra eco-district © Principauté de Monaco – SAM Anse du Portier – Valode & Pistre Architectes – Renzo Piano Building Workshop – Michel Desvigne

The recent renovation of the nearby Larvotto beach, with its new shops and restaurants, is an additional asset that will enable congress participants to enjoy all that Monaco has to offer close to the congress centre.

The expansion will allow the Grimaldi Forum to build upon its current ability to host an average of 100 events and 250,000 visitors per year, and will enable more events to be held simultaneously.

Click on the gallery below to see more images of the new-look Grimaldi Forum…