ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT FOR KAMAL THEATRE

The shape of the new theater is inspired by “Ice Flowers,” a rare natural phenomenon that occurs on the surface of Kaban Lake. The building blends into the environment in winter, becoming part of the appearance of the lake. In summer, with multiple reflections from its transparent facades, the theater is unified with nature. Acuteness and earnestness are characteristic features of Tatar culture, architecture, and art.

The building is designed to be a part of the topography of the place, as a park with pedestrian routes and recreational areas, integrated and continuing the existing improvement of the embankments. A shape inspired by the soul of Tatarstan: Sharp and closed outside, but soft and warm inside. The building’s lighting is meant to bring warmth into the foyer and gradually dissolve it into the triangular panels of the facade. The bright decorative panels in the interior call back to traditional Tatar crafts and create a friendly atmosphere.

The foyer serves as the city’s “family room,” visually connecting the city and the lake. Entrances on all sides of the building continue pedestrian routes with natural light and ventilation. We create a comfortable environment and convenient routes for all theater workers — a spacious floor for artists and administration and comfortable workshops. We minimize the area of the basement floor to facilitate access and maintenance, as well as to reduce construction and operating costs.

The look of the new facades is a reference to the complex, multi-layered cultural context of the Kamal Theatre. There are pieces of paper here — formerly handwritten texts of scripts for theatrical productions, now a perfect background to intensify the colors of nature. The silhouette of brick facades hides not only the image of the Kazan Kremlin and its white stone walls, but also the aesthetics of both Sufi philosophy and Soviet modernism, which strives for purity of form. Not a direct quote, but a call to discover.

The building does not suppress the existing landscape, but becomes a part of the shore of Nizhny Kaban Lake. All facades of the theater are equally important, as are the different worldviews, languages, cultural layers, and traditions within Tatar society. The only part that rises above the facades is the vertical cubic capacity of the stage box, representing a symbolic axis, the city's cultural life.

Panoramic glazing helps include the interior into urban views, making them even more eye-catching. The arched windows of the new theater resemble the silhouette of the old theater, which can be seen in the distance. So a strong connection between the past and the future can be felt. The large carved entrance door is another homage and reference to the ancient wooden architecture of the Tatar people.

The new Galiasgar Kamal Tatar State Academic Theatre embodies an open, consciously outwardly unstable architecture and thus reflects the idea of democracy. While the theater is aesthetically considered as a functional monument, the building itself is not a just a solid structure. It is, rather, an open space, receptive to both its surroundings and the possibilities around it.

The conceptual design of the new theater is dedicated to all visitors and to the citizens of Kazan. The new Kamal Theatre is not only a theater venue, but also a new public space that embodies architecture beyond its material incarnation. On the one hand, the theater exists in balance with the forces of nature, such as the sun, wind, water, and soil, while on the other hand, it is deeply rooted in local traditions and culture, thus becoming an ecologically oriented building and a place of cultural development.

The building and site, located between the city and the shore of Lake Kaban, can connect citizens with this natural landscape, becoming a new point of attraction. Infrastructural development and the creation of new connecting hubs will help develop the theater site, which will become a vibrant public space as well as a new tourist attraction for the city.

should be special. Its unique identity lies in the many cultural layers that can be seen in the new building.

The first of these layers is the landscape. The theater is located in a green area near Kaban Lake. The next layer is the ribbon of national ornaments, which reminds us of the blue shawl, the most famous production of the Kamal Theatre. In some places, the "shawl" is raised, forming entrances and the most spectacular visual connections between the interior and the park.

The experimental stage in the multipurpose hall corresponds to amethyst, which gives its owner inspiration and new ideas. The Great Hall is carnelian, a stone traditionally used as a central inlay in jewelry. In Islamic tradition, it’s believed that it protects family values. Finally, yellow chrysolite, as a symbol of leadership and wisdom, can be connected with the management block for the administration.

The facade of the administrative block plays a special role, forming the street front and embodying a theatrical curtain on the audience’s way to the theatrical action. The visitor crosses the open-fronted theater square, passes under the curtain into the archway, and enters the theater courtyard, sheltered from the street noise, with its street performances.

Theater Garden. The theater becomes a kind of replica of the famous Hanging Gardens of Generalife with its city balcony overlooking the lake. From above, the shape of the theater building resembles the outline of a leaf — a clear and memorable image for the audience. The shape and gracefulness of the theater facade facing Kaban Lake reminds one of the folds of a theater curtain or a wave of water. The simple Tatar architectural form is combined with decorative and ornate surfaces. Thus, the space of the main foyer, with three theater auditoriums looking like tea bowls with smooth surfaces, is covered with wood and brass like an unfinished picture.

The theater foyers are transformed into a town square, and the gardens become the theater grounds, with a variety of scenes and scenery inside the building and in the theater garden. The auditoriums face the lake, and the three-story Artisticheskaya Street creates interaction among visitors. A new festival plaza, Nauruz Square, appears just north of the new building. The project proposes the transformation of Khadi Taktash Street by making it predominantly pedestrian.

The concept is based on parametric forms with recognizable visual elements of Tatar cultural heritage.

Through the use of massive glass windows, the theater is visible from all sides. The foyer is filled with natural light, creating a smooth transition between the exterior and the interior. Five separated spaces make it possible to hold several events at the same time. In the center of the foyer, there is a restaurant with an open kitchen.

An elevated promenade is created around the theater, which gently descends to the water, and there are a berry meadow, assorted local grasses, and an amphitheater built into the landscape.

The new theater complex is part of an urban space with its own streets, squares, and parks. Two entrances on opposite sides of the theater are connected by a street, uniting two squares, northern and southern. Each of them has own mood and meaning: an active urbanized entrance from the south and a lyrical and contemplative one from the north. A simple order prevails in the architecture as a neutral frame, resistant to temporal changes and tolerant to any environment. The auditoriums are the unique objects, highlighted with special materials and national decorative elements.

Each of its spaces has a performative character and can be used for various plays, from the classical to the most unexpected. The theater is designed for 1,700 seats and has great options for leisure and educational functions. The physical space of the theater dissolves into the park, as almost all public areas have views of the city or the park.

The planning structure alludes to a traditional Tatar estate: buildings of different purposes are united by passageways and galleries, while small-scale rooms alternate with squares and gardens. The theater plays the role of a curtain or a portal between the city and the park, and between routine and dreams. It is a blank canvas for pure creation.

The “Green Shawl” project offers a unique solution that unites a large park and the theater with fronts of Khadi Taktash and Nazarbayeva Streets. Thus, locals get their promised park on the Kaban Lake Embankment, loved by everyone, and an actively renewed Khadi Taktash Street, with an accent turnoff at the junction with Nazarbayeva Street.

The green hill does not destroy the panorama of Lake Kaban, but mimics the natural environment and reflects the natural landscape of Tatarstan with its grace and variety of vegetation A natural environment is created here, with water cascades, flowering trees and grasses, a murmuring brook, chirping birds, and buzzing insects. This is nature inspired by the entire rich culture of the Tatar people.

The current building of the Kamal Theatre has a strong architectural image, which for most citizens is inseparable from the theater itself. That is why we think it is impossible to propose a new expressive image: no architecturally striking proposal will be universally accepted by locals. A natural object will find an echo in the hearts of citizens and earn their respect, and that of visitors to the capital of Tatarstan.