Okhta Center

Okhta Center or phonetically Oḱhta-Tseńtr (Russian: О́хта-це́нтр), known before March 2007 as Gazprom City (Russian:Газпро́м-си́ти), is a failed construction project of a business centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was supposed to include the first supertall skyscraper in the city. The 403 meters high main tower of Okhta Centre is set to be the tallest building in Europe amongst live building proposals. This project, remained unrealised, was supposed to house headquarters of the Gazprom energy company, along with museums, library, sports and leisure facilities, and a concert hall. It was to be built in the mouth of the river Okhta, on the right bank of the river Neva. Its 403-meter high tower was conceived not only as a dominant, but also as a new symbol of Saint Petersburg. It was to be completed by 2016. However, the project met fierce opposition from citizens, civil groups, and international organizations. When the project ideas were introduced to international jury, three out of four architects walked off the jury in protest, the competition was also boycotted by the Russian Union of Architects. It was eventually relocated to the new site Lakhta in Saint Petersburg in December 2010.

The core design team of the Okhta Centre includes Chief Design Architect Charles Phu, Russian architect Philip Nikandrov, Roger Whiteman and Tony Kettle. In 2008, Arabtec, the construction company involved in construction of the world’s tallest building in Dubai, has won a contract to build this 60 billion-ruble ($2.56 billion) complex.

Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller claimed that he is "positive that St. Petersburg’s citizens will be proud of these new architectural masterpieces." However, the Director of the Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky, has spoken out against the plan. Russia's culture ministry has also been reported to object to the tower's plan.

As the historical centre of Saint Petersburg is a World Heritage Site in 1991; in December 2006 UNESCO World Heritage centre Director Francesco Bandarin reminded Russia about its obligations to preserve it and expressed concern over the project. In 2007, the World Monuments Fund placed the historic skyline of St. Petersburg on its 2008 Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites due to the potential construction of the building, and in 2009 reported that the tower "would damage the image of Russia."

In 2010 it was reported by Russian and UK press that the project's designer Charles Phu said at a public debate in London that the architect has been getting regular memoranda from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, encouraging them to go ahead with the project of Okhta Centre and promising support from the government. This was proved to be untrue according to Putin, Phu himself and the debate participants. This controversial report, followed by heated public discussions, has resulted in certain impact on the politics in Russia.

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