16 May 2003 saw the Phase 1 of the construction of the Depository being started. This event was regarded as the contribution of the State Hermitage Museum to the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. The new repository started to operate according to the "open storage" approach. The length of the museum tour is about one kilometer. Housed in the main Depository building are the collections of the Department of Western European Fine Art, the Department of Russian Culture, the Oriental Department, the Department of Archaeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia, as well as the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Easel Painting, the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Clocks, Watches and Musical Mechanisms and the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Works of Applied Art. Established in the Depository building were also the Horse Stable Museum and the Theatre of Tapestries. Also opened here was the studying class of the educational programme "The Past on Finger Tips" where children with special needs have already been taught for several years.
On 14 December 2012 the official ceremony of signing the acceptance act of the Phase 2 of the construction took place at the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre. The Phase 2 of the construction includes six buildings. The Finnish company "Lemminkainen" acted as general designer and the main contractor, the architectural design was carried out by the Russian company "Trofimovs' Architectural Workshop", while the engineering design was undertaken by the LenNIIproekt Research Projects Institute in cooperation with the staff members of the State Hermitage Museum. The architectural complex is dominated by the building with the granite portal embellished by the depictions of Onezhsk and Belomorsk petroglyphs, which have come to be perceived as the visual symbol of the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre. The building's corridors and the transport units of the floors are given their own colours, so that the seven floors have acquired the rainbow colours. In order to fit the depositories a series of special museum equipment was designed for the holdings of different museum departments. The equipment was produced by the Russian company "Museum Technologies" and the Finnish company "Laaksonen".
The Restoration and Storage building has 54 depositories with the total area of 7 954 sq.m. The open storage facilities cover 1 114 sq.m. , while the storage unit with the increased safety level occupies an area of 507 sq.m. A total of 3 807 sq. m. space is taken by the restoration laboratories: the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Works of Applied Art, with the metal, ceramics and stained glass sections; the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Photographic Materials, the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Textiles, the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Furniture and Coaches , the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Monumental Painting, as well as the binding section of the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Graphic Works. The available storage areas are intended for the use of the Department of Archaeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia (1 797 sq.m.), the Antiquities Department (1.200 sq.m.), the Department of Russian Culture (3 095 sq.m.), the Oriental Department (1 267 sq.m.), the Department of Western European Fine Art (734 sq.m.) and the Department of Western European Applied Art (1 069 sq.m.). The Exhibition and Lectures building houses two large-span, double-height exhibition halls with ante-rooms, covering an area of 1 000 sq.m., as well as a 240-seat lecture and concert hall.
On 12 July 2013 the Urban Planning Council of the St Petersburg Government approved the project for the Phase 3 of the construction of the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre. The Phase 3 enables not only to increase the areas for the storage and restoration of museum exhibits, but also provides the opportunity to significantly expand the exhibition space in the Winter Palace and the other buildings of the Main Museum Complex on Dvortsovaya Embankment.
Phase 3 includes the construction of three buildings connected with the already existing complex via the crossing over the branch railroad line. The main building shaped like a cube at 39, Shkolnaya Street will accommodate the Large Hermitage Library. It is planned to be the first Russian public art library which will present the vast books collection of the museum for the general reader. Along with the available storage rooms, the library will be equipped with the cutting-edge librarianship technology including electronic catalogs and access to electronic collections. All of this will open up new possibilities for specialists who need to use the Hermitage book holdings. Along with the Large Hermitage Library the Cube building will house the costume and fashion research centre, the multi-functional hall for temporary exhibitions and the lecture centre.
The project includes the construction of the footbridge to link the buildings which appeared as a result of the Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the construction. While crossing the six metre wide bridge, the city residents may pop into the costume and fashion research centre or the conference hall to be found right on the bridge.
