Cultural Center
© Coop Himmelb(l)au
The concept of Opera and Ballet Theatre in Sevastopol, Crimea
A new education and leisure center is expected to open in Crimea's largest city, Sevastopol by 2023. It will cover a territory of 18.3 hectares on Cape Crystal between Karantinnaya and Artillery bays.

Planning includes an opera and ballet theater, an arts academy, a residential complex for employees, a cinema and concert hall, as well as a park and museum devoted to the defenders of Sevastopol during World War II.

Traditionally, Sevastopol had significant intellectual and cultural potential, according to the deputy chairwoman of the Russian government, Olga Golodets.

"The territory of Crimea and Sevastopol are quite special in Russian culture. We understand that today we should make a new qualitative leap and change in terms of culture. The dominant feature of the cultural breakthrough will be the Opera and Ballet Theater, because any capital city starts from that," she was quoted as saying by the National Cultural Heritage Fund's website.

Cultural Center
© Coop Himmelb(l)au
The concept of the opera house was developed by the Austrian architectural bureau Coop Himmelb(l)au. The silhouette of the building will resemble the wings of a seagull. It will be constructed from glass and metal, and will have two theaters with 1,300 seats. It will also provide a rehearsal room, premises for the administration, a panoramic view, VIP rooms, a restaurant, and so on.

Cultural Center
© Coop Himmelb(l)au
The theater's balcony will hang over the water's edge to enchant visitors with a picturesque view of the bay.

Cultural Center
© Coop Himmelb(l)au
The construction of the new cultural center is part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's decree outlining the need for serious improvement in the cultural and leisure infrastructure of Sevastopol.