The Boris Eifman Dance Academy was opened in September 2013. The unique complex was built in just two years, while in addition to the new construction, the reconstruction of the Yu. K. Dobert – I. B. Shteykman and the facade of the "Assembly" building was reconstructed. Such shortest terms with the highest quality of performance were ensured thanks to the enormous professionalism of the designer - Studio 44, the general contractor, and, of course, thanks to the use of the best, modern and high-tech materials. Truly leading manufacturers and suppliers of the construction market took part in the implementation of the project, among which the company Wienerberger, which supplied Finnish facing bricks, should be singled out. After all, it is the unusual snow-white embossed facades that have formed the memorable architectural image of the entire complex.
The Wienerberger company, founded by Alois Miesbach in 1819 in the Wienerberg district of Vienna, and since 2003 has been actively working on the Russian market, has long established itself as a world leader in the production of ceramic bricks and tiles. For the building of the Academy, the light Finnish Tuohi brick was chosen, which was used not only for exterior decoration, but also in interiors, which once again confirms the versatility of this material.
For the construction of the complex, a plot of only 0.4 hectares was chosen in one of the ancient quarters of the Petrogradskaya Side in St. Petersburg. The site is bounded by the streets of Liza Chaikina, Bolshaya Pushkarskaya, Vvedenskaya and Bolshoy Prospekt. Previously, this site housed the former cinema "Assembly", built in 1913 by the architect F. A. Korzukhina. This building was previously given over to the rehearsal facilities of the Boris Eifman Academic Ballet Theater. As conceived by the author of the project, Nikita Yavein, during the construction of the new complex, its entrance facade was carefully restored. The complex includes a restored architectural monument - a wooden mansion of Yu. K. Dobert – I. B. Shteikman, erected on Bolshaya Pushkarskaya Street in 1896 by the architect A. Ya. Reinberg.
In addition to the reconstruction, the construction of two new buildings was carried out - the southern and the northern one. Both buildings are united by a common glazed atrium courtyard. The southern block is set aside for living quarters of a boarding school for 135 people and a medical center. The northern block housed a sports complex with a swimming pool and a gym, classrooms and auditoriums, ballet halls equipped with the most modern video and sound equipment, and administrative offices.
In the glazed atrium arranged between the residential and educational buildings, recreation and twelve ballet halls are also concentrated. The largest of the ballet halls is designed for staging educational performances and showing them to school guests and parents of students. The main entrance to the Academy is from the side of Liza Chaikina Street.
The restored wooden mansion houses a media library, an academy museum and a guest suite. Despite the density of buildings and a shortage of territories, the architects managed to preserve the garden that surrounds the mansion, which has turned into a walking yard for students.
All facades of the complex, facing the courtyard, are made with a large number of stained-glass windows, which are covered with a special paint, made to order in Finland, to enhance and maintain the color. The weightless glazing of the interior of the complex is contrasted with solid facades facing the city. Here, the light Finnish brick Terca became the main artistic tool. The facade is ventilated, but made of bricks. Buildings built in St. Petersburg using this technology can be counted on one hand. However, due to the unique properties of the material - warm, durable, created taking into account the difficult climatic conditions of Finland - this decision was fully justified for the northern capital of our country. A huge selection of colors and a variety of surfaces of Terca facing bricks made it possible to realize the creative idea of the architect with 100% accuracy.… The light shade of the brick gives the building lightness and airiness. This brick is distinguished by a unique appearance, which only gets better over time, acquiring peculiar archaic features, economy and durability, because the beauty of brickwork is not lost even after decades.
The unique image of the academy is formed by the main facade with a spectacular entrance niche-exedra, restored according to the drawings of the "Assembly" in 1911. Equally important is the very symbolic bas-relief made of Terca bricks. As the authors of the project explain, the bas-relief is a kind of QR code in which statements about the art of dance are encrypted. It is not hard to imagine what kind of precision this work demanded.
Wienerberger bricks were also used in the interiors of the complex, along with glass and wood. White brick wall surfaces are very delicately woven into the interior space, hallway and corridors. The educational institution is designed for 228 students and 80 teachers and staff. The total area of the academy's premises is 12,000 square meters. At the same time, all the variety of functions of the ballet school is built into a very tiny intra-quarter area. The abundance of transparent and translucent pistachio glass with high heat-saving and sound-insulating qualities made it possible to fill all the premises of the academy with the maximum amount of light. The internal structure of the school resembles an "aquarium" - classrooms and the entire atrium courtyard are visible at a glance.
Warm wooden staircases and parquet floors adjoin the glass walls, and the colorful ballet floors can be seen from the atrium. They are finished with Harlequin stage linoleum, which creates a smooth yet resilient surface that cannot be slipped and provides comfort, safety and perfect light reflection. There are rubber cushions under the floor covering that allow the floor to be cushioned. Each room has its own soft pastel shade of linoleum, which in general forms a special rich color of the atrium.
Today the Academy is fully operational. Resonant children's voices filled its spacious halls. A new generation of Russian ballet is growing up, ready to solve the QR code encrypted on the walls of their school along with the dance moves.
The supply of bricks from the Wienerberger concern to the Boris Eifman Academy of Dance was carried out by Slavdom.
