"Lakhta Center": what lies behind the high-altitude boundaries. "Lakhta Center": "As future residents of Lakhta, we first need a comfortable environment" Gazprom tower in Lakhta when will it be completed

04/05/2017

Lakhta Center will be completed by the fall of 2018. Construction is going according to plan and will be completed on time, the company assures. But neither additional roads, nor interchanges, nor crossings necessary for transport support skyscraper. How will people and cars get to it and what will this mean for St. Petersburg? – Alexander BOBKOV, executive director of JSC Multifunctional Complex Lakhta Center, told City 812.

Sh osse with a turn

I asked your press secretary how to get to Lakhta Center without a car, and heard the answer: “Let us pick you up ourselves.” How will employees and visitors get here after the opening?

After opening, you can get to us the same way as all residents of Lakhta today - by bus, minibus taxis along Primorskoye Highway. In summer, aquabuses will travel on the water. Plus, we will launch free shuttle buses to the nearest Begovaya metro station, which will open for the World Cup. And we are always happy to bring the press to the construction site.

According to official information, more than eight thousand employees will work in Gazprom offices alone. Plus service personnel, plus tourists. This is already tens of thousands of people. At least two thousand of them will travel in private cars along the Primorskoye Highway. It is already busy, but it will turn into a highway traffic jam. What to do?

Look at the diagram. We will, of course, build all the infrastructure inside our block - entrances, parking exits, intra-block roads. The city is responsible for the transport infrastructure adjacent to the Lakhta Center multifunctional complex. When we were choosing a place for construction, we naively believed in the General Plan. In it, long before us, U-turns on the Primorskoye Highway and a large interchange near the (then non-existent) Lakhta Center were already planned (in the yellow oval on the diagram - Ed.). With the opening of the Lakhta Center, the city must ensure the connection of our quarter to the Primorskoye Highway using an overpass through the Lakhtinskaya Harbor (in the diagram - in the red oval - Ed.). I cannot say that all this will be done by the opening.

- What will be done?

By June 2017, the arrangement of two U-turns on Primorskoye Highway should be completed (green “circles” on the diagram). They were planned to be made back in 2014, then in 2015, 2016... Now fifty percent of them are ready. In one of them, you only need to move the curb and paint over the double solid line so that you can turn towards the area. The project for connecting the South Lakhta quarter (where Lakhta Center is located) to Primorskoe Highway will be sent for examination in May. But when we will see its physical embodiment is unknown. These are questions for the city. Naturally, the two existing entrances to the Lakhta Center territory will be expanded and improved. But I would like the city to implement its plans within the stated time frame.

How much will it cost to connect Lakhta Center to Primorskoe Highway? The deputies announced the figure of 12 billion.

The cost of building this interchange with an overpass, according to information from city committees, is at least three times less.

- In Smolny they say that there is no money for this.

There is money, it’s just distributed among other objects.

The city authorities sent an application for co-financing of this project from the federal budget back in the fall. Is there already a response from Moscow?

We don’t know about this, but I can assume that the first question from the feds when considering such applications is: “Do you have documentation?” And the documentation for this project will appear no earlier than May, after passing the state examination. Therefore, the decision is probably postponed and awaits delivery of documentation.

About a year ago they said that the Novaya Lakhta station would be built opposite the Lakhta Center on the existing railway line. At what stage are these plans?

Oktyabrskaya Railway ready to start construction new station right now. It will take 9-11 months. But the fact is that a station without a pedestrian crossing to the Lakhta Center via Primorskoe Highway - underground or overground - loses its meaning. Unfortunately, the city has not yet found funds for its construction. Although it is in the planning project.

Need more offices

- Near the Lakhta Center, Gazprom PJSC is implementing another construction project. What is going to be there?

Office center. It will be smaller in size than ours, but the area will be one workplace- more. Accordingly, about 1000-1200 people will still fit there.

Two years ago you said that Lakhta Center would have more public space than offices. And now you are giving two-thirds of the space to offices. Why is that?

We abandoned the hotel in favor of office space, as there was not enough of it. At the same time, all the iconic public facilities of the complex have been preserved. It should be taken into account that a significant part of the complex - 25-27% - is occupied by parking.

- How many cars is it designed for?

For 2000 cars. Plus there will be approximately 890 more places on the adjacent site.

- Is this enough?

More than. I hope that not all employees will drive to work. According to the regulations, there is one parking space per 100 square meters of offices. We have one parking space per 60 square meters.

- Will parking be paid?

Most likely it will be some kind of mix. Those who come to our concert or to the planetarium will be able to leave their car for free.

What besides offices will appear in Lakhta Center? How many non-Gazprom visitors do you expect to come and why?

We believe that we are guaranteed a flow of tourists of 400-600 thousand people annually. Because everyone will want to come to the observation deck. A long atrium promenade will appear between the two buildings of the multifunctional building. It will house the entrance to the planetarium, a children's science center, a transforming hall, street retail, cafes and restaurants, as well as elevators to the office floors. We want to make this public area as comfortable as possible, but at the same time complementary to the business area.

- Already have an agreement with the tenants? What kind of public catering and what kind of trade will appear?

There are many applications, and there is a short list (in fact, a long list) of companies with which negotiations are underway. We want to get tenants who, like us, understand that this is a non-standard place and a unique environmental facility. We will not have full-fledged trade, and we would not like to see standard fast food here. A panoramic restaurant will be located between the 74th and 76th floors of the tower. The operator has not yet been chosen, but all the leaders in this industry - name anyone! - show interest.

The weather is very disappointing

Now let's see how they build GAZPROM IGLOO

The whole story began with the project of the Okhta Center, or Gazprom City complex. The complex with a 396-meter skyscraper was planned to be tied to the Neva again - it was supposed to rise on the cape formed by the Neva and the Okhta River flowing into it. On the opposite side of the Neva is the famous Smolny Institute, which was once the headquarters of the Bolsheviks, and now serves as the residence of the governor of St. Petersburg. The project then caused a lot of noise, mostly unenthusiastic. The glass needle of the skyscraper was radically disharmonious with the architectural style of the St. Petersburg center, while creating a new high-rise dominant, competing with the spiers of the Admiralty and the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Such interference in the historical low-rise urban landscape seemed blasphemous to many.

In the end, the Okhta Center became the Lakhta Center: the construction of the Gazprom skyscraper, now 462 m high, was moved to north shore Gulf of Finland. There are no urban developments nearby, and the historical center is a full 9 km away, so the “needle” will no longer invade the recognizable outlines of old St. Petersburg. The complex of a high-rise building, an auxiliary building and a vast recreational area is scheduled for completion in 2018, and then...

Is there any practical sense in constructing such tall buildings where there seems to be no shortage of land? Of course, Lakhta does not have the cramped conditions of American downtowns, but architecture is not always intended to perform a utilitarian function. Sometimes her task is to create symbols, objects of attraction. Historically, temples that were supposed to rise above the surrounding buildings became such centers of attraction. There was no other meaning in this except symbolic. When elevators appeared and cities began to grow rapidly, high-rise buildings became the leaders and dominants. Lakhta Center will welcome those traveling to St. Petersburg cruise ships and ferries, like the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, it will become a new symbol of the city, and this is precisely its main aesthetic task. This is what the authors of the project think.

Even those who are not good at geography probably remember: a city built in the delta rests on loose, water-soaked soil. Everyone remembers a branch of the St. Petersburg metro that was torn apart by quicksand for almost a decade. Unlike textbook Manhattan, which is essentially bare rock, in the St. Petersburg area the granite shield lies below 200 m, and it is unrealistic to rest a building on it. How to build a skyscraper here? It turns out that from the point of view of geotechnics - the science of soils - no monstrous difficulties arise in this case. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where two twin super-skyscrapers were being built, the situation was even worse: the buildings stand on 120-meter stilts. Of course, it is too difficult to rest on the rocky ground in Lakhta - this would require piles of an unprecedented length in world practice, so we have to use ones that support the building due to friction. The upper layers of the soil are very loose, but already below 30 m the Vendian clays begin to be quite hard, and the piles are held securely in them.

The traditional construction of a skyscraper foundation is an array of piles on which a powerful slab rests. In principle, something similar has been done in Lakhta, but the foundation of the St. Petersburg skyscraper will have its own characteristics. It is a box-shaped structure buried in the ground to a depth of 17 m. Thus, the building will appear to be “sunk” in the ground, which will serve to more evenly distribute the weight of the structure and help avoid severe settlement of the skyscraper in the future.

The outer boundary of the foundation is a wall in the ground (in plan it is a regular pentagon, or pentagon). It is not a supporting element, but it protects the strength part of the foundation from soil pressure, and most importantly, from the seepage of groundwater. A pit is dug in the ground inside the wall, and to prevent the wall from collapsing, it is gradually reinforced with four reinforced concrete structures located on top of each other - the so-called spacer discs. When the pit is ready, the heads of the pre-installed piles are exposed. There are 264 piles, and the length of the most powerful of them is 82 m. At the bottom of the pit, a concrete slab resting on the heads is poured, and reinforcement for the main load-bearing structure - the lower foundation slab - is mounted on it. The designers did not have a shortage of space, and therefore they were able to support the building on a large foundation to ensure maximum stability.

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The tragedy of the World Trade Center towers in New York, and especially the terrible picture of their collapse, is so clearly etched in the memory of each of us that the question “what will happen if???” arises quite naturally, as soon as we are talking about a new high-rise building. Here it should be remembered that the main customer of the complex is Gazprom, and we can say that this building is of strategic importance for our economy.

That is why the task was set to ensure the highest safety standards. In principle, the skyscraper will be built according to a well-known scheme: a cylindrical reinforced concrete core, floors, columns along the outer contour. The World Trade Center towers had approximately the same design. These were strong buildings, designed to withstand the impact of a Boeing 747, but the destruction of some power structures of the outer contour led to the progressive destruction of others, a domino effect was created, and as a result the skyscrapers collapsed. The high-rise building of Lakhta Center is designed in such a way that it can be supported by one core. You can blow up all ten columns along the outer contour, but even then the skyscraper will stand. This is a real fortress, which, according to the architects, should survive many decades.

The stability of the structure is ensured by a special scheme for redistributing the load of the external contour of the building to the core. Every 16 floors, ten powerful consoles extend from the reinforced concrete core - a kind of hanging foundations on which a section of the building will additionally rest. There are four such outrigger levels in the skyscraper.

As a result, Lakhta Center will have a safety margin unique among buildings of this kind, significantly exceeding established international standards.

The reluctance to save on safety does not mean that the idea of increasing the efficiency of a structure and reducing operating costs is completely alien to the authors of the project. On the contrary, it is very important for Gazprom, given that it is building a building “for itself,” to remain committed to modern energy saving technologies, especially in the harsh climate of St. Petersburg. For example, the building will receive a double façade, that is, there will be an insulating layer of air between two strands of glazing. The heating system will use such highly economical devices as infrared emitters. In addition, the heat accumulated in the building from operating computers and other office equipment will be removed and then used in the heating system. The air conditioning system has its own peculiarities - it is based not on the usual scheme for removing heat from the room to the outside, but on cold accumulators placed underground, which can produce up to 1000 tons of ice per night, and then release its cold to the rooms during the day. Occupancy sensors will also become widespread, which will turn off lighting fixtures when there is no one in the room.

But will the building be habitable from the bottom floors to the very top? High-rise buildings erected for purely commercial purposes are often inhabited from top to bottom, and there are no “excesses” there. However, if we are talking about a symbol, be it the Moscow State University building on Sparrow Hills in Moscow or the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, a significant part of their height is an uninhabited spire, designed to give the structure aesthetic completeness. Despite the fact that the height of the Lakhta Center skyscraper will be 462 m, all inhabited floors will be below the 400 m mark. Anything higher is an architectural element that will help the building serve as a city landmark and decoration of the sea gates of St. Petersburg.

The skyscraper in Lakhta will have a helical shape, that is, its facades will have a rather complex and asymmetrical surface. Particularly interesting is the use of cold-formed glass, which makes the glazing absolutely smooth. Together with the double facade, this will give unusual optical effects - for example, the reflection of clouds, as if rising diagonally along the wall of the building.

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Construction of business and community center in Lakhta is not only an attempt to turn St. Petersburg to the sea with a “human face”, but also a desire to follow the centrifugal trend in modern urban planning. New business parks are being created away from dense urban areas; there are large areas and there are no problems with parking. The flow of cars to the Lakhta Center will always be in antiphase with the flow that moves to the city center in the morning and rushes to the outskirts and suburbs in the evening. This way, the historical center of St. Petersburg will be partially relieved, and business activity in the Lakhta Center, on the contrary, will intensify. Of course, the accessibility of Lakhta Center will be ensured not only for motorists, but also for those who use public transport: the complex will be connected to the city center by a metro line.

However, the purpose of Lakhta Center goes far beyond the task of providing the city with additional office space. In the skyscraper and in the auxiliary building, the project provides not only business premises, but a large entertaining science center for children, conference rooms, exhibition spaces, sports and medical complexes, cafes, restaurants, shops and even an ultra-modern planetarium. The vast surrounding area will include public gardens, parks, walking paths and an amphitheater overlooking the Gulf of Finland.

We can say that the history of Lakhta Center is connected not only with urban planning and architecture. After all, it so happened that the clash of interests of a large national corporation and the aspirations of the civil society of the Northern capital regarding the Okhta Center led not to the triumph of one side to the detriment of the other, but to a new quality and to a new stage in the development of St. Petersburg.

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Construction of a high-rise building in the area of a deep river delta is a difficult task, but not impossible. The upper layers of the soil have quicksand properties, but at a depth of 30 m there are so-called Vendian clays, which are comparable in hardness to natural stone. In this regard, it became possible to replace the slotted foundations with bored piles, which will support the building not due to support on the rock, but due to the force of friction. The piles, the most powerful of which reach a length of 82 m, are not driven, but installed. Such piles are called bored piles: first, a well is drilled, then a casing pipe is lowered into it (so that the walls of the well do not crumble), reinforcement is installed inside the pipe, and then concrete is poured.

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The high-rise business center under construction in St. Petersburg is often called the Gazprom tower. This building will be the tallest in the Northern capital and the second largest in Europe after the Ostankino Tower. The skyscraper is being built by Gazprom and will house the headquarters of this concern and its company.

Let us recall that initially the construction of a business center 400 meters high was planned to be carried out on a site of 4.7 hectares in the center of the Northern capital, which caused a sharp protest from city defenders and the public. The object fell into a protected zone where monuments included in the list of UNESCO sites are located.

Soon, the governor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, canceled the decree allowing the developer to deviate from the permitted height of 100 meters in this place.

A new site of 14 hectares for the construction of the Lakhta tower is located in the north of St. Petersburg at the exit of the city between the Gulf of Finland and Primorskoye Highway. The distance from the construction site to the city center is about 10 km. According to experts, now the Lakhta Tower, although it will be visible from almost all areas of the city, will not block the sights of St. Petersburg and dominate historical sites.

At the same time, the tower will be clearly visible from the sea; it will become a kind of lighthouse, welcoming those sailing into the city by sea. This will be a landmark object of the sea facade of the Northern capital.

Unlike the old project, in Lakhta Center, in addition to the office part, social infrastructure premises will be located.

The office part will occupy premises in the tower itself, and the buildings at its base will be used for social facilities - shops, sports and medical centers, a children's educational center and a planetarium.

At the top of the tower there will be Observation deck, revolving restaurant and conference room.

Lakhta Center Tower - brief description

The customer and investor of the project is Gazprom Neft, the construction project was carried out by the British architectural bureau RMJM - Robert Matthew Johnson Marshal.

General contractor - Turkish company Renaissance Construction (created in St. Petersburg in the 1990s, founded by Turkish businessmen). Dozens of institutes and construction organizations are involved in the construction of the building.

The height of the building with the spire will be 462 meters, and the total weight of the tower with all the infrastructure, glazing and even furniture and people will be 670 thousand tons.

The area of one office floor is from 668 to 2060 sq. m. meters.

From the side of the Gulf of Finland, the Lakhta Tower center will appear in all its splendor in the form of a spire soaring upward. It can also be compared to a drop of water flying upward.

Peter the Great conceived Petersburg as the sea capital of Russia. And according to the authors of the project, from afar, from the sea, the Lakhta center will look like a snow-white yacht.

The project includes several architectural highlights, the main ones being a modern planetarium and an outdoor amphitheater.

Planetarium

The planetarium, designed for 140 people, will occupy unusual place- at the height of the fifth floor of one of the buildings adjacent to the tower. It will look like a huge ball, which seems to have been thrown into the building with all its might, and it stuck to the facade. Of course, such a spectacular form of the building cannot but interest everyone who walks or drives by.

During the sessions, a variety of special effects will be used - a moving floor and illusions of lightning and rain, virtual smoke and smells.

Amphitheater

The idea of creating an open amphitheater facing the sea is associated with the need for a smooth transition from the high roof to the water space. Here viewers will be able to admire water fountains and various shows on the water, as well as participate in theatrical performances and competitions.

When laying the foundation, many principles were taken from nature. Thus, the piles at the base of the building, like the roots of a giant tree, go 82 meters into the ground. Above the piles, a “box-shaped” foundation 17 meters high was built, which guarantees the stability of the building
The maximum permissible deviation of the structure from the vertical over the entire height is no more than 6 millimeters. Not to be confused with the vibration amplitude of a building during a storm wind
Double-glazed windows have passed a variety of tests: under high pressure of water, air currents and fire. The glass is made using a special film that will not allow the glass to break into fragments
All materials used in construction are non-flammable or fire resistant. But despite this, the evacuation of people was thought out as much as possible. In the event of a fire alarm, air is pumped into the central core, made of reinforced concrete, which prevents it from becoming smoked. By moving to the central core, where there are stairs, a person is safe
A special system will be used to wash windows, which moves along rails located on the ribs of the tower.
In case of strong wind, the top of the building can deviate by 46 cm from the vertical, and at the level of the observation deck (at an altitude of 357 meters) the maximum deviation will be 27 cm
To prevent birds from crashing into the windows, the double-glazed windows are edged with opaque material, and the glass itself is non-mirror. In addition, during mass flights of flocks, the lighting will be “scaring.” This way the birds will see the glass.

Adjacent territory

An entrance for office employees will be located on the east side of the building. This part of the complex will appear in the form of an arch with a span of 100 meters.

A pedestrian zone with a length of 8 km will begin on the south-eastern side. It will include a bridge and a huge space for holding mass celebrations and festive events.

The northern part of the territory will be used for various exhibitions, and in addition, in the future a railway platform and a metro station will be built here.

In addition, next to the tower there will be parking for tourist buses and the Poltava ship museum.

Transport infrastructure

In the future, between the Lakhta center and the metro stations “Chernaya Rechka” and “ Old village“It is planned to arrange a transfer. A metro station is expected to be built in 2025.

Development transport infrastructure contributes primarily to the World Cup. In 2018, the Begovaya metro station will be opened, one of the exits of which is located at a distance of just over a kilometer from the Lakhta center, that is, within walking distance.

The Lakhta Center Tower will become the center of the new business district of St. Petersburg, one might say Petersburg City, and the development of transport infrastructure will turn this undeveloped area of the Northern capital into an example of a modern and high-quality urban environment. We would like to remind you that the facility is scheduled to be commissioned in 2018.

Construction of the complex has been completed. IN this moment Finishing, installation work and landscaping activities are being carried out inside the building. The opening was planned for the end of 2019.

Where is it located and how to get to Lakhta Center

Metro (“Begovaya”) is a 20-minute walk from the complex. Construction of a transport interchange on Primorskoe Highway is underway; the updated traffic pattern will be approved after the construction is completed. Also, a parking lot for several hundred cars will be built on the territory of the business center.

Architectural concept

The complex project was developed in 2011 by the European agency RMJM. The concept reflected the main architectural symbols of the city: cathedral spiers and the endless sky. The tower “spins” around its axis. The effect is created due to the fact that each new floor base rotates almost one degree relative to the axis of the tower.

Lakhta Center. Photo: news.yandex.kz

The skyscraper's special feature is multilayer thermo-reflective glass with a special matte gray-blue coating that changes color depending on the light intensity. During the day, with a cloudless sky and clear sun, the tower takes on a blue tint; in cloudy weather, it turns gray or bronze. The glazing is smooth, thanks to which a special optical effect is achieved - white clouds seem to rise along the wall of the structure.

What is inside

The following facilities will be located in the public and business complex:

Panoramic restaurant. The two-level restaurant is located at an altitude of 320 meters. Even before the opening, the restaurant was named the tallest in Europe. The concept of the establishment is traditional Russian cuisine.
A transformable hall is a space that can be divided into two rooms. The wall configuration and seating arrangement may change to suit the format of the event.
Planetarium. An ultra-modern center with unique optical and digital equipment, designed for the simultaneous presence of 140 people. The planetarium is equipped with a 16-meter dome screen, which displays a 3D projection of the solar system. Guests will be able to take part in a space show and walk on the surface of Mars.

Planetarium project. Photo: lakhta.center

Center for educational and scientific events. The exhibition area is 7 thousand square meters. meters. The center will host master classes, scientific seminars and lectures for a wide audience.
Sports complex. In a space of 4.6 thousand square meters. meters there will be gyms and fitness rooms, SPA complexes, swimming pools and massage rooms.
Medical Center. The multifunctional complex will provide high-quality medical services to residents of the Primorsky district in all areas.
Atrium, shopping areas. Shops and retail outlets are located on the ground floor of the building. An exhibition space for expositions and art objects is open in the southern wing of the building.
Offices. The main area of the high-rise is reserved for work space. From 70 to 120 employees will be able to be present on one floor. A comfortable temperature and microclimate will be maintained by an intelligent system.

Panoramic platform Lakhta Center

On the 360th floor of the Lakhta Center tower there is an observation deck with telescopes for studying the historical part of the Northern capital and the Gulf of Finland. It is expected that the skyscraper site will become one of the most visited and beloved modern attractions of the city. Currently, a webcam is installed on the 360th floor, broadcasting a real-time panorama of the surrounding area. Elagin Island and the park named after Elagin are especially clearly visible. 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg and the Zenit Arena stadium.

View of Lakhta Center. Photo: @lakhtacenter

The Lakhta Center became a symbol of St. Petersburg long before its opening. On the night of December 31 to January 1, 2019, bright green lighting was lit on the façade of the building, thus turning the high-rise into a giant christmas tree cities.

It’s hard to imagine beautiful St. Petersburg as a city of skyscrapers, but high-rise construction is rapidly breaking into the city of Petra. Its first “swallow” will soon be the majestic Lakhta Center. At the same time, the Leningrad Tower will not be an ordinary skyscraper, but the second tallest among similar Russian and European buildings, surpassing the “Federation” in “Moscow City” and second only to While the building is under construction, there is time to find out interesting details about it.

General idea of the project

“Lakhta Center”, “Lakhta Center” (both spellings are correct) is a public and business complex currently under construction. Its scale explains the fact that the key object of the skyscraper will be the headquarters of the largest Russian corporation Gazprom. The location of the complex is Primorsky. Construction of the tower began in 2012. Its full completion is planned for the third quarter of 2018.

The maximum planned height of the Gazprom tower in St. Petersburg with antenna/spire is 462 m. The top level of the very last floor will be located 372 m above the ground. The weight of the structure with filling will be 670 thousand tons. The complex will include not only a tower, but also a multifunctional building, which will divide into northern and southern part atrium. total area of the future building will be 400 thousand m 2. How many floors are there in the Gazprom tower in St. Petersburg? The final number will be 87. The building will be served by 102 elevators.

Tower construction progress

Let's touch on the key stages of the construction of the Gazprom tower in St. Petersburg:

2013 - a pit was dug for the building.
2014 - completion of work on the construction of the pit, start of driving piles.
2015 - completion of the so-called construction: production of a box foundation, reinforcement and concreting of minus floors.
2015-2016 - construction of the first 50 floors of the skyscraper and 7 floors of the MFZ.
February 2017 - the 60th floor (260 m) was built.
April 2017 - work on the construction of the 67th floor (300 m).
May 10, 2017 - having reached 327.6 m and 78 floors, the skyscraper became the most tall building northern capital, "overtaking" the TV tower. The latter held this title for 55 years.

Concept of the Lakhta Center project

According to the project team, this tower, aimed at the sky like a rocket at the start, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, will form new standards of living for the city with its appearance and content:

developed social infrastructure;
modern offices that meet all global environmental requirements;
comfortable public spaces;
abundance of green areas;
pedestrian and transport accessibility.

The main task of the so-called Gazprom tower in St. Petersburg is to rid the historical center of business and business activity, and at the same time the dominance of transport, by moving the focus of this activity to the outskirts of the city. The skyscraper will not only help the second capital move to a polycentric development model, but also attract significant investment, create new high-paying jobs, and create all the conditions for business development.

Architectural solutions

St. Petersburg is a city of skylines, not high-rises. All of its historical high-rise buildings are St. Isaac's, Peter and Paul Cathedral- these are the central points around which independent and integral structures are built. Therefore, in order not to spoil the appearance of the city-museum, it was decided to build a skyscraper housing the headquarters of the Gazprom state concern on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, far from historical buildings.

The tower is intended to begin to form the “sea façade” of St. Petersburg. Its appearance does not at all conflict with the “face” of the city - the same theme of a lonely spire on the horizon, the desire to rise, the contours of buildings reminiscent of the outlines of ship hulls.

The shape of the Lakhta Center, as conceived by the architects, should visualize openness, lightness, freedom, the flow of spaces and the energy of the sea. They strive to give the complex the effect of weightlessness and organic unity with the surrounding city and nature. A special type of double-glazed windows will help with this, which will allow the building to change its color depending on the mood of the sky.

What will happen inside the complex

The popular name of Lakhta Center - Gazprom Tower - is not entirely correct. The design of the “filling” of the complex is striking in its versatility:

Only 43% of the total area is planned to be allocated for office space.
2.5 thousand m2 will be occupied by a medical center.
7 thousand m2 is guaranteed to be provided to the children's scientific and educational center "World of Science", which will include lecture halls, laboratories, and an exploratorium.
It is planned to open a planetarium in the building, in which 140 people will be able to simultaneously observe celestial bodies.
It is planned to build a transforming multifunctional auditorium designed for almost 500 people.
Floors 74-76 (330 m) are planned to be allocated for a two-story panoramic restaurant.
At an altitude of 357 m above the ground, on the 83-86 floors there will be an observation deck equipped with powerful telescopes.
The MFZ will allocate 1.5 thousand m2 for exhibition space.
It is also planned to build an impressive amphitheater with 2,000 seats. Its stage, with an area of almost 1.5 thousand m2, will host various water shows.
Part of the complex will also be a covered pedestrian bridge that will connect the Lakhta Center space with the city’s 300th anniversary park.

Other characteristics

Let's get acquainted with interesting technical and design features Gazprom towers in St. Petersburg:

The skyscraper stands on 264 piles, each of which has a diameter of 2 m and a depth of 82 m.
The reinforced concrete core is responsible for the stability of the tower.
The horizontal rigidity of the skyscraper is achieved through outrigger floors - there will be 4 pairs of them in total. The outriggers will maintain the stability of the tower even if it loses 30% of its supporting structures.
Cold-formed glass technology is responsible for the innovative three-dimensional curvature of the complex's facades.
The lighting of the Lakhta Center is made up of light “pixels”. Their color will depend on the season of the year.
The waste will be disposed of using an innovative waste removal system.
It is planned to open a metro station next to the complex under the working name "Lakhta".

Finally, let's look at some interesting facts related to the St. Petersburg tower:

The concreting of the bottom slab of the skyscraper's foundation was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest continuous pour of concrete in the world. It lasted 49 hours, during which 19,624 cubic meters of concrete were poured.
400 thousand cubic meters of concrete will be spent on the construction of the entire complex.
The glass surface area of the tower will be 77 thousand m2. The weight of each double-glazed window is more than 700 kg.
In July 2016, the skyscraper became the tallest building in St. Petersburg. He was able to achieve this title in just 10 months.
In August of the same year, Lakhta Center became the northernmost skyscraper in the world.

Surprisingly, Russia's tallest skyscraper will be located in St. Petersburg, the city of skylines. In addition to its height, the Lakhta Center project amazes with its multifunctionality, thoughtful concept and organic architectural design.

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