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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 PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the large ...
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. 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. However, the project met fierce opposition from citizens, civil groups, and international organizations. 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 Charles Phu (Traditional Chinese: 符傳禎; Russian: Чарльз Фу), is a London-based architectural designer and opera set designer. Countries and regions in which his design works are located include Europe, Russia, USA, China, India, Taiwa ...
, 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 Charles Phu (Traditional Chinese: 符傳禎; Russian: Чарльз Фу), is a London-based architectural designer and opera set designer. Countries and regions in which his design works are located include Europe, Russia, USA, China, India, Taiwa ...
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.
Lakhta Center The Lakhta Center () is an 87-story skyscraper built in the northwestern neighbourhood of Lakhta in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Standing tall, it is the tallest building in Russia, the tallest building in Europe, and the sixteenth-tallest b ...
, presently under development 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. __TOC__


Project design

Gazprom City project was first introduced in November 2006. Russian Academy of Arts hosted an exhibit of the six competitive designs.Exhibit of competitive designs of the business center "Gazprom City" in St. petersburg
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Projects designed by

*
Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He is often cited as a re ...
(office of Metropolitan Architecture, US) *
Daniel Libeskind Daniel Libeskind (born May 12, 1946) is a Polish–American architect, artist, professor and set designer. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect. He is known for the design a ...
(US) *
Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and '' Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has o ...
(France) *
Massimiliano Fuksas Massimiliano Fuksas (born January 9, 1944) is an Italian architect. He is the head of ''Studio Fuksas'' in partnership with his wife, Doriana Mandrelli Fuksas, with offices in Rome, Paris and Shenzhen. Biography Fuksas was born in Rome in 194 ...
(Italy) * Herzog & de Meuron Architekten (Switzerland)
RMJM London Limited
(UK)


Jury

Representatives from Gazprom *
Alexey Miller Alexey Borisovich Miller (; born 31 January 1962) is a Russian businessman. Miller is the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Management Committee (CEO) of Russian energy company Gazprom, Russia's largest company ...
(CEO of Gazprom) * Alexander Ryazanov (President of
Gazprom Neft Gazprom Neft (russian: Газпром Нефть; formerly Sibneft, russian: Сибнефть, link=no), is the third largest oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about ...
) * Valery Golubev (Deputy CEO of Gazprom) Representatives from the Saint Petersburg administration *
Valentina Matviyenko Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko (russian: Валентина Ивановна Матвиенко, p=vəlʲɪnˈtʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə mətvʲɪˈjɛnkə, ukr, Валентина Іванівна Матвієнко; née Tyutina (Тютина; , ...
(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 (April 8, 1934 – October 12, 2007) was a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement. Biography Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's ...
(''walked off the jury'') *
Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
(''walked off the jury'') *
Rafael Viñoly Rafael Viñoly Beceiro (born 1944) is a Uruguayan architect. He is the principal of Rafael Viñoly Architects, which he founded in 1983. The firm has offices in New York City, Palo Alto, London, Manchester, Abu Dhabi, and Buenos Aires. Viñ ...
(''walked off the jury'') * Peter Shveger 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". The competition was also boycotted by the Russian Union of Architects.Steven Lee Myers, "Russian Window on the West Reaches for the Sky", ''New York Times'', November 28, 2006
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Winning design

British architecture compan
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 rename
Okhta Center
and through the ballots distributed at the exhibit. 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. Newsporta
Vedomosti
organized their own survey, asking whether respondents considered it an option to construct a 300-meter skyscraper on the site of the
Nyenschantz Nyenschantz (russian: Ниенша́нц, ''Nienshants''; sv, Nyenskans; fi, Nevanlinna) was a Swedish fortress at the confluence of the Neva River and Okhta River, the site of present-day Saint Petersburg, Russia. Nyenschantz was built in 161 ...
fortress. Out of 735 respondents only 68 replied affirmatively. 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. 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 Nyenschantz (russian: Ниенша́нц, ''Nienshants''; sv, Nyenskans; fi, Nevanlinna) was a Swedish fortress at the confluence of the Neva River and Okhta River, the site of present-day Saint Petersburg, Russia. Nyenschantz was built in 161 ...
fortresses that were located at the same site in the 14th and 17th centuries respectively. Remnants of the fortresses were uncovered during archaeological excavations that begun as a result of the contention around the project


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. In return, Gazprom was to pay 7 billions in taxes annually. The building was supposed to become the property of
Gazprom Neft Gazprom Neft (russian: Газпром Нефть; formerly Sibneft, russian: Сибнефть, link=no), is the third largest oil producer in Russia and ranked third according to refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which owns about ...
. The city was also supposed to fund construction of housing for Gazprom executives.Vishnevsky, B., "Decision at 396 meters - Plans for building "Gazprom City" in St. Petersburg change radically," ''Novaya Gazeta'', March 22, 2007, p.4 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 Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko (RUDP Yabloko) (russian: Росси́йская объединённая демократи́ческая па́ртия «Я́блоко», Rossíyskaya obyedinyónnaya demokratícheskaya pártiya "Y ...
. The latter demanded a citywide referendum to uphold the height regulation of 48-meters. * 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. However, according to the federal law about joint stock companies, 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 Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko (russian: Валентина Ивановна Матвиенко, p=vəlʲɪnˈtʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə mətvʲɪˈjɛnkə, ukr, Валентина Іванівна Матвієнко; née Tyutina (Тютина; , ...
, the governor of Saint Petersburg, included funding of the construction in the city budget in the absence of
feasibility studies A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...
and land agreement. Yabloko initiated a court case questioning the legality of the financing scheme. Saint Petersburg City Court denied the case * 2008 scheme December 28, 2008
Alexey Miller Alexey Borisovich Miller (; born 31 January 1962) is a Russian businessman. Miller is the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors and the Chairman of the Management Committee (CEO) of Russian energy company Gazprom, Russia's largest company ...
announced that Gazprom will cover the full cost of the construction. However, even though officially the city did not fund the construction, 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.


Archaeological findings on the site


Height regulation controversy

"Clashes erupt over Gazprom skyscraper," ''The Moscow Times'', #4223, September 2, 2009, p.3


References

{{reflist Culture in Saint Petersburg Buildings and structures in Saint Petersburg Architecture in Russia Gazprom Skyscrapers in Russia Twisted buildings and structures Unbuilt buildings and structures in Russia