The text below is a slightly edited version of the English text of a petition, available on the internet in Russia at this site:
http://bashne.net/?page_id=74
ANYONE can sign this petition and join many others all over Russia who have added their names. The site offers space to add individual comments.
Petition against the Gazprom Skyscraper:
"We, the undersigned, stand against the construction of the 396-meter skyscraper “Okhta-Center” in St. Petersburg.
We consider this project inadmissible because the construction of a building of such height would irretrievably change for the worse the unique architectural landscape of St. Petersburg, which is recognized as a valuable cultural inheritance not only of this city but also of Russia and the entire world.
We regard it as illegal for the following reasons:
1.According to the laws of St. Petersburg it is prohibited to construct buildings higher than 100 meters in this area. There are no legal grounds for making an exception for this project. Its realization is justified only by the commercial interests of the “Gazprom” company.
2.Appraisal of the visibility of a 396-meter skyscraper from different parts of the historical center of St. Petersburg has shown that such a building would be visible as a backdrop to all historical skylines of the city which are protected by law. Thus, the “Gazprom” project would be a crude violation of this law.
We call for legislative action at both the federal and local levels and demand prohibition of any construction higher than 100 meters on this plot."
Comment from Viktor, posting on 1 September 2009:
"This tower would look normal in many world cities – New York, Tokyo, Sydney, Frankfurt. But in Petersburg it would be an obvious admission of the domination of money over culture. Dough conquers all?"
Monday, August 31, 2009
ECOM activity in August 2009
Announcements from ECOM translated from Russian
31.08.09
“Okhta-Center” only needs a height of 37 meters in order to meet all its public obligations.
(See http://www.ecom.su/news/index.php?id=1267 for the Russian original of the text below.)
A study of the data provided by the Joint Stock Company (JSC) “Public-Business Center (PBC) Okhta” at an exhibition in the administrative offices of the Krasnogvardeiskii district has shown that all of the planned square footage can be accommodated by the existing site with a construction height of 37 to 46 meters. Thus it is clear that there is no need for the construction of a skyscraper in the “Okhta-Center” complex—not even an economic need.
In spite of the fact that the topic of hearing set for September is the degree to which the proposed site for the construction of “Okhta-Center” is inappropriate for building, the construction company JSC “Public-Business Center Okhta” continues to insist that the erection of tall buildings is dictated not only by the physical characteristics of the site but also by economic factors. In a note of clarification shared at an exhibition preceding the hearing, we read: “The expenses of the investor-builder on acquisition and rent of building sites and real estate to be located on it, on conduction of engineering analysis and removal of construction debris, on preparation of the territory, on the conduction of archaeological studies unprecedented in scale on the entire site and its environs, on removal of engineering infrastructure, on the creation of new engineering and transportation infrastructure (construction of an electricity station, laying of infrastructural materials, reconstruction of transportation onramps, building of new roads, tunnels and bridges, the establishment of a linear park) are significant.” For the project to make a return on investment, the total area of the complex must be not less than 310 thousand square meters, out of which, true, 103 thousand square meters go towards an underground four-level parking garage. In this manner, for structures with public-business and social-cultural functions there must be allotted 209 thousand square meters. According to the declaration of the builder, the indicated area is impossible to accommodate on the site without erecting a 400-meter-high skyscraper.
Experts from the Research Center ECOM conducted a thorough arithmetic analysis of the data presented by the PBC “Okhta” and came to unexpected conclusions. “We agree with the assertion that it is necessary to construct about 250 thousand square meters of floor area in order to achieve a usable area of 209 thousand square meters, accounting for the building’s engineering structures and so forth,” says Alexander Karpov, director of ECOM. “We are even ready to agree that the median ceiling height of each story in the complex would be 5.2 meters. But further, you have to do the math on the calculator.”
The constructed volume of the above-ground portion of the complex, allowing for a median ceiling height of 5.2 meters is derived from 251, 160 sq. m. x 5.2 m, thus 1, 306, 032 cubic meters. This volume must be accommodated by a site with an area of 47, 130 sq. m. However, the structure must not be too dense: according to construction norms and rules, in order to assure adequate insolation and natural lighting, and also in accord with fire safety and other security regulations, we take the coefficient of floor ratio to be 0.6. Therefore, the area occupied by building on the site may be calculated as 47, 130 sq. m. x 0.6, yielding 28, 278 sq. m. It remains only to divide the total volume of built premises by the area of the building, and we can derive the probable height: 1, 306, 032 cubic meters divided by 28, 278 square meters, giving us 46.2 meters.
That is, everything that “Okhta-Center” promises to the residents of Krasnogvardeiskii district – the Gazprom offices and its subsidiaries, the health and fitness center, the institutions of culture and art, health care and education, as well as restaurants, cafes and even a laundry and dry cleaner – all this can be accommodated on the site without exceeding the legally designated height of 48 meters.
Further, if we take the ceiling height not as 5.2 meters, as proposed in the glossy brochure at the exhibition, but, for example, as 4.2 meters (as in the note of clarification on the project), then the average height of the construction could be 37 meters.
It’s true that the builder, offering documentation for exceeding the height parameters, insisted that a large part of the site is unfit for construction, since some of our cultural heritage is located there – the fortress Nienshans and buffer zones for tunnel collectors and lots of other stuff. However, this did not stop the designers from planning on the site a multilevel parking garage which will occupy in a single mass not merely 60 but 77 per cent of the site. This includes that territory on which once was located our cultural heritage.
The conclusion of the arithmetic study is unequivocal: all of the needed premises for Zone 1 of “Okhta-Center” could be accommodated above the underground parking (on the foundation) in several buildings without violation of the height regulation and other parameters set by the St. Petersburg Rules on Land Use and Construction. Which, we remind you, were adopted by the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg and signed by the City Governor in February 2009.
Announcement
28.08.09
The official text of the decision of the 33rd Session of UNESCO about St. Petersburg has been published (July 2009).
In 2010, the historical center of Petersburg may be entered onto the List of World Heritage Sites in danger—and thus may end up in the same group as Afghanistan, Iraq, the Central African Republic and other states that have suffered from war or Third-World status.
See http://www.ecom.su/news/index.php?id=1265 for Russian original and http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/1910 for the text of the UNESCO document.
Announcement
27.08.09
Instructions have been published for builders and legal site owners: “How to build in St. Petersburg without paying attention to the Rules on Land Use and Construction. Part 1: Instructions for preparation of documents for approval.”
See http://ecom.su/news/index.php?id=1264 for the entire text.
The instructions were prepared based on the text of “Note of clarification to the application for a variance from the maximum allowed heights made by the Joint Stock Company "Public Business Center Okhta.” The original of this note is also provided at the above link.
31.08.09
“Okhta-Center” only needs a height of 37 meters in order to meet all its public obligations.
(See http://www.ecom.su/news/index.php?id=1267 for the Russian original of the text below.)
A study of the data provided by the Joint Stock Company (JSC) “Public-Business Center (PBC) Okhta” at an exhibition in the administrative offices of the Krasnogvardeiskii district has shown that all of the planned square footage can be accommodated by the existing site with a construction height of 37 to 46 meters. Thus it is clear that there is no need for the construction of a skyscraper in the “Okhta-Center” complex—not even an economic need.
In spite of the fact that the topic of hearing set for September is the degree to which the proposed site for the construction of “Okhta-Center” is inappropriate for building, the construction company JSC “Public-Business Center Okhta” continues to insist that the erection of tall buildings is dictated not only by the physical characteristics of the site but also by economic factors. In a note of clarification shared at an exhibition preceding the hearing, we read: “The expenses of the investor-builder on acquisition and rent of building sites and real estate to be located on it, on conduction of engineering analysis and removal of construction debris, on preparation of the territory, on the conduction of archaeological studies unprecedented in scale on the entire site and its environs, on removal of engineering infrastructure, on the creation of new engineering and transportation infrastructure (construction of an electricity station, laying of infrastructural materials, reconstruction of transportation onramps, building of new roads, tunnels and bridges, the establishment of a linear park) are significant.” For the project to make a return on investment, the total area of the complex must be not less than 310 thousand square meters, out of which, true, 103 thousand square meters go towards an underground four-level parking garage. In this manner, for structures with public-business and social-cultural functions there must be allotted 209 thousand square meters. According to the declaration of the builder, the indicated area is impossible to accommodate on the site without erecting a 400-meter-high skyscraper.
Experts from the Research Center ECOM conducted a thorough arithmetic analysis of the data presented by the PBC “Okhta” and came to unexpected conclusions. “We agree with the assertion that it is necessary to construct about 250 thousand square meters of floor area in order to achieve a usable area of 209 thousand square meters, accounting for the building’s engineering structures and so forth,” says Alexander Karpov, director of ECOM. “We are even ready to agree that the median ceiling height of each story in the complex would be 5.2 meters. But further, you have to do the math on the calculator.”
The constructed volume of the above-ground portion of the complex, allowing for a median ceiling height of 5.2 meters is derived from 251, 160 sq. m. x 5.2 m, thus 1, 306, 032 cubic meters. This volume must be accommodated by a site with an area of 47, 130 sq. m. However, the structure must not be too dense: according to construction norms and rules, in order to assure adequate insolation and natural lighting, and also in accord with fire safety and other security regulations, we take the coefficient of floor ratio to be 0.6. Therefore, the area occupied by building on the site may be calculated as 47, 130 sq. m. x 0.6, yielding 28, 278 sq. m. It remains only to divide the total volume of built premises by the area of the building, and we can derive the probable height: 1, 306, 032 cubic meters divided by 28, 278 square meters, giving us 46.2 meters.
That is, everything that “Okhta-Center” promises to the residents of Krasnogvardeiskii district – the Gazprom offices and its subsidiaries, the health and fitness center, the institutions of culture and art, health care and education, as well as restaurants, cafes and even a laundry and dry cleaner – all this can be accommodated on the site without exceeding the legally designated height of 48 meters.
Further, if we take the ceiling height not as 5.2 meters, as proposed in the glossy brochure at the exhibition, but, for example, as 4.2 meters (as in the note of clarification on the project), then the average height of the construction could be 37 meters.
It’s true that the builder, offering documentation for exceeding the height parameters, insisted that a large part of the site is unfit for construction, since some of our cultural heritage is located there – the fortress Nienshans and buffer zones for tunnel collectors and lots of other stuff. However, this did not stop the designers from planning on the site a multilevel parking garage which will occupy in a single mass not merely 60 but 77 per cent of the site. This includes that territory on which once was located our cultural heritage.
The conclusion of the arithmetic study is unequivocal: all of the needed premises for Zone 1 of “Okhta-Center” could be accommodated above the underground parking (on the foundation) in several buildings without violation of the height regulation and other parameters set by the St. Petersburg Rules on Land Use and Construction. Which, we remind you, were adopted by the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg and signed by the City Governor in February 2009.
Announcement
28.08.09
The official text of the decision of the 33rd Session of UNESCO about St. Petersburg has been published (July 2009).
In 2010, the historical center of Petersburg may be entered onto the List of World Heritage Sites in danger—and thus may end up in the same group as Afghanistan, Iraq, the Central African Republic and other states that have suffered from war or Third-World status.
See http://www.ecom.su/news/index.php?id=1265 for Russian original and http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/1910 for the text of the UNESCO document.
Announcement
27.08.09
Instructions have been published for builders and legal site owners: “How to build in St. Petersburg without paying attention to the Rules on Land Use and Construction. Part 1: Instructions for preparation of documents for approval.”
See http://ecom.su/news/index.php?id=1264 for the entire text.
The instructions were prepared based on the text of “Note of clarification to the application for a variance from the maximum allowed heights made by the Joint Stock Company "Public Business Center Okhta.” The original of this note is also provided at the above link.
Friday, August 14, 2009
More recent news about the Gazprom project
Posted on the ECOM website on 12 August 2009
'The metrical desires of Okhta-Center: why 403, and not 48?'
Today at 4pm at a session of the St. Petersburg Commission on Land Use and Construction, the OAO “Public-business center Okhta” will present justifications for the variance from the maximum parameters permitted for construction in the Krasnogvardeiskii District. The owner claims that the unfavorable characteristics of the “Okhta-Center” construction site “force” him to exceed the height designated in the Rules on Land Use and Construction—that is, 48 meters—by 355 meters.
What are these unfavorable characteristics of the site which make it essential for the designers of the “Okhta-Center” to exceed the height regulation by 355 meters? (Just a month ago that figure was 348 meters.) Today the plantiffs – the company “Public-business center Okhta” and the Committee for the Management of City Property – will propose to the Commission on LUC the following “unfavorable” features:
--Limitations placed on the site by surrounding water, the impossibility of construction in protected riparian zones, the impossibility of construction at the perimeter;
--The trapezoidal configuration of the site – an unfavorable shape for effective planning solutions;
--The impossibility of observing comprehensive security requirements while still observing planning regulations;
--The necessity of restoring the historical site in the building’s foundation (a five-pointed star at the base of the building), which limits the possible area of construction.
Alexander Karpov, director of the ECOM Research Center, comments that “Neither the confinement of the site by water, nor the shape of the site, nor the other stated features prevent the construction of a building with a height of 48 meters. We should note that in Petersburg hundreds of sites have a trapezoidal form, and hundreds, if not thousands, are located on the shores of water. If we accept these arguments as a sufficient claim for a height variance, then the height regulation can be confidently rejected, and all the embankments will be built up with tall buildings, visually turning the Neva into a narrow canal.”
Provided on Zaks.ru on 9 July 2009
'From the resolution of the 33rd Session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO' (which met in Seville on 30 June)
[St. Petersburg’s entire central historical area is on the list of World Heritage Sites.]
[Zaks.ru obtained the text of the document from St. Petersburg Legislative Deputy Aleksei Kovalev.]
Section d) Gazprom – Okhta-Center
The proposed tower is an example of complexities produced by the existing systems of legislation, planning, and management. In 2006, Gazprom organized an international competition for a project on the banks of the Neva in the neighborhood of the mouth of the Okhta River. The competition parameters were not resolved with the preservation agencies. The project presents a tower with a height of 300 meters, even as the current [legal] system limits the height to 100 meters. The winner of the competition, RMJM (UK) proposes to build a tower with a height of 396 meters.
Requests made to the Participant Country to present more detailed information about the project were not honored. It is asserted that the tower fulfills a social need. At the present time, archaeological excavation is taking place at the site, where remains have been found of a Swedish fortress dating from the 14-16th centuries. The sponsors see the project, which has tried to make allowances for these remains, however physically they do not stay in the same place. The proposal to construct a tower at Okhta has produced a strong reaction among non-governmental organizations.
The [World Heritage] Mission remains of the opinion that if the current siting and height are retained, the tower presents a threat to the outstanding universal value of the [Heritage Site]:
--The tower contradicts the characteristics of the [Site] as a horizontal, shoreline, and urban landscape;
--The tower threatens the authenticity and wholeness of the [Site], creating dissonance with the “skyline” of the historical panorama of the Neva River;
--The tower places certain crucial visual axes under threat;
--The proposed height of the tower violates the existing regimes of the territory and could set a dangerous precedent.
In conjunction with a request made by the 32nd Session of the Committee, meetings took place at the highest levels between the chairman of the Committee, the director of the Center and the St. Petersburg authorities, including the city governor.
'The metrical desires of Okhta-Center: why 403, and not 48?'
Today at 4pm at a session of the St. Petersburg Commission on Land Use and Construction, the OAO “Public-business center Okhta” will present justifications for the variance from the maximum parameters permitted for construction in the Krasnogvardeiskii District. The owner claims that the unfavorable characteristics of the “Okhta-Center” construction site “force” him to exceed the height designated in the Rules on Land Use and Construction—that is, 48 meters—by 355 meters.
What are these unfavorable characteristics of the site which make it essential for the designers of the “Okhta-Center” to exceed the height regulation by 355 meters? (Just a month ago that figure was 348 meters.) Today the plantiffs – the company “Public-business center Okhta” and the Committee for the Management of City Property – will propose to the Commission on LUC the following “unfavorable” features:
--Limitations placed on the site by surrounding water, the impossibility of construction in protected riparian zones, the impossibility of construction at the perimeter;
--The trapezoidal configuration of the site – an unfavorable shape for effective planning solutions;
--The impossibility of observing comprehensive security requirements while still observing planning regulations;
--The necessity of restoring the historical site in the building’s foundation (a five-pointed star at the base of the building), which limits the possible area of construction.
Alexander Karpov, director of the ECOM Research Center, comments that “Neither the confinement of the site by water, nor the shape of the site, nor the other stated features prevent the construction of a building with a height of 48 meters. We should note that in Petersburg hundreds of sites have a trapezoidal form, and hundreds, if not thousands, are located on the shores of water. If we accept these arguments as a sufficient claim for a height variance, then the height regulation can be confidently rejected, and all the embankments will be built up with tall buildings, visually turning the Neva into a narrow canal.”
Provided on Zaks.ru on 9 July 2009
'From the resolution of the 33rd Session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO' (which met in Seville on 30 June)
[St. Petersburg’s entire central historical area is on the list of World Heritage Sites.]
[Zaks.ru obtained the text of the document from St. Petersburg Legislative Deputy Aleksei Kovalev.]
Section d) Gazprom – Okhta-Center
The proposed tower is an example of complexities produced by the existing systems of legislation, planning, and management. In 2006, Gazprom organized an international competition for a project on the banks of the Neva in the neighborhood of the mouth of the Okhta River. The competition parameters were not resolved with the preservation agencies. The project presents a tower with a height of 300 meters, even as the current [legal] system limits the height to 100 meters. The winner of the competition, RMJM (UK) proposes to build a tower with a height of 396 meters.
Requests made to the Participant Country to present more detailed information about the project were not honored. It is asserted that the tower fulfills a social need. At the present time, archaeological excavation is taking place at the site, where remains have been found of a Swedish fortress dating from the 14-16th centuries. The sponsors see the project, which has tried to make allowances for these remains, however physically they do not stay in the same place. The proposal to construct a tower at Okhta has produced a strong reaction among non-governmental organizations.
The [World Heritage] Mission remains of the opinion that if the current siting and height are retained, the tower presents a threat to the outstanding universal value of the [Heritage Site]:
--The tower contradicts the characteristics of the [Site] as a horizontal, shoreline, and urban landscape;
--The tower threatens the authenticity and wholeness of the [Site], creating dissonance with the “skyline” of the historical panorama of the Neva River;
--The tower places certain crucial visual axes under threat;
--The proposed height of the tower violates the existing regimes of the territory and could set a dangerous precedent.
In conjunction with a request made by the 32nd Session of the Committee, meetings took place at the highest levels between the chairman of the Committee, the director of the Center and the St. Petersburg authorities, including the city governor.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Stories from the ground
The link to "Article by Petersburg Activists" goes to an article posted to the online journal Mute in January 2008 by two collaborators in St. Petersburg, Thomas Campbell and Dmitrii Vorobyev. It is written in English and includes insightful images. Both authors continue to be very involved in urban activism in Petersburg.
ECOM activity in July 2009
Translated from the ECOM website
3 July 2009
Exhibition opening: The Lawless Skyscraper
At 3pm on Monday 6 July in the St. Petersburg Union of Architects (52 Bolshaia Morskaia Street) an exhibition will open entitled “The Lawless Skyscraper” (Neboskreb vne zakona). The co-organizers are VOOPIiK, the All-Russian Society for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments, and the Research Center ECOM. They invite all Petersburgers to familiarize themselves with the exposition, which presents the results of a visual-landscape analysis of the influence of the skyscraper “Okhta-Center” on the legally protected historical landscapes of Petersburg.
In the Union of Architects, the exhibit will be open for visitors through 9 July from 12 to 6pm. From Monday 13 July it will be accessible to Petersburgers for another three weeks at the press club “Green Lamp” (Zelenaia lampa) at 3 Gagarinskaia Street. … Follow news about the exhibit on the ECOM site, on the Contact page or the ECOM blog “Diary of an Ecoist.”
Visitors will become acquainted with an analysis of the evaluation of the skyscraper’s visibility completed by experts at VOOPIiK and ECOM; they will see photo-mockups created on the basis of computer models which can show how any panorama will change if the project is realized. In the Visitors’ Book all who wish to do so can leave their commentaries on the exposition.
The exhibit “Lawless Skyscraper” is associated to a public hearing on the the construction of the public-business center “Okhta” which will take place on 10 July with the participation of a public committee that includes various non-government organizations and movements.
[For examples of such images for other proposed high-rise projects, see the posting “Persuasive Images” from June 24, 2009]
13 July 2009
“A public discussion of questions related to the construction and function of ‘Okhta-Center’ took place”
On 10 July a public discussion took place on questions related to the construction and function of the public-business district “Okhta-Center.” Officials invited to the dialogue (from KGA and KGIOP) as well as representatives of the “Okhta” corporation chose to ignore the hearings.
We should note that until 7 July the two sides-- the “Okhta” corporation and the organizational committee of the public coalition-- were conducting negotiations, and in this process the rules for the proposed discussion were being worked out. Official invitations to the impending hearings were composed and signed by both sides. However, without informing the organizational committee of the public coalition, “Okhta” used the media to publish a refusal to take part in the discussion.
At the discussion the following questions were raised:
--How is the construction of a 396-meter high point in the Okhta neighborhood related to the requirements of urban planning law?
--What influence will a 396-meter-tall building in the “Okhta-Center” complex have on the legally protected historical panoramas of St. Petersburg?
--How will the construction of an office building for “Gazprom” affect the life of Petersburgers?
Participants at the hearings included deputies of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, representatives of non-government organizations and movements, residents of Krasnogvardeiskii District, and members of the Union of Architects and of the St. Petersburg Division of the All-Russian Society for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments, St. Petersburg State University Research Institute for Integrated Social Research, the Russian Geographical Society, and the Legal Defense Council of St. Petersburg.
The position of supporters of the “Okhta-Center” project in its current form was presented by the leader of the non-government youth organization “Right Bank,” Marat Kozlov. In his presentation, he attempted to reduce the polemics between supporters and opponents of the project to the statement “some like it, some don’t,” although he encouraged any dialogue and exchange of opinions.
It is unfortunate that immediately after his presentation Marat, who had so warmly called for dialogue between the project’s supporters and opponents, left the hall, thus missing the opportunity for dialogue with opponents-- including with representatives of the public organization “Okhta Bend,” which unites many residents of the Krasnogvardeiskii District.
Legislative Assembly deputy Aleksei Kovalyov in his presentation gave voice to several recommendations from the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO, saying in part: “The Okhta-Center tower fundamentally and irrevocably will change the horizontal skyline of this protected site, which has been an important feature of the city since the moment of its founding, and will thus place under threat its wholeness and evident universal value.” The committee considers that work on the “Okhta-Center” project should be halted. “In the case of a lack of substantial progress, the World Heritage Committee may consider inclusion of the site in the List of World Heritage Sites under threat.”
[An excerpt from the resolution of the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO will appear in a future post.]
ECOM prepared a video from this hearing which can be seen at the following link:
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