Central Naval Museum

Design and Construction Agency «Zhilstroy», LLC acted as general subcontractor during the renovation and reconditioning of the former «Kryukov’s Outquarters» into the Central Naval Museum. The project owner is Saint-Petersburg Government Committee for Construction and Housing. The concept of cultural heritage object adaptation to the Central Naval Museum was elaborated by the Committee on State Control over Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks. The «Kryukov’s Outquarters», also known as «Naval Depot», was erected between 1844-1852 under the supervision of the architect Ivan Chernik. The building along the Kryukov channel was modernized into the naval depot by the architect Alexander Kudinov. The Central Naval Museum initiated the moving from Birzhevaya square into the building of naval deport in 2007. This museum is one of the most ancient historical institutes of Russia and the greatest marine museums in the world. Founded in 1709 by Peter the Great, today the Museum exhibits about 800,000 showpieces. The exposition includes ship models, works of visual art, marine topics mainly. One can find the paintings of great artists, such as Ayvazovsky, Mikeshin, Hakkaert, Condy etc. Moreover, the Museum exhibits a vast collection of numismatics pieces, weapons, flags and standards, marine technical items, navigation tools etc. The most famous and, probably, ancient piece is the Boat of Peter the Great, the «father of the Russian Navy». The Museum itself is considered to be the marine heritage institute. For this reason all the restoration works took place under the strict supervision of the Committee and according to the plan. Due to this fact, the former «Kryukov’s Outquarters» kept their historic value and were ideally adapted to the modern museum concept. The reconditioning presupposed a set of complex wall enforcement operations using injecting method, deepening and draining of subbasements, replacement of roof coating. The historical facades were restored, the interiors refinished, the up-to-date engineering facilities conducted. The central three-level hall of the building was merged with the yard area. To facilitate transportation of large sailing-ship models into the building, special vast portals were designed. The restored facades, stairs and interior planning of the former outquarters kept their original historical appearance. The main entrance to the museum is arranged from the arch facing the Kryukov channel. The total exhibition area is 27,000 sq.m., which is divided into 3 blocks. The first block with total floor area of 10,500 sq.m is intended for visiting and scientific-administrative zone, with exhibition halls of 1,000 sq.m., video and lecture salons and club rooms. The second block of 9,800 sq.m. is dedicated to the museum collection storage. Storage sector consists of 10 basic sections, at least 4 rooms each. The third block goes for laboratories, restoration rooms and common workshops, additional storage-purpose and service rooms. The project allowed to widen the space up to 30,000 sq.m. and supplied the place for 8% of museum collection. The former Birzha building, where the museum has been housed since 1939, could comprise not more than 1.5% of the showpieces. The central hall with glass atrium was constructed in the inner yard. Its creation in a historical building represents a unique and challenging project. The use of the inner yard enhances the useful space up to 25,000 sq.m. The form of the central hall dome is symbolic: it reminds the contours of an tipped boat and perfectly blends with the architectural style of the building. The facades of the «Kryukov’s Outquarters» remained unchanged with their red brick veneer. The inauguration of the renovated museum took place in the central hall occupying the most part of the former yard of the building, and was attended by the ceremonial introduction of Russian Federation, Saint-Petersburg and St. Andrew’s flags. The building of the «Kryukov’s Outquarters» itself was included into the «White Book» of the International club of the citizens of Saint-Petersburg.