An entire city will stretch under the Lakhta Center tower. "Lakhta Center": "As future residents of Lakhta, we first need a comfortable environment" Who will sit in the Lakhta Center

Architect Philip Nikandrov tells how Gazprom's Okhta Center in St. Petersburg turned into Lakhta Center, and explains why the architect should be more important than developers and officials

Chief architect of Gorproekt Filipp Nikandrov /Evgeniy Egorov / Vedomosti

Philip Nikandrov designed high-rise buildings for St. Petersburg and Moscow that have every chance of becoming new city symbols - the Lakhta Center towers on the shore Gulf of Finland and “Evolution” in “Moscow City”. The architect worked for 15 years at the international bureau RMJM, in offices in the UK and the Middle East, from where he returned to Russia in 2004. He began designing high-rise buildings in the 2000s, working in Dubai. At home, he led the design of two skyscrapers based on his concepts, which won international architectural competitions - the Evolution tower in Moscow City in 2005 and the Gazprom complex in St. Petersburg in 2006.

The Lakhta Center tower in St. Petersburg, where Gazprom structures will move, will be put into operation in the fall of 2018. It will become the tallest building in Europe (462 m).

– Construction of the Lakhta Center is being completed. But at one time the decision to build a tower for Gazprom in St. Petersburg caused a scandal. Tell us about the history of the project and why the move from Okhta to Lakhta took place?

– This story began on a plot of about 5 hectares in the place where the Okhta flows into the Neva. On the site of Petrozavod, which was demolished in 2008, there was once the Okhtinskaya shipyard, in the 16th–17th centuries. here was the Swedish fortress of Nyenschanz, and before that, back in the 13th century, the Swedish fortress of Landskrona. In fact, the history of St. Petersburg began with the fact that in 1703 Peter I took Nyenschanz by siege, and three weeks later founded new town downstream of the Neva, starting to build a fortress on Hare Island. The old earthen fortification of Nyenskans was subsequently destroyed. When in 2006 " Gazprom“announced a closed international competition to build a headquarters on this site, I collaborated with the British company RMJM, which was shortlisted from all Pritzker laureates. We were able to present an interesting concept that was liked by the customers and the majority of the jury members, while simultaneously winning the open Internet voting and voting at the exhibition of competitive projects.

The concept not only embodied the historical genetic code of the site in its forms - we proposed the museumification of Nyenskans and Landskrona by tracing its outlines in the paving and in the numerous atrium spaces of the complex, which also included Archaeological Museum for artifacts found during excavations financed by Gazprom. True, the archaeologists, having received their reward, declared the entire site “the Troy of St. Petersburg” and demanded a ban on construction, without having any scientific plans for conserving the site or recreating the earthen fortress, except, of course, a pure remake - to build one razed in the 17th century. fortification from scratch again, and then declare it a monument. Having passed the approval of Glavgosexpertiza in 2010, the project was closed, and the authorities of St. Petersburg immediately declared the entire site a monument and prohibited any construction on it.

But the project on Okhta was closed mainly not even in connection with UNESCO protests about the very fact of high-rise construction in the so-called buffer zone near historical center, but because of the revealed illegitimacy of the city high-rise regulations, when gross violations were discovered during its adoption as part of the land use and development regulations of St. Petersburg. In 2010, the Supreme Court overturned it. Then, about 120 projects were actually suspended, located in the territories of the industrial belt around the historical center, which UNESCO considered a buffer zone (such status in defining the boundaries of the historical center of St. Petersburg as a monument world heritage still no). But this whole story developed against the backdrop of the emerging pre-election political protest, in which the construction of a tower for opposition movements in St. Petersburg symbolized a certain act of violence by the authorities over culture and history, hence various kinds of comparisons of towers with phallic images and the lament of part of the intelligentsia about “defloration” cultural space of the city" (they came up with such a thing!). Built in the 1960s. No one seemed to notice the 300-meter television tower against the background of the spire of Peter and Paul Fortress and three dozen smoking industrial chimneys, exceeding the mark of the top of St. Isaac's dome. That is, all this was not so much about architecture as about politics; this landmark project “smelled too much of power.”

Philip Nikandrov

Chief Architect of Gorproekt

Born in 1968 in Leningrad. Graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Leningrad Civil Engineering Institute. In 1994 he joined the Union of Architects of Russia

Works at Lengiprogor: Workshop No. 3, participation in projects for Severodvinsk

Moved to the Personal Creative Architectural Workshop (PTAM) of Yu. K. Mityurev

Became chief architect in the offices of the UK, Middle East and Russia of the international architectural company RMJM Scotland Ltd. (since 2011 - director and co-director of the European studio RMJM). In 1999 he received a professional license to carry out independent architectural activities

Appointed chief architect of JSC Gorproekt

Initially, the idea was not received with hostility; an architectural competition was held in 2006, open exhibition all concepts, there was controversy, but already in 2007 serious money flowed into the protest campaign to discredit the project at Okhta. I don’t know exactly who financed this, but it was about moving the country’s largest taxpayer from the capital, the amount of tax deductions of which was comparable to the total annual budget of St. Petersburg, and too many influential forces were interested, if not stopping, then at least slowing down this move from one region to another.

– You yourself did not perceive that project as a threat to the historical appearance of St. Petersburg?

- No. This would certainly confuse me if it were built, say, opposite Palace Square or Peter and Paul Fortress similar to 300-meter tower of london The Shard, standing across the Thames directly opposite the Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our site was far beyond the boundaries of the historical city ensembles. We then built a 3D model of the city, carried out our landscape-visual analysis, looking at all the points from which streets the tower would be visible, and found only 5-6 streets, on the axis of which the new dominant sat, and all these streets were outside the so-called golden triangle. Five kilometers from Palace Square is quite a decent distance.

But Gazprom eventually made a strategically correct decision - to move the construction from disputed territory and away from the historical center. Since 2011, the project has been developing in Lakhta, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, on a section of alluvial territory, 5 km from the border of the historical center. RMJM could not survive the international economic crisis and work with it did not go beyond the concept. So, together with the Lakhta Center project, I went to work as the chief architect at Gorproekt, which won the tender for the general design of the facility in 2011. Since then, the project has been completely and repeatedly redesigned; all that remains from the previous concept is the idea of ​​the silhouette of a spire tower, symbolizing the flame that Gazprom brings to the people. But now it is 462 m, it will be for many years to come the tallest skyscraper not only in Russia, but also in Europe.

Now “Lakhta Center” as a new social and business cluster is the flagship of the agglomeration practically in the center of the lagoon ring of the Gulf of Finland, surrounded by a ring highway, in the orbit of which Greater St. Petersburg will develop in the 21st century. And the tower on the shore of the bay forms a new city-wide dominant sea ​​facade city ​​directly opposite the new passenger port, which receives in the summer tourist season 5–7 each cruise ships at the same time, and this is more tourists than arrives through Pulkovo airport every day.

-What was in this place before?

– There was a sand depot – they stored sand for construction projects.

– So the tower stands on the sand?

– No, it stands on 264 piles with a diameter of 2 m and 82 m deep, they go through the first 30 m of soft soil and rest on hard clay. The foundation slab was poured continuously for more than two days (a Guinness Book record).

The area of ​​the first phase is 8 hectares, there will be large landscaped spaces: three public squares, an outdoor amphitheater with a stage against the backdrop of the bay, an entertaining science museum with a planetarium, concert hall. The tower is completed not by the office of the head of the company, but by an accessible observation deck, an absolute center of attraction for tourists. The facility is also LEED Gold certified, making it a national leader in energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. environment, after all, this is the headquarters of the largest energy company, developing in step with progress.

– What is the ratio of the areas that Gazprom will occupy to public areas?

– Less than 45% of all areas are allocated for office functions, the rest are public spaces and functions, including recreation. Gazprom has another site of 7 hectares nearby; a second phase will be built there, where there will be more office space.

– Does Gazprom pay for everything?

– Investor of the first phase – “ Gazprom Neft", this company was initially the developer and developer of the project through its subsidiary. But in the end, all the main brands of the Gazprom group of companies will live in the complex. Now in St. Petersburg they occupy comparable areas in different business centers and pay rent. In the long term, owning a building is a definite saving for them.

– You assume that “Lakhta” will face the fate not of Montparnasse, but Eiffel Tower? (The 210-meter Montparnasse Tower, the only skyscraper in the historical center of Paris, became the object of criticism. Two years after its construction, the construction of high-rise buildings on this territory was prohibited.)

“I really hope so, but history will be the judge.” However, any architect is convinced that he is right. Although, I think, the creator of the Montparnasse Tower was also proud of it. We - architects, designers - live and work in difficult times in the context of the ideology of universal consumerism, which forces many of our colleagues to destroy their own buildings, following the path of momentary architectural fashion, constantly inventing new styles and thereby devaluing the value of previous ones. This makes life difficult for investors, especially if it is a high-rise building. The construction period increases with height in direct proportion. And it may turn out that, having invested in a concept that was trendy at the time the project began, you will end up with a facility that is obsolete by the time construction is completed. This is why so many pseudo-classical buildings are being built in Russia (which is considered bad taste in Europe) - in this way, customers are trying to save investments and deceive time. But they are only deceiving themselves; all these “pseudo” and “quasi” will never become classics, but will forever remain in the category of pathetic parodies. The style of the facades and forms of the Lakhta Center is timeless; it is not tied to any architectural fashion.

– Is the tower reinforced concrete?

– A reinforced concrete core in the center and concrete steel columns along the periphery, between them there are steel beams and reinforced concrete floors on a steel corrugated sheet - this is the most popular type of structure for mega-skyscrapers now, it is called composite. By 2020, when the tower is fully occupied, it will no longer be included in the list of the 20 tallest towers in the world. But we live in the context of Europe, and there were no goals to set high-altitude records. The task initially was to find harmony with the place in the urban planning context of St. Petersburg.

- How was it built?

– Many of the advanced construction technologies used have already been tested previously at other sites, but on a more modest scale. For example, the facades are unique: this is the largest cold-formed facade in the world (after the Evolution Tower): the glass is curved and strictly follows the spiral geometry of the form, as if flowing continuously. In addition, an intelligent ventilated façade is used here: in summer it will prevent heating of rooms when the ventilation valves are open, and in winter it will accumulate solar energy due to the greenhouse effect, reducing energy costs for heating when the ventilation valves are closed. The facade maintenance system is also unique: special rails are laid according to the shape of the building, along which beams with a cradle will move for washing or replacing double-glazed windows. Architectural lighting and anti-icing systems are integrated into these same rails. Anti-icing measures are extremely important here - no one has built such high buildings at such a northern latitude and in such a humid climate. Special sensors will monitor when it is necessary to turn on local heating in places where icicles may appear during the cold season.

The city certainly needs such objects; they position it much further than its usual niche of a museum city or Northern Venice. St. Petersburg, like Venice, is a flat city. But the height of ordinary buildings outside the historical center has increased several times, but the height of the dominant buildings has not, now average height historical architectural dominants in the center - 50–60 m, like an average residential building on the outskirts. And this new scale dictates the scale of new high-rise dominants. But until recently, such dominant buildings were not built in the city.

Photo gallery

Turned out to be the highest

Skyscrapers and high-rise construction in general are a trend associated with the increasing density of our cities and megalopolises, as, indeed, all phenomena of our life. The trend is positive if professionals are involved in urban planning, as well as the design and construction of skyscrapers, and a frightening phenomenon if amateurs are involved in this, and this also happens.

– Do you think that increasing building density is progressive?

– Increasing building density is progressive and inevitable. It is progressive, since on the whole on the planet, with increasing density, living becomes more and more compact and, thus, significant areas that remain on the balance of natural ecosystems are preserved or freed from development. Inevitable, since with the growth of the planet's population, the general tendency to save resources, including energy and all types of infrastructure, is intensifying.

– Nowadays there is a lot of talk about the need to build garden cities, but they continue to build anthill cities. What needs to happen to society for progressive urban trends to prevail?

– I can’t answer in a few words. Russia is now in captivity of several trends at the same time - industrial society still predominates, but in megacities, where traditional production is being replaced by an innovative and service economy, elements of a post-industrial social structure are already visible. For example, Skolkovo can be considered as a prototype or, rather, a showroom of such a garden city. Although it is being created in some isolation from the real economy of the country and has signs of Potemkin villages, this is the fate of many pilot projects.

Russia is still dominated by mass housing construction from the industrialization era, dating back to Khrushchev's times. To this day, millions of adult children live with their parents, millions of divorced spouses continue to share living space, not to mention the millions of people living in communal apartments and dilapidated houses. New buildings are still competing for buyers’ wallets with the same Khrushchev and Brezhnev buildings: such a poor competitive background does not promise us the special quality of economy-class houses being built and improving the urban environment. IN Western countries On the contrary, there is an overproduction of housing, so there is no such scale of mass housing construction; much less is being built there, which means that the competition is much higher and better quality. This also applies to social housing, which is also built, but according to government orders and not as massively as ours, which makes it possible to use individual projects for each specific site and even involve famous architects in these projects.

Only serious competition in the field of housing construction can revive the institution of real architectural competitions and return the quality of architecture to new construction. As for the “anthills” that have already been built, unfortunately, we have to live with this, and for a very long time.

But we must understand that progressive urban trends do not promise a decrease in building density in our cities; it will continue to grow with the increasing pace of urbanization. Which will continue until at least the middle of this century, when, according to forecasts, 70% of the world's population will live in cities. But these may be completely different cities.

– Polycentric or monocentric development, agglomeration or conurbation – which path should Moscow and St. Petersburg choose?

– The general plans and public planning zones of both megacities, as well as all Russian urban planning as a science, are still based on the fundamental principles of urban planning of an industrial society since the industrial revolutions of the 19th century. This means: industrial zones were built at a distance from the downtown, and residential residential areas were located nearby, stadiums, parks for recreation of citizens, etc. were built separately. However, if we get rid of such functional zoning and zoning of cities according to the old schemes of centric development and build life of a post-industrial society, creating a mixed development in which housing, retail, offices, schools, universities, cultural and sports facilities will harmoniously coexist along landscaped and landscaped streets and squares, then a further increase in urban density due to an increase in the number of storeys of buildings can be carried out without destroying such harmony, and, on the contrary, reducing the need for daily migration. The fact that now the majority of the population lives in one area, works in another, and goes shopping or relaxing in a third, only creates a transport collapse. The answer to this challenge is the polycentric development of our cities.

- It has already become commonplace, that developers scold architects for being “excessively beautiful,” and architects of developers scold them for simplifying projects to the detriment of quality. Is it possible for these parties to reach an agreement? And How?

– This is an eternal dispute and struggle for a share in the budget. The developer will strive, if not to cut, then to extremely optimize the budget allocated for architectural expressiveness, quality of details and landscaping. An architect, on the contrary, will (and is obligated by definition) to fight for an increase in the budget for aesthetics and quality. But an agreement is possible. If, for example, we accept the principle of minimalism in the lofty sense in which [German architect Ludwig] Mies van der Rohe formulated it: “Less is more.” But it’s not the developer, not the official, but the architect who should measure “more or less” here.

– Do you agree that for an architect to make a good design for a cheap but high-quality house is a professional challenge? Do you have such projects?

– I absolutely agree, this, in principle, is the highest exam. Of course, for any architect it is great luck to receive an unlimited budget for the realization of his architectural dreams and fantasies, but, in my opinion, to build beautifully on a small budget is a much more honorable achievement and a higher mission worthy of applause.

We recently received such an order - a project for a standard residential building for rent. The result should be the concept of a rental home, which will be centrally owned and managed by a single homeowner. For this business to be successful in the market, the new landlord must offer not only affordable rent, but also exceptionally attractive housing to potential tenants in terms of quality and aesthetics. This is the task and the professional challenge you are asking about.

– At a recent forum on high-rise construction in Yekaterinburg, you painted a picture of an ideal city of the future. What should it be like?

– So that the majority of its residents would be comfortable living there, without dreaming of moving to another city. So that people born in it would like to live their lives in it. We are talking about an environmentally and socially safe urbanized urban space, in harmony with the environment and providing - due to its layout and functional configuration - convenient and easy access for citizens to the main elements of complex social infrastructure, including employment, education, healthcare, culture, trade , recreation and sports. As for transport, its structure is already changing with the process of “Uberization” and with the advent of unmanned vehicles and drones, and the goal for the person of the future, in my opinion, is to move around the city less in a car and walk more and/or use bicycles and hoverboards . The pattern of daily migrations within the city has already begun to change, online shopping and couriers began to slowly but surely kill traditional trade, in developed countries street retail, malls and hypermarkets with huge parking lots are slowly dying out as a class. But people must remain mobile enough to travel between cities or travel around the world. I think that virtual reality will reduce the share of business tourism and business trips, people will travel to visit relatives or to see the world. And if tourists flock en masse to a certain city, then it means that it is already successful in some way and has thereby won its place in the present and future.

Historical environment in Lakhta? Do you know our city well? The city center is far away, the issue is simply not relevant now.

- Local city defenders continue to insist that the tower will become a dominant feature and will cover something. According to the project, it is 462 meters in height.

In fact, the height of the tower is 462.7 meters. How to understand the statement of city defenders that the tower will cover something? Blocking the view of Primorskoye Highway? View of residential development? Does this concern you? It will be visible against the background of other objects - I agree, but it will definitely not cover or dominate significant historical objects. If the house is beautiful, why strive to ensure that no one sees it? Our project is very beautiful, the time will come when everyone will be proud of it.

I saw one photoshopper. The picture showed our tower against the background of the Bronze Horseman and the caption: “See what the angle is, everything is ruined there, it’s impossible to take a photo.” I don’t know... I myself have photographed myself many times next to the Bronze Horseman, but I have never photographed the statue from the tail side. Why do people care?

- What is the most important difference between the Lakhta Center project and the notorious Okhta Center?

These are fundamentally different projects. A simple business center was designed on Okhta - a tower with office premises. In fact, it turned out to be a closed space, a thing in itself. An employee would come there, work, get everything he needs, and at the end of the working day go home.

The rest of the townspeople could go to the Okhta Center to visit the observation deck or sit in the revolving restaurant on the 74th floor.

It was not intended to create social infrastructure in the Okhta Center, but the Lakhta Center provides for a very large volume of additional functions, which, in terms of area ratio, will dominate the office component.

The main volume of offices in Lakhta Center is located in the tower, and underneath it there will be the whole city for residents of nearby areas and tourists. The public component of the project includes sports and medical Center s, shops, conference rooms, an entertaining science center for children and a planetarium.

- How did the idea with the planetarium come about?

Architects always strive to offer some kind of feature, a zest. We have several of them on our project. The idea of ​​a planetarium was not born immediately. We had a multi-light space provided, and we were all thinking about how to use it the best way. We worked on this issue for a month and a half, and then - time! And the planetarium was born! A huge ball, which seemed to have been thrown at full force into the building, and it stuck to the facade. Very impressive. It will be visible both from the street and from passing cars, it will become another reason for people to come to us.

- Has the tower itself become larger than the Okhta Center project?

The tower became taller, larger in diameter, changed in shape and structure. This is absolutely new project. Outwardly, there are some similarities, it seems that it is the same tower, but in fact the towers are completely different.

- Are there design differences?

The basic design diagram remained unchanged, we were only able to optimize and reduce the number of technical floors, were able to abandon some columns, and simplified the beam system. And in the Lakhta project, decisions on organizing construction have changed significantly, new technologies have been applied. Currently, we have successfully completed work on the arrangement of the pile foundation of the tower and multifunctional building. In Lakhta, bored piles with a diameter of 2 meters were laid under a high-rise building, and in Okhta, foundations in the form of barettes were provided, which are much more expensive. This became possible because the soil situation in the new location is much better. Thanks to this and other optimization solutions, we get good savings Money per square meter.

- What are the parameters of the tower?

The office part will occupy about 120 thousand square meters, and the total usable area will be approximately 200 thousand square meters.

The tower is an office tower, and everything connected with it is the maintenance of office premises. The top of the tower was created for public functions, there is an observation deck, a revolving restaurant and a conference room area that can be rented out for short-term rent for any events. The rest are the offices of our investor.

- Do you plan to rent out space to other companies?

Currently, everything is being done to suit the needs of the investor, but perhaps some areas will be rented out to third-party tenants.

- The project on the official website involves placing a complex of apartments in the building, will these premises also not be sold?

Not an apartment complex, but a hotel with two hundred rooms, a simple four-star hotel. Can you imagine how many business trips we have? We need to place them somewhere. This is the headquarters.

- That is, the apartments will not be purchased by anyone, including the company’s top management?

No. This is a clean hotel with its own logistics solutions, delivery and cleaning of premises. If there were apartments for sale there, we would change a lot in the project.

- Tell us about the space around the tower.

On the adjacent territory of the business district there is parking for tourist buses, there is access to the berthing structure, there will be museum complex"Poltava".

The entrance lobbies in the Eastern part are intended for employees; they are decorated with a very beautiful arch, a span of 99 meters, a unique engineering structure. Business and tourist life will unfold around this arch.

From the south-eastern part of our territory begins a large walking area, stretching along a pedestrian bridge to the park of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Walking route will be about 8 kilometers, the issue of construction is being considered pedestrian bridge and to Krestovsky Island.

The pedestrian zone is not 1.5 meter wide paths, it is a space where any events could be held, up to the May demonstrations. There is an amphitheater in the southern part of our territory.

- Can you tell me a little more about the amphitheater?

The amphitheater appeared in the project by accident. There was a very complex volumetric-spatial solution for the roof of a covered parking lot. It was necessary to create a smooth transition from the highest level of the roof to the water, and our architect proposed placing an amphitheater for 2 thousand people. We happily agreed, and we had one more “trick”.

As a result, we got a space where we can hold any events related to open air and water. We want it to be possible to see both water fountains and water shows, and theatrical performances, competitions...

The northern part of the territory will be used to ensure pedestrian accessibility. There will be railway platforms and a metro station. We plan to hold open-air exhibitions on Northern Square.

- The lake also appeared in the project on the official website

Is the water of the Gulf of Finland not enough for you? There was no lake, there were and are expanses of water, but this is something completely different. The water surfaces did not appear by chance. We carried out aerodynamic tests to determine the wind loads on the tower itself, as well as the comfort level of pedestrian areas.

As a result of this work, we have identified areas where very strong wind due to downward air flows. We marked these zones in red on the plan, and then changed the “red” to “blue” and made a water surface there. People will not walk through these zones, and the project will have decorative and protective functions for pedestrian zones.

- How will the transfer be organized?

The metro station is expected only by 2025, so the facility will have to operate for 7 years without a metro. The transfer issue will definitely be resolved, but for now the first thing that comes to mind is to use transportation from the Staraya Derevnya and Chernaya Rechka metro stations.

The project also provides for a sufficient number of parking spaces (according to the standard, one parking space should be created for 5 employees and 1 parking space for 10 visitors, but we plan to create more parking spaces), and for tourism purposes, together with the city, a project for an interchange hub is being developed - these new Lakhta railway platforms ", intercept parking. There will also be public stops ground transport. All this should be operational by 2017.

- How many people will work in the tower?

In total, about 10 thousand people will be on the territory of the complex every day: more than 5 thousand office employees and about 4 thousand visitors and tourists.

- Can you name the approximate amount of investment in the project?

I'm not involved in this issue. I only determine the validity of specific decisions. For example, we calculate the efficiency of refrigeration systems. I know how much money we will save on this. And the total cost of the project is the competence of my management.

- And if you compare it with the Okhta Center project, which project is more expensive?

This cannot be compared at all - the objects are completely different, but the cost of construction per square meter in the Lakhta Center project is lower, because the situation with the soil is different here. We were just very lucky. And the amount of usable space here is much larger.

- Will the facility be introduced in stages or in one phase?

If we had it like in the MIBC Moscow City, when the entire development is divided into separate stages of construction, each building is put into operation independently - we would be terribly happy, but with us all the buildings are a single whole of one object. The design documentation was developed without highlighting queues, without highlighting launch complexes, without highlighting construction stages.

In our project engineering support, transport accessibility and everything else is created comprehensively; one tower cannot be put into operation. We wanted to divide it into stages, but it didn’t work out, so we will introduce everything at the same time, for which the builders thanked us very much (in quotes). We will have to put into operation all 400 thousand square meters at once. This will be a feat, because in Russia it has never happened that 400 thousand square meters were introduced at once.

- Tell us what is happening at the site now? What stage is going on?

The work is in full swing. The piles have been completed and the excavation of the tower foundation has been completed. This colossal structure is five football fields 20 meters deep. It's so beautiful it takes your breath away. There are spacer discs, a wall in the ground, everything is massive and solid... A colossal building structure. You physically feel the work of the structures. There are people working down there, they are very small, because the height still makes itself felt. There is a bay nearby, and the pit is dry. A person who is far from construction does not fully understand how difficult it is. This is simply Beautiful with a capital B, beautiful from the point of view of human capabilities, his engineering.

Lakhta Center is a modern socio-economic business complex located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland in St. Petersburg. The construction is financed by Gazprom, and its central office will be located here.

It has been going on for 6 years now. And the completion date for construction was set for the third quarter of 2018.

Lakhta center opening: grandiose construction of a public and business center

The center will include a huge number of facilities: a large medical center, sports complex, a children's scientific and entertainment complex, an embankment, concert and conference halls, restaurants, offices of large companies and much more.

The key figure of the complex is a skyscraper with a height of 462 meters or 87 floors, which has become the northernmost skyscraper and the tallest building in Europe. The top will become a beacon for passing ships; searchlights are built into its hexagonal top.

Lakhta center when opening: latest information on work performed

According to the latest information from the construction press center, the last tower crane in the complex has been dismantled. All construction work is currently progressing ahead of schedule. The dismantling was supposed to be completed by the semi-final match of the 2018 World Cup.

The construction management expressed the hope that appearance the facility will evoke positive emotions among residents and guests of the “northern capital”.

Works inside the building, installation of the facades of the building and the MFZ, and work on the facades of the entrance arch are also planned for June 2018.

Lakhta center opening: commissioning of the observation deck

Information was also received from the executive director of the project, Alexander Bobkov, that the observation deck, located at an altitude of 360 meters, which corresponds to the 83-87 floors of the skyscraper, will become available to visitors only at the end of 2019. This is due to the deadlines that will be set for the entry into the complex of the main tenants of the premises.

There will be a fee for entering the site and about 50 people will be able to visit it at the same time, and it will begin to function stably in 2019-2020.

Since the bird's eye view of St. Petersburg is stunning, an influx of visitors is expected: St. Petersburg residents and tourists visiting the city. On observation deck special telescopes equipped with interactive maps, which will allow you to get acquainted with the sights of the city. According to preliminary data, 300-350 thousand people will be able to visit it during the year.

In mid-October 2018, the Lakhta Center multifunctional complex, the construction of which began back in 2012, received permission to put into operation. The opening of the first phase of the complex, which is dominated by the tallest skyscraper in Europe, is scheduled for the end of next year, and for many more months work will be carried out at the new Gazprom headquarters on interior decoration, equipment and landscaping of the vast area. However, last summer, during the broadcasts of the 2018 World Cup matches, the world was able to see a new vertical dominant forming the panorama of modern St. Petersburg.

The silhouette of the 462-meter tower, the compositional center and main accent of the complex, is the embodied energy of flame, the symbol and logo of Gazprom. The five wings of the tower rotate by floor by 0.82 degrees relative to their centers, or about 90 degrees over the entire height. As they ascend, they decrease in size, thereby creating the silhouette of a spire, the proportions and shape of which allow it to be perceived as another city spire, stylistically not competing with the existing dominants of the historical center.

Philip Nikandrov. Photo by the Gorproekt press service

The shape of the tower is based on architectural principles laid down by the builders of ancient pyramids: the entire mass of the building is visually directed upward, concentrating at the apex point. Almost all historical vertical dominants of St. Petersburg - spiers and domes - were built according to this principle. The silhouette of the skyscraper is precisely a transitional form from a dome to a spire, with a gradual increase in the radius of curvature from an arc at the bottom to a straight line at the top. The rich plasticity of the tower facades through the organic composition of volumes gives the object dynamism, symbolizing energy and development.

The architectural and technical solutions of the Lakhta Center, on which the team of architects, designers and engineers of the Gorproekt company (general designer of the complex) have been working since 2011, are innovative in many aspects not only for Russia, but also for the whole world. The project, which does not have a single repeating (standard) floor, is technically considered one of the most complex and unique even in comparison with other mega-skyscrapers on the planet; Leaders of the global construction industry, leading contracting companies and manufacturers from Europe and Asia took part in its implementation. Solving the most complex design problems became possible only through the use of the latest BIM technologies and parametric design.

The facade solutions of the complex are especially unique. Firstly, a record amount of glass was used: the area of ​​glazed shells is about 130 thousand square meters. m, of which 72.5 thousand sq. m on the tower. m (this is 16.5 thousand double-glazed windows). In total, more than half a million square meters of glass were used in production, and glass was used not only as a translucent shell of hanging stained-glass windows, but also as a load-bearing structural material: record-high all-glass mullion stands (more than 17 m without a single seam) provide maximum visual lightness and transparency of planar stained glass windows at the level of public spaces of the atrium.

Secondly, the latest synthetic materials were used for translucent shells, for example, ETFE film, from which the pneumatic elements (“cushions”) of the skylight in the central atrium of the stylobate part of the complex are made. This solution made it possible to significantly reduce the weight of the structure of a huge lantern with a length of more than 250 m, while avoiding the risk of icing in the winter. On the facades of stylobate buildings, energy-saving double-thread glazing is used, which provides ventilation of buffer zones in a passive mode. On the tower itself, an intelligent two-thread facade was implemented, which allows (already in active mode) to automatically ventilate the buffer zones between the two threads of the facade - in the summer it will prevent heating of the premises when the ventilation valves are open, and in winter, on the contrary, it will accumulate solar energy due to the “greenhouse effect”, reducing energy consumption for heating with closed ventilation valves.

The stained glass window of the outer thread, curved in three dimensions, is assembled from huge double-glazed windows with an area of ​​11 square meters. m each. All 15 petal-faces of the facade look like a single shell of glass, curved in a spiral with a 90-degree rotation over the entire height. Each glass unit in plan is bent at an angle of 0.82 degrees when cold (without the use of molds and traditional heating in an oven up to 600 degrees), which allowed saving a huge amount of energy during production. Today, this stained glass window is the largest cold-formed façade in the world by area; it broke the record of our other project - in Moscow City.

The Lakhta Center tower, however, is not only the tallest in Europe, but also the northernmost mega-skyscraper in the world. For several months a year, the 100-meter spire will be hidden in low clouds, that is, in an area of ​​increased risk of condensation on the surfaces of its facades. Anti-icing measures are extremely important here, and the task was complicated by the fact that no one before us had built such tall buildings at such a latitude and in such a humid climate.

"Lakhta Center". Photo by the Gorproekt press service

In winter, condensation will freeze on the surfaces of the spire in the form of ice, which can threaten the fall of fragments or entire icicles, so we have developed a unique spire anti-icing system, which is designed to combat ice accumulation on large metal surfaces. In the tower spire, the glass has been replaced with stainless steel cladding with a heating system in the cold season, and a steel mesh to control the formation of dangerous ice and icicles on the shell of the upper part of the skyscraper.

A unique façade maintenance system for cleaning and repairing stained glass or replacing double-glazed windows moves along a spiral path along a rail parallel to the façade shell. Active dynamic architectural lighting and anti-icing systems are also integrated into these rails. Special sensors will monitor when it is necessary to turn on local heating in places where ice may appear. The flashing aircraft obstacle lights at the top of the spire operate 24 hours a day and are visible to air and sea ​​vessels many tens of kilometers away.

Based on the totality of innovative energy-efficient solutions used in the project, the facility claims a LEED gold certificate, which makes it a national leader in terms of energy saving and respect for the environment - after all, we are talking about the headquarters of the largest energy company.

Of course, Lakhta Center is not only a tower, it is huge complex with an area of ​​400 thousand square meters. m, of which the tower occupies only a third. The area of ​​the first phase is 8 hectares, and large landscaped spaces will appear on them: three public squares, an open amphitheater with a stage against the backdrop of the bay, an entertaining science museum with a planetarium, and a multifunctional concert hall. The tower is completed by a publicly accessible observation deck in the lower space of the spire, an absolute center of attraction for tourists.

“Lakhta Center” is the urban flagship of the agglomeration practically in the center of the lagoon ring of the Gulf of Finland, surrounded by the ring highway (Ring Road) - it is in its orbit that “Greater St. Petersburg” will develop in the 21st century. And the tower on the shore of the bay, in the geometric center of this orbit, like a grandiose lighthouse, forms the sea facade of the metropolis directly opposite the passenger port, which simultaneously receives 5-7 cruise ships during the summer tourist season. And they are all met and escorted by the Lakhta Center, the symbol of modern St. Petersburg.