Multilayered Architecture: More Than 20 Facade Design Solutions Used in the Kantiana Campus

Facade works at the Kantiana campus are nearly 70 percent complete. The total area of the facades exceeds 77,000 square meters.

It is worth noting that this is the only student campus in the country to feature such a wide variety of architectural solutions not only for interior spaces but also for facades. Here, the history of the region and the university is harmoniously combined with modernity.

As noted by the author of the concept, renowned Kaliningrad architect Artur Sarnits, the IKBFU campus project is based on a simple idea: the university territory should function like a small city. The buildings are arranged along pedestrian axes, forming natural movement routes. Between them emerge small courtyards and wider spaces resembling public squares. These areas invite people to walk through, pause, communicate, and find convenient routes between academic buildings and recreation zones. As a result, the campus forms a cohesive urban fragment where architecture serves not for spectacle, but for comfort.

The architectural diversity of the buildings is used as a tool for organizing the environment. Brick facades of the humanities building, the light-colored surfaces of the Institute of High Technologies, and accent elements such as the clock tower do not compete with one another but instead help create areas with distinct characters. Some zones appear calm and intimate, while others are more open and dynamic,

Artur Sarnits notes.

The central facade of the main building is made of rough, textured brick and refers to brick impressionism: the play of light on the uneven masonry creates a soft, almost painterly impression, as if the building were rendered with broad brushstrokes. Within the campus, one can also encounter Neo-Gothic elements—elongated proportions, pointed forms, and decorative vertical accents. Nearby are facades with features of Mannerism, characterized by complex plasticity and a tendency toward decorative effects. Standing apart are buildings designed in the Tudor style, recognizable by their sloping roofs, heavy gables, and distinctive vertical articulation. This style is rare for Kaliningrad, making its presence in the university environment particularly valuable. There are also buildings from the 20th century executed in the spirit of Constructivism—functional and austere, built on honest geometry and logical planning.

Together, all these layers create a living architectural map of the campus—a space that reads like a textbook on the history of architecture assembled within a few blocks. In total, more than 20 facade design solutions can be found across the Kantiana campus,
the architect emphasizes.

According to Ilya Murzhikneli, construction supervision engineer at LLC “Monotek Story”, almost all facade materials used in the campus are sourced from Russian manufacturers.

Modern, efficient, and durable materials are used in the exterior facade finishing. To ensure architectural diversity, decorative mineral plaster with fine-grained and smooth textures, artificial limestone stone, aluminum panels, brick, stained-glass structures, and glass are employed. The combination of different colors and textures, volumetric decorative elements such as arches and massive friezes (wide horizontal decorative bands), as well as variations in building heights relative to one another, all help avoid monotony and the heaviness of a large-scale complex,

Ilya Murzhikneli explained.

Construction of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University campus, carried out within the national project “Youth and Children,” is proceeding on schedule, with technical readiness approaching 77 percent. The first two buildings of the Kantiana campus have already been commissioned: a multifunctional university center and the IKBFU “Expo” venue used for open lectures, presentations, and meetings. In December 2025, the opening of a student dormitory for nearly 900 residents is planned.