Key Events of the Kaliningrad Cultural and Educational Complex Construction (November 2022)

Western Construction Site

The construction of the cultural and educational complex on the Oktyabrksy island progresses exactly on schedule. The outline of the future audience hall can now be seen at the construction site of the Opera and Ballet House. The building of the High School of Theatrical and Musical Arts is rising quickly, and the branch of the Tretyakov Gallery approaches its design view.

The building of the Tretyakov Gallery branch has the highest completion rate. Its exterior is almost completed. The works are performed simultaneously in different areas of the site. A two-phase installation of stained glass windows has begun in the administrative tower. Initially, a rack and crossbeam system will be installed around the entire perimeter of the tower. Then multifunctional glass units, a special feature of which is their high energy efficiency, will be attached to the completed bearing frame. The total area of glazing will be 2.4 thousand square metres. Installation of supply and exhaust ventilation and air conditioning units was commenced inside the building to create a microclimate system with certain parameters in the gallery. It also includes cooling equipment — chillers. Three such chillers were lifted to the roof of the administrative tower for further connection.

Installation of 126 skylights continues on the main roof to ensure natural lighting for exhibition halls. Dmitry Rzhannikov, General Director of STG-Zapad LLC states: “When we talk about skylights, one imagines a picture of a normal ceiling lighting fixture. In reality these are large-scale structures of various geometric shapes: round ones having a diameter from 1.2 to 3.6 metres, square and rectangular ones having a length of the sides from 1.2 to 39.5 metres. All skylights are made according to the individual design that is special for this building. They will be installed in the ceiling openings on the main roof of the gallery”. Construction of the ceiling aluminium facade and installation of the highlight system for the 15 metre suspended console is in progress.

Construction Site of the Tretyakov Gallery Branch

Apart from completion of exterior finishing, the works were started to clad the walls of some interior rooms with tiles and to lay ceramic granite tiles on the floor. More than a thousand square metres of tiles have been already installed. The systems for securing false walls in the exhibition halls are being installed as well. The outline of the future stage and audience hall can now be seen at the construction site of the Opera and Ballet House. This audience hall is designed for 950 persons. The uniqueness of the place of the main theatrical action is that it will be raised to the elevation of plus 12 metres. Unlike the normal architectural design,s the theatre will have no hold, where all stage equipment is kept. This is due to the fact that the building is erected on the island with high water-cut soils, and the level of the stage is raised to the elevation above zero to eliminate the risk of waterlogging. Construction of the theatre base plate continues. More than a half of the area is ready. Ten thousand cubic metres of concrete were used to cast 60 % of foundation. Installation of the 2nd floor load bearing structures and 1st floor slabs continues in the completed area.

Opera and Ballet House Construction Site

A high rate of construction is maintained at the site of the five storey building of the Higher School of Music and Dramatic Arts, which is designed to train 150 students. Despite simplicity of the geometric lines of the building, its stepped configuration, glass and steel facades will create the atmosphere of modern space. Spacious classrooms and training studios, scenic motion hall and concert hall, laboratories and boutiques – everything will facilitate development of young generation talents. The walls of the first floor have been raised for the future educational institution, and work is in progress to install floor slabs of the second floor. According to the construction plan, the cast-in-place building shape will be completed in the beginning of 2023.

Construction Site of the Higher School of Music and Dramatic Arts

Project figures:

        1.        The total construction area of the three facilities (Tretyakov Gallery Branch, Opera and Ballet House and Baltic Higher School of Music and Dramatic Arts) is 59.3 thousand square metres.
        2.        The pile foundation of the Tretyakov Gallery Branch is formed by 4,539 composite piles; Baltic Higher School – 682 composite piles; Opera and Ballet House – 586 bored piles (length is 45 m, diameter is 1 metre).
        3.        103.5 thousand cubic metres of concrete will be cast at the three facilities in total.
        4.        The architectural focus of the Tretyakov Gallery Branch is the administrative tower 50 metres high (comparable to a 20-storey building). The gallery has 8 exhibition halls with a total area of 2,565 square metres.
        5.        The seating capacity of the large hall of the Opera and Ballet House will be 950 seats, small hall – 300 seats. The feature of the building is the functional roof that may be used as a stage for performances in fair weather.
        6.        6,000 tons of structural steel will be used during construction of the Opera and Ballet House.

Construction of the Cultural and Educational Complex in Kaliningrad is being carried out by the Stroytransgaz Group as commissioned by the National Cultural Heritage Foundation for Social and Cultural Projects. The designer is the GORKA Group.