Okhta Center

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Okhta Center (till March 2007 - Gazprom City) - unrealized project of a large scale mixed-use development in Saint Petersburg, Russia that was supposed to house headquarters of the Gazprom energy company. It was to be build in the mouth of the river Okhta, on the right bank of the river Neva.[1] 396-meter high tower was conceived not only as an architectural 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] and was eventually canceled in 2010.

Lakhta Center, presently under development on a site farther from Saint Petersburg's historic center, is based on the Okhta Center plans, but on an even larger scale.

Contents


Project design [edit]

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 [edit]

Jury [edit]

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 conceptulized 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]

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 [edit]

  • 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 [edit]

[20] [21] [22]

Height regulation controversy [edit]

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

"Corn on a cob" in the protests [edit]

Wiki letter w.svg This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (April 2013)

Relocation [edit]

[27] [28] [29] [30]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Ohta Center official web-site
  2. ^ a b Годовой отчёт за 2008 год ОАО «Общественно-деловой центр „Охта“»
  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. ^ Вишневский, Б., "Во что нам станет Газоскреб," Новая Газета #49, July 9-12 2009
  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
  27. ^ Kramer, A., "Finance chill freezes plans for high-rise in Russia," The New York Times, November 10, 2008, p.10
  28. ^ Kramer, A., "Officials bow to critics and relocate Russia tower," The New York Times, December 10, 2010, p.14
  29. ^ Zaitseva, N., Tokareva, A., Kostenko, N., "Tower Razed", Vedomosti, Dec. 10, 2010, p. 2
  30. ^ Filatova, I., "St. Pete Court Bans Towering Buildings," The Moscow Times, #4546, December 21, 2010, p.7
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