In January 2024, the regional government of Kaliningrad issued permission to put into operation the Museum complex, the Tretyakov Gallery branch on Oktyabrsky Island. The branch building was built as part of one of four cultural and educational complexes being built in Russian cities on behalf of President Vladimir Putin. The same complexes will appear in Vladivostok, Kemerovo and Sevastopol.
The construction of the museum took place over four years - from December 2019 to December 2023, and renovation work is currently underway. The Metropolis team was involved in the development of constructive and engineering solutions within the framework of design and working documentation, and also carried out designer supervision during the construction of the facility. The general construction contractor is the Stroytransgaz group of companies. The building was erected according to a project developed by architect Yuri Grigoryan and his Meganom bureau. The developer is the National Cultural Heritage Foundation for Social and Cultural Projects, whose founders are the Hermitage, Tretyakov Gallery, Mariinsky and Bolshoi Theaters.
The total area of the museum is 17.6 thousand square meters and 4.4 thousand square meters is intended for exhibition halls. On the ground floor of the Tretyakov Gallery branch there is a hall, a hall for film screenings and lectures with 276 seats, a grand staircase, the steps of which can serve as seats for spectators during lectures, a cafe, a library, etc. The building also houses several multimedia rooms with a built-in simultaneous translation system, exhibition spaces and creative workshops - pottery, painting, restoration. The Tretyakov Gallery branch is adjacent to an area of 16.7 thousand square meters. In total they plan to plant 38 thousand plants on it.
The first exhibition in the branch will be dedicated to five centuries of Russian art. More than 100 works of iconography, painting and sculpture of various genres and trends have already been selected for it. The official opening of the Tretyakov Gallery branch in Kaliningrad is scheduled for June 2024.
Read more in the Moscow 24 news story.