The concept of the Nevskaya Ratusha administrative and public-business complex is a joint project of Evgeny Gerasimov and Partners and nps tchoban voss, which won a closed international competition in 2007. It was planned to complete the construction of a complex of nine buildings, combining the functions of the new Smolny and a large business center, already in 2010. However, long approvals (a building permit was issued only two years later), coupled with the crisis of 2008, significantly pushed the completion date. A more detailed acquaintance with the site allocated for construction also made adjustments to the competition concept. Currently, the implementation of the first stage is in full swing, which, in addition to the Administration building, includes two more buildings of the business center. The latter are expected to be commissioned this fall. As for the implementation of the remaining six buildings, their fate is still unclear.
Previously, on this territory, located in the very center of St. Petersburg, in close proximity to Smolny and Vosstaniya Square, there were tram depot No. 4 and the Severny Vksus plant. All existing buildings were supposed to be demolished due to new construction. But already in July 2008, KGIOP identified three new cultural heritage sites in Degtyarny Lane, two of which - the former administrative building and the front building of the Rozhdestvensky Park, built in 1912 by A. Lamagin's design - were recognized as architectural monuments. It was decided to partially preserve the front building and include it in the complex under construction. Thus, a tenth building was added to the nine planned buildings - three stories high and intended primarily for administrative use. According to the project, it will be restored and adapted to the needs of the complex.
The layout of the remaining buildings on the site has also changed somewhat, although the general radial layout has remained unchanged. The trapezoidal volume of the town hall has been preserved, located in the eastern part of the site and covered with a spectacular dome in the form of a transparent oval bowl. The main glazed facade of the building faces Novgorodskaya Street. The stone pilasters and columns supporting the glass canopy and the horizontal line of the cornice belts seem to be just a fleeting intervention in the continuously glassy façade. The theme of generous glazing is taken up and developed by shades and double reflective glazing, which serves to protect the interior from the sun.
The main entrance to the building is provided from Novgorodskaya Street - it leads to a huge multi-colored atrium, the hallmark of which will be a glass ball of the TV studio, floating in the air at the level of the fourth floor. In fact, this volume is supported by four bridges brought to it and a "mast" of a panoramic cylindrical elevator with a glass structural lining, but from below the structure seems almost weightless. An elevator connects the atrium with an observation deck located in the dome space. A breathtaking view of St. Petersburg opens up from there. The bridges from the TV studio lead to the administration committees. It is important that the entire atrium will be a public space open to citizens, where you can go at any time, admire the structure of the town hall, watch the work of city officials, or walk through it to the square with a fountain. In addition to the atrium, the building has four landscaped courtyards starting from the third floor.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the translucent dome of the City Hall, which can rightfully be called the most important architectural element of the project. The dome has a complex lenticular shape on a conical base; its maximum diameter reaches 48.4 m. The frame of the dome consists of 12 main ribs of a diamond-shaped cross-section, 24 intermediate ribs of a triangular cross-section and parallel bent beams. The ribs rest on the reinforced concrete structures of the building, and are united in the center by a locking ring. All this complex and beautiful structure is covered with translucent double-glazed windows using curved glass.
On the other side of the fountain, located on the inner square of the complex, there is another dominant - a ten-story business center. In the competitive project, it had a strictly elliptical shape. Now its outlines have softened even more - the building plan began to resemble a frozen drop of water, which is about to break off in the direction of Degtyarny Lane. This exponential smoothness of lines contrasts sharply with the adjusted geometry of the neighboring office buildings, which serve as a kind of frame for the expressive volume that fixes the new city square. The top of this building is also crowned with a transparent observation deck, and multi-colored glass slats form a festive, even slightly playful architectural image that creates an interesting echo of the city administration building.
The position of the remaining buildings radiating from the town hall in long beams, taking into account the identified architectural monuments, had to be slightly changed. Along Degtyarny Lane, instead of three buildings, two more elongated, rectangular volumes lined up. The rounded body flanking the corner had to be removed as the area is now reserved for the existing houses. The rearrangements also affected the second ray, which formerly consisted of four large buildings with deep courtyards. Now, instead of four buildings, five have appeared, still gravitating towards classicism in their strict outfits made of natural stone. The corner house has a complex polygonal shape and is intended to accommodate a hotel. Its neighbors have retained the square plans, but differ from the original version by significantly smaller dimensions and the absence of courtyards. If, in the tender proposal, landscaped green spaces appeared inside each building, now only the two largest business centers facing Degtyarny Lane have preserved well courtyards. And this is not only a tribute to the architectural traditions of St. Petersburg: courtyards successfully solve the problem of lighting in fairly wide buildings.
It should be noted that even with the disappearance of most of the courtyards, this project does not know the lack of public spaces: the architects did everything possible to ensure that the new complex was as integrated into the urban fabric as possible and created new points of attraction for the residents of St. Petersburg. In addition to the rather large-scale central square intended only for pedestrians, and the already mentioned atrium of the town hall, most of the areas of the first floors of buildings are allocated here for public functions - they are supposed to house cafes, shops, gyms, etc. A through two-story gallery, passing along the perimeter of the square, in the event of the implementation of the second and third stages of construction, will link them into a single pedestrian route. The architects paid almost more attention to the design of the square than to the solution of the buildings themselves, because it is this space that will make the city hall an integral part of the center of St. Petersburg and will emphasize the readiness of the new administration to dialogue with the townspeople.
