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Okhta Center

May 05, 2023

Okhta Center or phonetically Oḱhta-Tseńtr (Russian: О́хта-це́нтр), known before March 2007 as Gazprom City (Russian:Газпро́м-си́ти), was a construction project of a business centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was supposed to include the first supertall skyscraper in the city. The 403 meters high main tower of Okhta Centre is set to be the tallest building in Europe amongst live building proposals. This project, remained unrealised, was supposed to house headquarters of the Gazprom energy company, along with museums, library, sports and leisure facilities, and a concert hall. It was to be built in the mouth of the river Okhta, on the right bank of the river Neva.[1] Its 403-meter high tower was conceived not only as a dominant, but also as a new symbol of Saint Petersburg. It was to be completed by 2016.[2] However, the project met fierce opposition from citizens, civil groups, and international organizations.[3] When the project ideas were introduced to international jury, three out of four architects walked off the jury in protest, the competition was also boycotted by the Russian Union of Architects. It was eventually relocated to the new site Lakhta in Saint Petersburg in December 2010.

The core design team of the Okhta Centre includes Chief Design Architect Charles Phu, Russian architect Philipp Nikandrov, Roger Whiteman and Tony Kettle. In 2008, Arabtec, the construction company involved in construction of the world’s tallest building in Dubai, has won a contract to build this 60 billion-ruble ($2.56 billion) complex.

Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller claimed that he is "positive that St. Petersburg’s citizens will be proud of these new architectural masterpieces." However, the Director of the Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky, has spoken out against the plan. Russia's culture ministry has also been reported to object to the tower's plan.

As the historical centre of Saint Petersburg is a World Heritage Site in 1991; in December 2006 UNESCO World Heritage centre Director Francesco Bandarin reminded Russia about its obligations to preserve it and expressed concern over the project. In 2007, the World Monuments Fund placed the historic skyline of St. Petersburg on its 2008 Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites due to the potential construction of the building, and in 2009 reported that the tower "would damage the image of Russia."

In 2010 it was reported by Russian and UK press that the project's designer Charles Phu said at a public debate in London that the architect has been getting regular memoranda from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, encouraging them to go ahead with the project of Okhta Centre and promising support from the government. This was proved to be untrue according to Putin, Phu himself and the debate participants. This controversial report, followed by heated public discussions, has resulted in certain impact on the politics in Russia.[citation needed]

Lakhta Center, developed on a site farther from Saint Petersburg's historic center, is based on the Okhta Center plans including its main tower, but on an even larger scale.

Project design

Gazprom City project was first introduced in November 2006. Russian Academy of Arts hosted an exhibit of the six competitive designs.[4]

Projects designed by

Jury

Representatives from Gazprom

Representatives from the Saint Petersburg administration

  • Valentina Matviyenko (Governor of Saint Petersburg)
  • Aleksandr Vakhmistrov (Deputy Governor of Saint Petersburg)
  • Aleksandr Viktorov (Chairman of the Committee of City Planning and Architecture)
  • Vera Dementieva (Chairwoman of the Committee of Government Control and Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks)

Architects

All the presented projects conceptualized the building as a new architectural dominant with proposed height ranging from 300 to 400 meters. Three out of four architects walked off the jury. Kurokawa stated that the height of construction in Saint Petersburg is "the most sensitive issue to keeping the existing cultural value of the old city centre".[5] The competition was also boycotted by the Russian Union of Architects.[6]

Winning design

British architecture company RMJM London Limited won the competition. The decision was announced on December 1, 2006. In addition to the opinion of the jury, Gazprom invited the public to cast their votes on the company's web-site (it was closed after the project was renamed ) and through the ballots distributed at the exhibit.[6] Notably, the ballots did not provide a "none of the above" option, which automatically made all those who had cast their votes into supporters of the construction. Newsportal Vedomosti organized their own survey, asking whether respondents considered it an option to construct a 300-meter skyscraper on the site of the Nyenschantz fortress. Out of 735 respondents only 68 replied affirmatively.[7]

The proposed twisting tower is inspired by a Swedish fortress named Landskrona, occupied the site in the early 14th century, and another fortress Nyenschantz on the site until the 18th century in the form of a five-sided star to maximise views for defensive purposes. The inspiration for the design also comes from energy in water, with the building form deriving its shape from the changing nature of water and ever changing light. It gives a new interpretation to the historical fortresses with modern aesthetics and technology - transparency and democracy, internal and external interactions. It also features a unique environmental strategy, which acts as a low energy double-layered skin of the tower allowing maximum daylight and minimum heat loss in the extreme climate of the city.

Project description

The area of the complex was to be divided according to the following ratio: 35% - public use, 49% - business offices, 16% - offices of Gazprom and its subsidiaries.[2]

The complex was to consist of three main zones:

Zone 1: Multifunctional high-rise complex. 396 meters high, 67 floors. The complex would have contained office spaces and parking, 67th floor would have been turned into an observation deck. Sport complex and conference hall were to be constructed next to it.

Zone 2: Multifunctional cultural center. Museum of modern art, Museum of architecture, and a theater building were to be constructed in this area.

Zone 3: Zone for prospective development, most likely to include sports and recreations center containing a swimming pool, skate ring, and fitness and spa centers, apartment hotel, and parking.

Architects planned to create green zones and linear parks along the embankment of the river Neva.

The 396 meter high-rise was to be pentagon-shaped in its base - a reference to the Landskrona fortification and Nyenschantz fortresses that were located at the same site in the 14th and 17th centuries respectively.[8] Remnants of the fortresses were uncovered during archaeological excavations that begun as a result of the contention around the project[9]

Financial scheme

  • 2006 scheme

Originally, the 60 billion rubles construction was supposed to be 100% funded from the city budget. The city was supposed to disburse annual payments of 6 billion rubles starting in 2006 through 2016.[10] In return, Gazprom was to pay 7 billions in taxes annually. The building was supposed to become the property of Gazprom Neft. The city was also supposed to fund construction of housing for Gazprom executives.[11] This scheme, in which city was supposed to return a ten-year worth of taxes to a commercial company, provoked a public outcry from a number of civil groups and the Democratic party Yabloko. The latter demanded a citywide referendum to uphold the height regulation of 48-meters.[12]

  • 2007 scheme

In March 2007 Gazprom City was renamed Okhta Center. Simultaneously, as a result of the pressure from opposition groups, financial scheme was changed: now Gazprom was supposed to provide 51% of the cost of the construction, city would have covered the remaining 49% and received capital stocks in exchange.[13][14] However, according to the federal law about joint stock companies,[15] shareholders do not become owners of the property. Thus, Gazprom would have still been a full owner of the Okhta Center real estate. As a result of contention around the construction, it became apparent that Valentina Matviyenko, the governor of Saint Petersburg, included funding of the construction in the city budget in the absence of feasibility studies and land agreement. Yabloko initiated a court case questioning the legality of the financing scheme. Saint Petersburg City Court denied the case[16]

  • 2008 scheme

December 28, 2008 Alexey Miller announced that Gazprom will cover the full cost of the construction.[17] However, even though officially the city did not fund the construction,[18] it established a tax break for Gazprom, that over ten years would have come up to the cost of the construction. Thus, even in the third version of the financial scheme, construction of Okhta Center would have been paid for by the taxpayers.[19]

Archaeological findings on the site

[20][21][22]

Height regulation controversy

[11][23][24][25][26]

References

  1. ^ Ohta Center official web-site
  2. ^ a b (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  3. ^ "Petersburg revolts against Gazprom-planned skyscraper," "ITAR-TASS Daily," November 24, 2006
  4. ^ a b Exhibit of competitive designs of the business center "Gazprom City" in St. petersburg
  5. ^ Ellen Bennett, "Gazprom jury walk-out", Building Design, December 8, 2006
  6. ^ a b Steven Lee Myers, "Russian Window on the West Reaches for the Sky", New York Times, November 28, 2006
  7. ^ 90% Against, SPB Vedomosti, Issue 215, November 17 2006
  8. ^ Amanda Birch, "RMJM's Russian Odyssey," bdonline.co.uk August 8, 2008
  9. ^ "Hearing on Okhta Center Pushed Back," The Moscow Times, November 10, 2009, p.7
  10. ^ Закон Санкт-Петербурга "О целевой программе Санкт-Петербурга "Строительство административно делового центра в Красногвардейском районе Санкт Петербурге""
  11. ^ a b Vishnevsky, B., "Decision at 396 meters - Plans for building "Gazprom City" in St. Petersburg change radically," Novaya Gazeta, March 22, 2007, p.4
  12. ^ Stolyarova, G., "Tower critics planning referendum," The Moscow Times, #3575, January 16, 2007, p.9
  13. ^ "Gazprom Business compound in Petersburg named Okhta-Center," Itar-Tass Daily, March 16, 2007
  14. ^ Закон Санкт-Петербурга о внессении изменений в Закон Санкт-Петербурга "О целевой программе Санкт-Петербурга "Строительство административно делового центра в Санкт Петербурге""
  15. ^ Федеральный Закон об Акционерных Обществах
  16. ^ Stolyarova, G., "Legal setback in fight against Okhta Center," The Moscow times, #3888, April 28, 2008, p.8
  17. ^ "UN warns on tower ahead of St. Pete debate," The Moscow Times, #4221, August 31, 2009, p.5
  18. ^ http://gov.spb.ru:3000/law?d&nd=891805773&prevDoc=8427969
  19. ^ . Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  20. ^ "Hearing on Okhta Center Pushed Back," The Moscow Times, #4271, November 10, 2009, p.7
  21. ^ Sorokin, P., "ARCHEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS OF THE OKHAT CAPE," Science in Russia, #3, 2011, p. 19-25
  22. ^ Antonova, M., "Tower causes rare government split," The Moscow Times, October 20, 2009, p.1
  23. ^ "Petersburg governor backs controversial Gazprom tower", ITAR-TASS Daily, December 1, 2006
  24. ^ Stolyarova, G., "Tower critics planning referendum," The Moscow Times, #3575, January 16, 2007, p.9
  25. ^ Rabotnova, V., "UNESCO vs. Gazprom," Moscow News, #6, February 16, 2007, p.5
  26. ^ "Clashes erupt over Gazprom skyscraper," The Moscow Times, #4223, September 2, 2009, p.3

May 05, 2023
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian March 2013 Click show for important translation instructions View a machine translated version of the Russian article Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Consider adding a topic to this template there are already 2 801 articles in the main category and specifying topic will aid in categorization Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at ru Ohta centr see its history for attribution You should also add the template Translated ru Ohta centr to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation Learn how and when to remove this template message Okhta Center or phonetically Oḱhta Tsentr Russian O hta ce ntr known before March 2007 as Gazprom City Russian Gazpro m si ti was a construction project of a business centre in Saint Petersburg Russia It was supposed to include the first supertall skyscraper in the city The 403 meters high main tower of Okhta Centre is set to be the tallest building in Europe amongst live building proposals This project remained unrealised was supposed to house headquarters of the Gazprom energy company along with museums library sports and leisure facilities and a concert hall It was to be built in the mouth of the river Okhta on the right bank of the river Neva 1 Its 403 meter high tower was conceived not only as a dominant but also as a new symbol of Saint Petersburg It was to be completed by 2016 2 However the project met fierce opposition from citizens civil groups and international organizations 3 When the project ideas were introduced to international jury three out of four architects walked off the jury in protest the competition was also boycotted by the Russian Union of Architects It was eventually relocated to the new site Lakhta in Saint Petersburg in December 2010 The core design team of the Okhta Centre includes Chief Design Architect Charles Phu Russian architect Philipp Nikandrov Roger Whiteman and Tony Kettle In 2008 Arabtec the construction company involved in construction of the world s tallest building in Dubai has won a contract to build this 60 billion ruble 2 56 billion complex Gazprom s CEO Alexei Miller claimed that he is positive that St Petersburg s citizens will be proud of these new architectural masterpieces However the Director of the Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky has spoken out against the plan Russia s culture ministry has also been reported to object to the tower s plan As the historical centre of Saint Petersburg is a World Heritage Site in 1991 in December 2006 UNESCO World Heritage centre Director Francesco Bandarin reminded Russia about its obligations to preserve it and expressed concern over the project In 2007 the World Monuments Fund placed the historic skyline of St Petersburg on its 2008 Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites due to the potential construction of the building and in 2009 reported that the tower would damage the image of Russia In 2010 it was reported by Russian and UK press that the project s designer Charles Phu said at a public debate in London that the architect has been getting regular memoranda from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin encouraging them to go ahead with the project of Okhta Centre and promising support from the government This was proved to be untrue according to Putin Phu himself and the debate participants This controversial report followed by heated public discussions has resulted in certain impact on the politics in Russia citation needed Lakhta Center developed on a site farther from Saint Petersburg s historic center is based on the Okhta Center plans including its main tower but on an even larger scale Contents 1 Project design 1 1 Projects designed by 1 2 Jury 1 3 Winning design 1 4 Project description 2 Financial scheme 3 Archaeological findings on the site 4 Height regulation controversy 5 ReferencesProject design EditGazprom City project was first introduced in November 2006 Russian Academy of Arts hosted an exhibit of the six competitive designs 4 Projects designed by Edit Rem Koolhaas office of Metropolitan Architecture US Daniel Libeskind US Jean Nouvel France Massimiliano Fuksas Italy Herzog amp de Meuron Architekten Switzerland RMJM London Limited UK 4 Jury Edit Representatives from Gazprom Alexey Miller CEO of Gazprom Alexander Ryazanov President of Gazprom Neft Valery Golubev Deputy CEO of Gazprom Representatives from the Saint Petersburg administration Valentina Matviyenko Governor of Saint Petersburg Aleksandr Vakhmistrov Deputy Governor of Saint Petersburg Aleksandr Viktorov Chairman of the Committee of City Planning and Architecture Vera Dementieva Chairwoman of the Committee of Government Control and Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks Architects Kisho Kurokawa walked off the jury Norman Foster walked off the jury Rafael Vinoly walked off the jury Peter ShvegerAll the presented projects conceptualized the building as a new architectural dominant with proposed height ranging from 300 to 400 meters Three out of four architects walked off the jury Kurokawa stated that the height of construction in Saint Petersburg is the most sensitive issue to keeping the existing cultural value of the old city centre 5 The competition was also boycotted by the Russian Union of Architects 6 Winning design Edit British architecture company RMJM London Limited won the competition The decision was announced on December 1 2006 In addition to the opinion of the jury Gazprom invited the public to cast their votes on the company s web site it was closed after the project was renamed Okhta Center and through the ballots distributed at the exhibit 6 Notably the ballots did not provide a none of the above option which automatically made all those who had cast their votes into supporters of the construction Newsportal Vedomosti organized their own survey asking whether respondents considered it an option to construct a 300 meter skyscraper on the site of the Nyenschantz fortress Out of 735 respondents only 68 replied affirmatively 7 The proposed twisting tower is inspired by a Swedish fortress named Landskrona occupied the site in the early 14th century and another fortress Nyenschantz on the site until the 18th century in the form of a five sided star to maximise views for defensive purposes The inspiration for the design also comes from energy in water with the building form deriving its shape from the changing nature of water and ever changing light It gives a new interpretation to the historical fortresses with modern aesthetics and technology transparency and democracy internal and external interactions It also features a unique environmental strategy which acts as a low energy double layered skin of the tower allowing maximum daylight and minimum heat loss in the extreme climate of the city Project description Edit The area of the complex was to be divided according to the following ratio 35 public use 49 business offices 16 offices of Gazprom and its subsidiaries 2 The complex was to consist of three main zones Zone 1 Multifunctional high rise complex 396 meters high 67 floors The complex would have contained office spaces and parking 67th floor would have been turned into an observation deck Sport complex and conference hall were to be constructed next to it Zone 2 Multifunctional cultural center Museum of modern art Museum of architecture and a theater building were to be constructed in this area Zone 3 Zone for prospective development most likely to include sports and recreations center containing a swimming pool skate ring and fitness and spa centers apartment hotel and parking Architects planned to create green zones and linear parks along the embankment of the river Neva The 396 meter high rise was to be pentagon shaped in its base a reference to the Landskrona fortification and Nyenschantz fortresses that were located at the same site in the 14th and 17th centuries respectively 8 Remnants of the fortresses were uncovered during archaeological excavations that begun as a result of the contention around the project 9 Financial scheme Edit2006 schemeOriginally the 60 billion rubles construction was supposed to be 100 funded from the city budget The city was supposed to disburse annual payments of 6 billion rubles starting in 2006 through 2016 10 In return Gazprom was to pay 7 billions in taxes annually The building was supposed to become the property of Gazprom Neft The city was also supposed to fund construction of housing for Gazprom executives 11 This scheme in which city was supposed to return a ten year worth of taxes to a commercial company provoked a public outcry from a number of civil groups and the Democratic party Yabloko The latter demanded a citywide referendum to uphold the height regulation of 48 meters 12 2007 schemeIn March 2007 Gazprom City was renamed Okhta Center Simultaneously as a result of the pressure from opposition groups financial scheme was changed now Gazprom was supposed to provide 51 of the cost of the construction city would have covered the remaining 49 and received capital stocks in exchange 13 14 However according to the federal law about joint stock companies 15 shareholders do not become owners of the property Thus Gazprom would have still been a full owner of the Okhta Center real estate As a result of contention around the construction it became apparent that Valentina Matviyenko the governor of Saint Petersburg included funding of the construction in the city budget in the absence of feasibility studies and land agreement Yabloko initiated a court case questioning the legality of the financing scheme Saint Petersburg City Court denied the case 16 2008 schemeDecember 28 2008 Alexey Miller announced that Gazprom will cover the full cost of the construction 17 However even though officially the city did not fund the construction 18 it established a tax break for Gazprom that over ten years would have come up to the cost of the construction Thus even in the third version of the financial scheme construction of Okhta Center would have been paid for by the taxpayers 19 Archaeological findings on the site Edit 20 21 22 Height regulation controversy Edit 11 23 24 25 26 References Edit Ohta Center official web site a b Godovoj otchyot za 2008 god OAO Obshestvenno delovoj centr Ohta PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2009 11 22 Retrieved 2013 03 24 Petersburg revolts against Gazprom planned skyscraper ITAR TASS Daily November 24 2006 a b Exhibit of competitive designs of the business center Gazprom City in St petersburg Ellen Bennett Gazprom jury walk out Building Design December 8 2006 a b Steven Lee Myers Russian Window on the West Reaches for the Sky New York Times November 28 2006 90 Against SPB Vedomosti Issue 215 November 17 2006 Amanda Birch RMJM s Russian Odyssey bdonline co uk August 8 2008 Hearing on Okhta Center Pushed Back The Moscow Times November 10 2009 p 7 Zakon Sankt Peterburga O celevoj programme Sankt Peterburga Stroitelstvo administrativno delovogo centra v Krasnogvardejskom rajone Sankt Peterburge a b Vishnevsky B Decision at 396 meters Plans for building Gazprom City in St Petersburg change radically Novaya Gazeta March 22 2007 p 4 Stolyarova G Tower critics planning referendum The Moscow Times 3575 January 16 2007 p 9 Gazprom Business compound in Petersburg named Okhta Center Itar Tass Daily March 16 2007 Zakon Sankt Peterburga o vnessenii izmenenij v Zakon Sankt Peterburga O celevoj programme Sankt Peterburga Stroitelstvo administrativno delovogo centra v Sankt Peterburge Federalnyj Zakon ob Akcionernyh Obshestvah Stolyarova G Legal setback in fight against Okhta Center The Moscow times 3888 April 28 2008 p 8 UN warns on tower ahead of St Pete debate The Moscow Times 4221 August 31 2009 p 5 http gov spb ru 3000 law d amp nd 891805773 amp prevDoc 8427969 Vishnevskij B Vo chto nam stanet Gazoskreb Novaya Gazeta 49 July 9 12 2009 Archived from the original on 2012 10 15 Retrieved 2013 03 24 Hearing on Okhta Center Pushed Back The Moscow Times 4271 November 10 2009 p 7 Sorokin P ARCHEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS OF THE OKHAT CAPE Science in Russia 3 2011 p 19 25 Antonova M Tower causes rare government split The Moscow Times October 20 2009 p 1 Petersburg governor backs controversial Gazprom tower ITAR TASS Daily December 1 2006 Stolyarova G Tower critics planning referendum The Moscow Times 3575 January 16 2007 p 9 Rabotnova V UNESCO vs Gazprom Moscow News 6 February 16 2007 p 5 Clashes erupt over Gazprom skyscraper The Moscow Times 4223 September 2 2009 p 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Okhta Center amp oldid 1142531831, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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