HERITAGE groups and opposition politicians reacted with anger yesterday to St Petersburg's decision to allow Gazprom, the state natural gas firm, to build a skyscraper – designed by Scottish architects RMJM – in the historic city.
The city's administration has approved Gazprom's plans to build a twisting 77-storey glass-clad tower near the Neva River. It will be more than three times as high as the spire of the St Peter and Paul Cathedral, currently the city's tallest buildin
g.
Project advocates say the building and affiliated trade centre, together called the Okhta Centre, would be an important step in developing Russia's second city, which has trailed far behind Moscow in cashing in on the country's post-Soviet economic transformation. But critics denounce it as a crude show of political and commercial ego, as Gazprom is among the world's biggest companies.
Unesco has warned that the 1,300ft tower could endanger St Petersburg's status as a World Heritage Site. "We feel anxiety about this decision," said Russian Unesco committee member Grigory Ordzhonikidze.
While other major Russian cities raised skyscrapers as a matter of pride during the Soviet era, St Petersburg's centre retained the low-rise profile of a 19th-century city through strict building regulations.
The proposed tower would be built across the Neva and up-river from the most heavily visited parts of St Petersburg, but would dominate many views.
"At the beginning of September, the city held public hearings on the matter and the majority of participants were against such a height for the tower. However, the mayor didn't care about the opinion of the population," said Olga Kurnosova, head of the local branch of the Other Russia umbrella opposition group.
Mayor Valentina Matviyenko is seen as a loyal associate of Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, and president Dmitry Medvedev served for years as Gazprom's board chairman.
Svyatoslav Gaikovich, vice president of the St Petersburg Architect's Union, said "the tourism flow to St Petersburg may suffer" if the city loses its Unesco status.
RMJM's group design director and lead architect on the project, Tony Kettle, has argued that the tower is a continuation of the tradition of St Petersburg as a city of spires. The company has also made much of the building's green credentials, saying it will be the most environmentally friendly skyscraper in Europe.
The controversial approval of the tower comes amid wider concerns about the destruction of historical areas in Russia. Attention has also focused on Moscow, where massive redevelopment projects have mushroomed in the past decade.
Some St Petersburg residents have dubbed the design the "corn cob" or the "cigarette lighter" because of its shape; others see the project as a step forward.
"It seems to me that the Okhta Centre will help the depressed area around it become a modern area of the city," said 34-year-old Larisa Smirnova. "The tower itself may also become another attractive sight of the city."
