The Financier residential complex was built at the intersection of Bolshoy Prospekt - the main transport artery of Vasilyevsky Island - and the 27th line. Among the numerous neighboring crossroads of the island, this is undoubtedly one of the greenest and most comfortable: in the depths of the former Smolensk (Havana) field is the building of the Palace of Culture named after SM Kirov, and in the neighborhood there is a picturesque garden "Vasileostrovets". And, probably, the developer would have called the new residential complex "Green Harbor" or "Sadovy", if not for the construction on the neighboring site of the Commodity Stock Exchange (general designer - CJSC "Torgproekt"). With such a neighborhood, marketers were not even particularly needed - and so it was clear that those whose lives and work are connected with the round-the-clock activity of the exchange would become the main buyers of housing. For other clients, the catchy title "The Financier" was supposed to be something of a talisman, guaranteeing well-being and introducing them to the material paradise opposite.
Evgeny Gerasimov designed his house already taking into account the architectural solutions of the stock exchange complex, and this imposed a lot of restrictions on the creative process - in addition to those dictated by the very fact of construction in the historic district. By and large, the imposing stock exchange building, generously glazed and covered with a massive arched roof, left the architect no room for creative maneuvers at all. Gerasimov understood from the very beginning: his house should be as strict, slender and elegant as possible, otherwise the living space would merge with the sperm whale-like silhouette of the exchange, and together they would trample most of the canonical views on Vasilyevsky Island. On the other hand, what else should a real financier be, if not fit, slightly tanned, in an expensive suit and with a thin elegant briefcase? This building was designed by Evgeny Gerasimov, and this solid restraint ultimately saved the object: although the Financier exceeded the high-rise regulations, the main attacks from the public went to the stock exchange. And while the sloping roof of the financial temple is being dismantled, the residential building is already being occupied by residents.
The residential complex is designed as two high-rise rectangular volumes installed on a common two-storey stylobate in such a way that an inner courtyard is formed between them. This chamber space, raised above the ground, is partially landscaped and used as a walking area, as well as for setting up a summer cafe. The light openings of the elevator halls and the loggia of smoke-free stairs (two for each building), which are facing towards it, relieve the feeling of a tightness of the courtyard between the high-rise volumes.
Towers of the Financier are facing Bolshoy Prospekt by their narrow facades (only 19 meters wide), practically devoid of windows, and to the lines - by wide planes, which, on the contrary, are literally dotted with window openings. At the ends of the towers, the architects placed three- and four-room apartments, oriented to two cardinal directions, so that the blank walls, which give the main facade a primordially St. Petersburg "strict slender look", do not in any way affect the illumination of the dwelling.
In the basement and first floors of the building there is a parking lot for 134 cars, and the second floor is reserved for a fitness center, available to both residents of the building and residents of neighboring areas. This part of the building is faced with slabs of natural stone, visually emphasizing the solidity and even a certain "palatial appearance" of the entrance group and the basement as a whole. The facades of the residential towers, in turn, are finished with slabs of porcelain stoneware, which is visually perceived lighter and thinner than stone, and the two upper floors, on which the penthouses are located, are completely glazed. True, although Gerasimov softens the silhouette of his towers in this way, he does not at all seek to dissolve them in the gray St. Petersburg sky. On the contrary, the severity of the roof is emphasized with the help of a laconic frieze and low steles that make you remember the St. Petersburg obelisks and decorations of bridges. In addition, at the level of the last, eighteenth, floor, the residential buildings are connected by a glass gallery, and this light crossbar floating in the air between two rather brutal volumes makes you recall the numerous arches of St. Petersburg, and, of course, the already mentioned bridges. In general, Evgeny Gerasimov designed another house, in the form of which modern methods of creating comfortable business-class housing and recognizable elements of St. Petersburg architecture were organically intertwined.
As for the notorious height of the complex, the Financier really passed all the necessary approvals. In 2005, the project received a positive opinion from the KGIOP, in 2006 - an architectural and construction expertise and, finally, in February 2007, it was approved by the chief architect of the city. True, as it turned out in hindsight, the project was approved not least precisely because they were going to build an exchange nearby. “Taking into account the completion of the construction of the exchange building with a height of 63 m on the 26th line, house 15 A, we consider it possible to place an object with a height of 60 meters next to and parallel to it,” read the experts' conclusion. But the construction of the exchange was delayed, during this time it managed to "grow slightly" - so much so that now the main excuse of "Financier" is partially rebuilt after its official opening. Meanwhile, two plates of the residential building of Evgeny Gerasimov, meanwhile, confidently blended into the city's panoramas. Of course, you cannot see them from the Palace Bridge, but this cannot be said with certainty about the English Embankment and Troitsky Bridge. But something else is completely clear: such "editing of views" lies not on the conscience of the architect or even the developer, but entirely on the officials, who at one time closed their eyes to deviations from the height regulations and now for the first time have to openly admit that they do this not so rarely.
