Video Overview of the Kaliningrad Cultural and Educational Complex Construction (May, 2023)

West Construction Site on Oktyabrsky Island, Kaliningrad

The first batch of complex steel structures for an overhanging console of the Bolshoi Theatre Branch has arrived on Oktyabrsky Island, and cranes with increased payload are in process of relocation to install it. Interior finishing is underway in the building of the Tretyakov Gallery Branch. Preparations for the installation of metal and glass facades are in progress at the construction site of the Baltic Higher School of Music and Dramatic Arts.

A high pace of construction has been reached at the three construction sites of the cultural and educational complex in Kaliningrad. Vertical structures of the Bolshoi Theatre Branch building have been half erected up to 25 meters. The monolithic frame of the building is 72% complete. Steel structures manufactured in the region are being installed in the Small Hall and on the spectator stands of the Great Hall. Active preparations are underway to start the installation of an 80-meter overhanging console, and the first batch of complex steel structures has arrived in the region to build it from the Moscow Region. A special platform is being prepared for their pre-assembly.

Building of the Bolshoi Theatre Branch and the Russian State Institute of Dramatic Arts (RGISI) Branch

“Two heavy duty cranes will be used to mount the console. Their total weight is 950 tons. The first of them has already been delivered to the port and is in transit to the island. The work will start in June. In the near future, so to speak, upon completion of the preparations, we will proceed to the most challenging stage of the theatre building construction – the console assembly. It will overhang 80 meters without a bearing point. There are no similar buildings in this country, the project is exceptional,” explains Dmitry Rzhannikov, General Director of STG-Zapad LLC.

Building of the Tretyakov Gallery Branch

The main efforts in the Tretyakov Gallery Branch building are focused on interior finishing. Installation of external and internal utility networks and systems also continues. Work is underway to fill the translucent structures (stained-glass windows) along the perimeter of the building at the 1st floor level. The territory adjacent to the building is being freed up for the start of its improvement, procurement of landscaping items and small architectural forms is in progress.
The installation of ventilation systems, power supply networks, and sewerage systems continues in the building of the Baltic Higher School of Music and Dramatic Arts. Work is underway to build a pile foundation for external utility networks.

Building of the Baltic Higher School of Music and Dramatic Arts – RGISI Branch

Scaffolding is being installed along the perimeter of the building to proceed to the facades. The RGISI Branch building in Kaliningrad will be the first building with a facade almost completely made of corten steel and glass. Such steel was used to be applied in modern signboards and as decorative elements for building facades in the region. The total area of the corten steel facade of the building under construction will be 6.1 thousand square meters. Slightly more than 2.5 thousand square meters of translucent structures (stained-glass windows) will be installed.

Background:

The task to create four cultural centres (Vladivostok, Kemerovo, Sevastopol, Kaliningrad) was set by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in his Address to the Federal Assembly in 2018 and detailed in the Executive Order on the National Goals and Strategic Objectives of Development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2024.
Oktyabrsky Island in Kaliningrad also hosts:
- Tretyakov Gallery Branch — 14 exhibition halls with a total area of 4.4 thousand square meters;
- Opera and Ballet Theatre (Branch of the Bolshoi Theatre) — large auditorium with 950 seats, small auditorium with 300 seats;
- Baltic Higher School of Music and Dramatic Arts (Branch of the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts) for 150 seats.
Construction of the cultural and education complex in Kaliningrad is underway by Stroytransgaz Group as commissioned by the National Cultural Heritage Foundation for Social and Cultural Projects.