The whole city will stretch under the Lakhta Center tower. Gazprom starts countdown to the opening of the Lakhta Center What is the Lakhta Center

One of the most tall buildings Russia and Europe - the modern skyscraper Lakhta Center - is located in the Primorsky district of St. Petersburg. Its construction began in 2012, the building was commissioned in 2018, and the opening of the Lakhta Center is scheduled for early 2020. In addition to the Gazprom headquarters, offices, scientific and business centers, an amphitheater, sport Club and other infrastructure. The main highlight of the tower will be an observation deck with a panoramic view of St. Petersburg and the Gulf of Finland. The cost of the Lakhta Center is estimated at $ 2.5 billion.

Lakhta Center observation deck

The most anticipated object of the complex is the observation deck, which will be located at a height of 360 meters, on the top floor. It will be a panoramic platform with a 360 ° viewing angle and telescopes for a detailed view. High-speed elevators will operate to lift visitors. It is planned that the Lakhta Center observation deck will become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.

Christmas tree

Despite the fact that the official opening of the skyscraper has not yet taken place, the Lakhta Center is already taking part in cultural life Northern capital... In honor of the New Year's Eve on December 31, festive lighting was lit on the facade of the building, turning the tower into the world's tallest green Christmas tree.

New Year's greetings video:

Lakhta Center webcam

At the moment, a webcam is installed at the level of the observation deck, which broadcasts a panorama of St. Petersburg in real time and Gulf of Finland... You can see the popular sights of the city - the park named after the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the Gazprom Arena stadium, Yakhtenny bridge, Elagin island and other objects.

Floor plan and architecture

In connection with the extensive media coverage of the construction of this facility, many are interested in the question "how many floors are there in the Lakhta Center and what will be there?" According to the project, the tower has 87 floors, and the total area of the premises is 400 thousand square meters. meters, of which 130 thousand square meters are designated for offices. meters. To move between floors, it is planned to launch almost 40 elevators. In addition to the main building, the complex includes two more structures, which are located on the sides of the tower. Their height varies from 22 to 85 meters.

Lakhta Center project

In addition to the observation deck and Gazprom headquarters, the complex will include the following facilities:

Panoramic restaurant Lakhta Center. The halls will be located on the 75th and 76th floors (about 320 meters high). It will be a pleasant alternative viewing platform. Following the selection of applicants for the creation of a restaurant, at the beginning of 2019, the management company announced the winner. They were famous Russian footballers - the Berezutsky brothers, who proposed the concept of a Russian cuisine restaurant based on products Russian production and unique recipes from all over the country.
Multifunctional hall - transformer and congress center. A unique feature of this hall is that it can be divided into two rooms if necessary. This is the first such facility in St. Petersburg. The seating arrangement and stage configuration can be changed to suit the format of the event. It is planned that the transforming hall will host concerts, performances, fashion shows and other events.
Scientific and educational center. The main task of the scientific center will be to popularize science among the population. The center will be open to a wide audience, educational events will be held here - lectures, exhibitions. The exhibition area reaches 7000 sq. meters.
Medical Center. The Lakhta Center medical and diagnostic complex is designed to provide services to residents of the Primorsky district of St. Petersburg. Equipped with the most modern equipment, the medical center will provide dental, therapeutic, surgical and other services.
Sports complex. The Lakhta Center is planning to create a large sports center, with an area of 4600 sq. meters. There will be gyms, group exercise rooms, swimming pools, relaxation and wellness centers.
Atrium, trading floors, expositions. For office workers and visitors to the skyscraper, there will be exhibition halls for art objects and works of art, a multimedia hall, as well as cafes, canteens and shops.
Offices. Management Company offers offices for rent ranging from 650 to 2100 sq. meters. Detailed information from the administration, contacts can be found on the official website of the Lakhta Center.

At the foot of the tower, on the territory overlooking the bay, it is planned to erect amphitheater... Designed for 2,000 places, the facility will become the first building of this type in St. Petersburg. The amphitheater is oriented towards the sea, according to the architects' plan, the stage can be water or a coastal strip.

Architectural solution

Since the Lakhta Center building has an extreme height, during the development of the project and construction, great attention was paid to the stability and safety of the structure. The main tower has a central core made of reinforced concrete, within which the most important communications and security zones are located. The foundation of the skyscraper stands on 2080 piles, and the floors and columns are made of metal and concrete.

The architectural concept of the Lakhta Center was developed by RMJM in 2011. As conceived by the authors, the outlines of the skyscraper fit perfectly into the landscape of St. Petersburg and make up a harmonious combination with the spiers and domes of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

The glazing of Lakhta Center is made without joints, which makes the building lightweight - smooth facade walls reflect water and clouds.

How to get to Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg

Metro near Lakhta Center

The nearest metro station "Begovaya" is within walking distance from the skyscraper. The walk will take about 20 minutes, but while the tower is closed, you can admire it from the territory of the park of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.

Route from metro to Lakhta Center:

The authorities plan to build a new metro station "Lakhta". The project is included in the metro development plan until 2025.

Land transport

Near the Lakhta Center there is a public transport stop - "15th km of Lakhta". Buses No. 101, 101a, 110, 211, 216 and minibuses No. 206, 210, 232, 305, 305a, 400, 405, 417, 425 run here.

In addition, to travel around St. Petersburg, you can use applications from taxi services Uber, Gett, Yandex. Taxi, Maxim, Taxovichkof, etc.

Lakhta Center presentation: video tour

Night illumination of Lakhta Center: panorama-google

A 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.

Recall that initially the construction of a business center with a height of 400 meters was planned to be carried out on an area 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 the protected zone, where the 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 allowed height of 100 meters in this place.

The new 14-hectare site for the construction of the Lakhta Tower is located in the north of St. Petersburg at the outskirts 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 parts of the city, but it will not cover the sights of St. Petersburg and dominate the historical sites.

At the same time, the tower will be perfectly visible from the sea, it will become a kind of lighthouse that meets those arriving in the city by sea. It will be an iconic object of the northern capital's sea façade.

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

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

An observation deck, revolving restaurant and conference room will be located at the top of the tower.

Lakhta Center tower - short 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.

The general contractor is the Turkish company Renaissance Construction (established 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. meters.

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

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

The project provides several architectural highlights, the main of which are a modern planetarium and an outdoor amphitheater.

Planetarium

The planetarium, designed for 140 people, will take 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 that was thrown into a building from its full swing, and it stuck to the facade. Of course, such a spectacular shape of the building cannot fail to interest everyone who passes 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 water shows, as well as participate in theatrical performances and competitions.

When laying the foundation, many principles were taken from nature. So, 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 with a height of 17 meters was built, which guarantees the stability of the building
The maximum permissible deviation of the structure from the vertical along the entire height is no more than 6 millimeters. Not to be confused with the amplitude of the building during stormy winds
Double-glazed windows have passed a variety of tests: under high pressure of water, air currents and fire. The glasses are made using a special film that will prevent the glass from shattering into fragments
All materials used in construction are non-flammable or flame retardant. But despite this, the evacuation of people is thought out as much as possible. In the event of a fire alarm, air is injected into the central core made of reinforced concrete, which prevents smoke from forming. Moving to the central core, where there are stairs, the person is safe.
A special system will be used to clean the windows, which moves along rails arranged on the ribs of the tower.
At strong wind the top of the building can deviate by 46 cm from the vertical, and at the level of the observation deck (at a height of 357 meters) the maximum deviation is 27 cm
To prevent birds from crashing into the windows, the double-glazed windows are edged with an opaque material, and the glass itself is non-mirrored. In addition, during mass flights of flocks, the illumination will be "frightening". This way the birds will see the glass.

Adjacent territory

On the east side of the building there will be an entrance for the office staff. This part of the complex will appear as an arch with a span of 100 meters.

A pedestrian zone with a length of 8 km will begin from the southeast side. It will include a bridge and a huge space for mass celebrations and celebrations.

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

In addition, there will be a parking lot next to the tower. tourist buses and the museum of the ship "Poltava".

Transport infrastructure

In the future, it is planned to arrange a transfer between Lakhta Center and the metro stations "Chernaya Rechka" and "Staraya Derevnya". In 2025, it is planned to build a metro station.

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

The Lakhta Center Tower will become the center of a new business district of St. Petersburg, one might say the Petersburg City, and the development of transport infrastructure will turn this not-equipped district of the Northern Capital into an example of a modern and high-quality urban environment. Let us remind you that the commissioning of the object is planned in 2018.

04/05/2017

The Lakhta Center will be completed by the fall of 2018. The construction is going according to plan and will be completed on time, the company assures. But neither additional roads, nor junctions, nor crossings necessary for the transport of the skyscraper will be built on time. How will people and cars get to it and what will this turn out to be for St. Petersburg? - “City 812” was told by the executive director of JSC “MFC“ Lakhta Center ”Alexander BOBKOV.

Sh osse with reversal

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

After the opening, it will be possible to reach us in the same way as all residents of Lakhta today - by buses, route taxis along the Primorskoe highway. In summer, aquabuses will run on the water. Plus, we will launch free shuttle buses to the nearest metro station "Begovaya", 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 8,000 employees will work in Gazprom's offices alone. Plus the attendants, plus the tourists. This is already tens of thousands of people. At least two thousand of them will go to personal cars along the Primorskoe highway. It is already loaded, and will turn into a highway traffic jam. What to do?

Take a look at the diagram. Of course, we will build the entire infrastructure inside our block - entrances, exits from the parking lot, 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. Long before us, there were already planned U-turns on Primorskoye Highway, and a large interchange next to the (then non-existent) Lakhta Center (in the diagram - in a yellow oval - Ed.). With the opening of Lakhta Center, the city should ensure the connection of our quarter to Primorskoe Highway using an elevated exit through the Lakhta harbor (in the diagram - in a red oval - Ed.). I cannot say that all this will be done before the opening.

- What will be done?

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

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

The cost of building this junction with the flyover, according to the city committees, is at least three times less.

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

There is money, it is just that it is distributed among other objects.

In autumn, the city authorities sent an application for co-financing of this project from the federal budget. Do you already have an answer from Moscow?

We do not know about this, but I can assume that the first question of the federals when considering such applications: "Do you have the 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 the submission of documentation.

About a year ago, it was 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 building a 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.

More offices needed

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

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

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

We abandoned the hotel in favor of office space since there weren't enough of them. At the same time, all the iconic public facilities of the complex have been preserved. It should be borne in mind that a significant part of the complex - 25-27% - is occupied by a parking lot.

- How many cars is it designed for?

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

- Is that 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 for 60 square meters.

- Will parking be paid?

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

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

We believe that the flow of tourists of 400-600 thousand people is guaranteed to us annually. Since everyone will want to come to the observation deck. An extended 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 office floors. We want to make this public area as comfortable as possible, but at the same time complimentary to the business one.

- Do you already have an agreement with the tenants? What kind of catering and what kind of trade will appear?

There are many applications, and there is a short list (and in fact a long list) of companies with which negotiations are underway. We want to get tenants who, just like us, understand that this is non-standard place and a unique environmental object. We won't have a full-fledged trade, and we wouldn't want 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 selected, but all the leaders in this industry - name anyone! - show interest.

The weather is very let down

Lakhta Center is a modern social and economic business complex located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland in St. Petersburg... The construction is financed by Gazprom, and its central office will also be located here.

It has been going on for 6 years already. And the completion date was set for the third quarter of 2018.

Lakhta center when opening: grandiose construction of a public and business center

The center will include a huge number of facilities: a large medical center, sports complex, children's scientific and entertainment complex, embankment, concert and conference halls, restaurants, offices large companies and much more.

The key figure of the complex is the 462 meters or 87 storey skyscraper, which has become the northernmost skyscraper and the tallest building in Europe. The summit will become a beacon for passing ships; searchlights are built into its hexagonal top.

Lakhta center when opening: the latest information on the work performed

According to the latest information from the construction press center, the last tower crane was dismantled in the complex. All construction work is currently progressing ahead of schedule. The dismantling was supposed to end by the semifinal match of the 2018 World Cup.

The construction management expressed the hope that the appearance of the facility will cause positive emotions among residents and guests of the “northern capital”.

For June 2018, work is also planned inside the building, installation of the facades of the building and the multifunctional plant, work with the facades of the entrance arch.

Lakhta center when opening: commissioning of the observation deck

From the executive director of the project, Alexander Bobkov, information was also received that the observation deck, located at an altitude of 360 meters, which corresponds to the 83-87 floor of the skyscraper, will become available to visitors only at the end of 2019. This is due to the terms that will be set for the entry into the complex of the main tenants of the premises.

For the entrance to the site, payment will be withdrawn and at the same time about 50 people will be able to visit it, and it will start functioning stably in 2019-2020.

Since the bird's-eye view of St. Petersburg is stunning, an influx of visitors is expected: Petersburgers and tourists visiting the city. On the observation deck special telescopes will be installed equipped with interactive maps, which will allow you to get acquainted with the sights of the city. According to preliminary data, 300-350 thousand people will be able to visit it during the year.

Now let's see how they build IGLU GAZPROM

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

In the end, Okhta Center became Lakhta Center: the construction of Gazprom's skyscraper, now 462 m high, was moved to the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland. There is no urban development nearby, and the historic center is as much as 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 an extensive recreational area is planned to be completed in 2018, and then ...

Is there any practical sense in the construction of such tall buildings where there seems to be no shortage of land? Of course, Lakhta is not crowded with American downtowns, but architecture is not always designed to fulfill a utilitarian function. Sometimes her task is to create symbols, objects of attraction. Historically, such centers of attraction were temples, which were supposed to rise above the surrounding buildings. There was no other meaning other than symbolic in this. When elevators appeared and cities began to grow rapidly, high-rise buildings became leaders and dominants. "Lakhta Center" will meet people going to St. Petersburg cruise ships and ferries are 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 goal. This is the opinion of the authors of the project.

Even those who are not strong in geography will probably remember: the city, built in the delta, rests on loose, water-saturated soils. Everyone remembers the St. Petersburg metro line, torn by quicksand for almost a decade. In contrast to the textbook Manhattan, which is essentially a bare rock, in the St. Petersburg area the granite shield lies below 200 m, and it is hardly realistic to support the building on it. How to build a skyscraper here? It turns out that from the point of view of geotechnics - the science of soils - there are no monstrous difficulties 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 piles. Of course, it is too difficult to lean on the rocky ground in Lakhta - this would require piles of unprecedented length in world practice, so you have to use those that hold the building due to the friction force. The upper layers of the soil are very loose, but already below 30 m, rather hard Vendian clays begin, and the piles are held securely in them.

The traditional construction of the foundation of a skyscraper 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-like 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 as a more even distribution of the structure's weight and will help to avoid a strong settlement of the skyscraper in the future.

The outer boundary of the foundation is a wall in the ground (in the plan - a regular pentagon, or pentagon). It is not a supporting element, but protects the power part of the foundation from soil pressure, and most importantly - from seepage groundwater... Inside the wall, a foundation pit is dug in the ground, and so that the wall does not collapse, it is gradually strengthened with four reinforced concrete structures located one above the other - the so-called spacer discs. When the pit is ready, the heads of the pre-installed piles are exposed. Piles 264, and the length of the most powerful of them is 82 m. At the bottom of the pit, a concrete slab resting on the tops is poured, and reinforcement for the main supporting structure - the lower foundation slab - is already mounted on it. The designers did not have a shortage of space, and therefore they were able to support the building on a substantial footing in order to ensure maximum stability.

Photo 2.

Photo 3.

The tragedy of the WTC towers in New York, and especially the terrible picture of their collapse, is so clearly engraved 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 structure. It should be remembered here 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 the well-known scheme: a cylindrical reinforced concrete core, floors, columns along the outer contour. The WTC towers had about the same design. These were sturdy buildings designed to withstand a Boeing-747 strike, but the destruction of some of the structural structures of the outer contour led to the progressive destruction of others, resulting in a domino effect, and as a result the skyscrapers collapsed. The high-rise building of the Lakhta Center is designed in such a way that it can be supported on one core. It is possible to blow up all ten columns running along the outer contour, but even then the skyscraper will stand. This is a real fortress, which, according to the calculations of the architects, should survive for many decades.

The stability of the structure is a special scheme for redistributing the load of the outer 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 margin of safety that is unique among buildings of this kind, significantly exceeding the established international standards.

The reluctance to economize 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 constructing a building “for itself,” to maintain its adherence to modern energy saving technologies, especially in the unfriendly St. Petersburg climate. For example, a building will have a double facade, that is, there will be an insulating layer of air between two glazing lines. The heating system will use such highly efficient devices as infrared emitters. In addition, the heat accumulated in the building from working 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 the underground cold accumulators, which can produce up to 1000 tons of ice per night, and then give it cold to the premises in the daytime. Also, presence detectors will become ubiquitous, which, when there is no one in the room, will turn off the lighting devices.

But will the building be inhabited from the lowest floors to the highest point? High-rise buildings erected for purely commercial purposes are often inhabited from top to bottom, and there are no "frills". However, if we are talking about a symbol, be it the building of the Moscow State University on Vorobyovy Hills in Moscow or the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, a significant part of their height is an uninhabited spire, designed to give the structure an aesthetic completeness. Given that the height of the Lakhta Center skyscraper will be 462 m, all the inhabited floors will be below 400 m. Everything above is an architectural element that will help the building function as a city landmark and decorate the sea gates of St. Petersburg.

The skyscraper in Lakhta will have a helical appearance, that is, its facades will be distinguished by a rather complex and asymmetrical surface. Especially interesting is the use of cold-formed glass, which makes it possible to make the glazing absolutely smooth. Together with a double façade, this will give unusual optical effects - for example, the reflection of clouds, as if rising diagonally along the wall of the building.

Photo 4.

The construction of a business and public center in Lakhta is not only an attempt to turn St. Petersburg towards the sea with a “human face”, but also an aspiration to follow the centrifugal tendency in modern urban planning. New business parks are being created far from dense urban development, there are large territories, there are no problems with parking. The flow of cars to Lakhta Center will always be in opposition to the flow that moves to the city center in the morning and rushes to the outskirts and suburbs in the evening. So it will be partially unloaded history Center Petersburg, and business activity in the "Lakhta Center", on the contrary, is intensifying. Of course, the accessibility of the Lakhta Center will be ensured not only for motorists, but also for those who use by 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 Center for Entertaining Science for Children, conference rooms, exhibition spaces, sports and medical complexes, cafes, restaurants, shops and even an ultra-modern planetarium. The vast adjacent territory will house squares, 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. It so happened that the clash of interests of a large national corporation and the aspirations of civil society in the Northern capital regarding the Okhta Center did not lead 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.

Photo 5.

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

Photo 6.