Forgotten place
There are places in the city whose current state desperately does not correspond to their potential, in St. Petersburg there are surprisingly many of them - Konyushenny, for example, a courtyard, or here Apraksin, which forms a giant complex with an area of about 13 hectares together with the Shchukin courtyard adjoining it, he is Mariinsky market. In the very center, next to Nevsky, it has been dilapidated for many years, overgrown with self-made extensions and lurid signs and other signs of “wild” environmental design: a huge market from the nineties located in an architectural monument - OKN status for 58 buildings was obtained in 1993.
But the situation is beginning to change, largely thanks to the persistence of the architects of Studio 44, who have been unraveling the tangle of tenants' interests, lack of funding and lack of social demand for changes with professional enthusiasm for decades.
Eternal market
The rectangle of Apraksin and Shchukin dvor is the largest of the markets of the early 19th century, which were grouped in St. Petersburg on Sadovaya: near Morskaya, Sennaya, Nikolsky and, of course, Gostiny Dvor (moreover, the current
the project of its reconstruction also belongs to "Studio 44"). All these are trading stalls, satellites in the development of capitalist industry, centers of economic development. In Russia, from the 16th to the 19th centuries, their place was invariably in the center of the city.
The typology of shopping malls is determined by function and is almost eternal: along the outer perimeter of the colonnade or arcade in front of the entrances to shops, on the upper floors of the office, inside warehouses. If the courtyard was large, there would be internal shopping streets. If a simpler structure was converted into a shopping arcade - the city market, consisting of rows of shops, the development proceeded in stages. With the advent of money from merchants, and often because of fires, wooden pavilions were rebuilt into stone ones, keeping the general layout.
This is how Apraksin and Shchukin dvory developed - from the middle of the 18th century to the end of the 19th century. At various times, many architects worked with their buildings, among them celebrities from Yeropkin and Korobov to Lidval. By 1917
Apraksin Dvor was almost the largest market in Europe: more than 40 buildings and about 650 shops, trade in fur, cloth, groceries, fruits, tea, wine and others.
After the revolution, shops continued to operate, a fruit market and small trade remained. Otherwise, along the Fontanka, this part did not belong to the market: the Resurrection Church was demolished here, in 1964 the Lenizdat building was built in its place, which joined the printing house. Nearby, on the Fontanka, is the BDT, the heir to the theater of Count Apraksin; in the XX century, he received several office buildings, which closed the exit to the embankment for the market.
In the nineties, the buildings of "Aprashka", as St. Petersburg residents call it, were privatized, partly reconstructed to the taste of the owners, the gaps were filled with stalls, all without a plan and project.
So from the expensive market of mature capitalism of the XIX century "Apraksin Dvor" turned into the cheapest clothing market in the city of the XXI century. Choosing between the pleasantness of civilized trade and cheapness based on the low rental price of ruined premises, the city residents preferred the latter. The complex has come close to being a marginal commercial slum; it is enough to walk past Sadovaya Street to feel the recognizable spirit.
"Let's hit with a motor rally …": background
Studio 44 made its first project in the late 1980s. A new period in the history of "Aprashka" began in the mid-2000s, during the period of "star" international competitions. In 2007 passed
competition of development companies for the right to reconstruct and develop Apraksin Dvor. Three firms fought for this right: Glavstroy LLC of billionaire Oleg Deripaska, Russian Land of Shalva Chigirinsky and the Swedish company RURIC AB. Each developer entered the competition with its own architectural proposal. Chigirinsky commissioned the concept to Norman Foster, RURIC AB to Nikita Yavein's Studio 44, and Glavstroy organized a non-public competition in which Rem Koolhaas, Chris Wilkinson, MRDV and PRP Architects took part. In its internal competition, Glavstroy chose Chris Wilkinson, while RUSSIAN LAND and RURIC teamed up and pitched against Wilkinson Foster. The final victory was won by Wilkinson's concept, which assumed the demolition of Lenizdat and the construction of a hotel in its place, a "floating" glass roof over the square, a bridge over the Fontanka. However, neither the almost 30 billion rubles of the promised investments, nor the plans to put the entire quarter in order in three years, helped the concept to overcome the skepticism of heritage protection experts and the consequences of the global economic crisis, which stopped many investment projects in St. Petersburg.
Timur Bashkaev's bureau and Studio 44 participated in the 2013 tender. The victory went to Muscovites - Timur Bashkaev offered a nominal cost for the development of a concept sketch of 200,000 rubles, planning to preserve the historical appearance of the facades and not to develop underground space. But even this economical option remained on paper - problems with private owners, whose share in the total area of Aprashka is 170,000 m2, almost a third, could not be resolved quickly without strong political will or funding sufficient to buy back all buildings by the city.
While the Moscow concept was being discussed, the Moscow company Glorax Development ordered Studio 44 in 2015 a new version of the concept for the development of the territory of Apraksin and Shchukin courtyards, where the designers took into account the criticism, first of all, by reducing the underground part - in the past, Nikita Yavein's team proposed to make a four-storey underground parking under the entire territory and, expanding the public function, turn the market into a residential area with a pedestrian zone.
Then, also in 2015, the city government created Apraksin Dvor JSC, transferring to it in trust management about 40,000 m2 Apraksin and Shchukin dvor, part owned by the city and free from investment contracts. The task of the JSC includes the implementation of the work plan for the renovation of the Apraksin Dvor territory, the preservation of cultural heritage sites and the launch of the investment process to adapt to modern use.
To select the developer of the draft design, Apraksin Dvor JSC held a tender in 2017, where Studio 44 won. After 4 months in October 2017, Nikita Yavein's concept successfully passed the Heritage Council.
Fifth hike
The concept presented and approved by the council is the fifth attempt of Studio 44 to radically change the situation with one of the largest ensembles in the center of St. Petersburg, which has turned into a marginal area. This persistence and loyalty to the topic is amazing. Participation in tenders, full-scale research, analysis of each building, preparation of options for constructive and engineering solutions for ruined infrastructure, negotiations with the authorities and with owners, and so round and round, without external funding, at a loss. It is not easy to recall other examples of such a "crusade" in the history of modern Russian architecture.
Principles and methodology
The current proposal of "Studio 44" is not so much a project as a program to change the functional and town-planning state of the territory, its transformation into a full-fledged urban quarter with a developed infrastructure, worthy of the neighborhood of Nevsky Prospekt. People will work and live here, it will be possible to relax and do shopping, go to a performance and an exhibition.
“We have developed several principles for the renovation of the complex, which guarantee the preservation of the historical heritage and the creation of the most comfortable and efficient infrastructure of a living urban area,” says Nikita Yavein.
1. Pedestrian city
The historical network of driveways with a width of 4-8 m is not suitable for full-fledged car traffic. The optimal solution is a completely pedestrian zone with the possibility of passage for special equipment. One of the largest pedestrian zones in St. Petersburg may develop on the territory of Apraksin Dvor.
2. Developed underground space
It continues and develops the basements of existing buildings. The only underground floor is used for loading shops and cafes, access to houses and shops with an underground entrance, as well as for limited parking of 441–757 cars depending on the scenario and funding. Communications are laid in special channels of the underground level, which will facilitate their repair.
3. Residential city
The upper levels of the retail buildings become residential, which allows to get rid of the "solid market" and resembles a shop town with housing above the shops, which is suitable for small businesses, for example, an antique store, a doctor's office or a law office. Several developers and realtors have already confirmed the demand for this kind of real estate in the St. Petersburg market.
The architects tried to find a balance between commercial, public and residential functions. It often happens that a popular cafe or club turns the existence of residents of the upper floors into hell. Therefore, there will be "quiet" - residential, with a minimum public function - and "loud" streets. The number of residential areas, including apartments, hotels and hostels, is approximately equal to the total area of public premises: shops, cafes, offices, coworking spaces, service services, sports clubs, museums, exhibition halls and cultural centers.
4. Multifunctionality
With a bias towards creative industries and travel services, this is not a tribute to fashion, but the result of an analysis of the market situation: these areas should help to achieve a stable demand for both residential, hotel and non-residential areas.
In addition, the architects considered it necessary to take advantage of the neighborhood with the Bolshoi Drama Theater and the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, having given several buildings from the Fontanka side for theater, music and art spaces. Here will appear
an experimental stage of the BDT, into which buildings 50 and 51 will be re-equipped. To preserve the historical appearance of the building, its courtyard will be rebuilt into an auditorium. But the experimental scene is the only example of architects' intrusion into the building structure.
5. Conservation
“We are not demolishing anything and practically building nothing,” says Nikita Yavein. The word "restoration" has been put on the cover of the draft design. Of course, we are talking about historical buildings, and not about the later chaotic extensions and other attributes of the market life of Aprashka. On the basis of previous studies, the architects compiled a passport of the state and work for each (!) Building with a list of all the changes that took place in its appearance and a description of the restoration work - we are talking, in particular, about the opening of the laid openings, the laying of "spontaneous" windows and doors, restoration of facade elements. It is also planned to recreate the bypass galleries on the second floor. Without a high degree of detail and participation of the owners of buildings and premises, the project would be doomed to repeat the fate of its predecessors.
Strategy and tactics
The architects got rid of illusions - except for the belief in a happy ending - and developed a viable concept that can be implemented under any conditions, as far as possible in our country.
First of all, the volume of investments from the city budget has been minimized. The city is required to finance the creation of the underground part, which, according to rough estimates, requires 6-10 billion rubles. In the conditions of the budgetary crisis, there is no reason to count on a blitz-reconstruction a la the Moscow program “My Street”, so the concept has worked out several options: from the minimum to the maximum development of the underground space, comprehensively or in stages, depending on the capabilities of the management company.
Based on the negative experience of past attempts to find a major investor, architects began to work with the owners of individual buildings or blocks directly, without seeking to accumulate real estate in the same hands (for more details about the owners of Aprashka, you can read
here). Obviously, the renovation threatens the owners with a serious restructuring of work and investments, but at the same time, many understand that the existing situation cannot last forever, and active participation in the process puts them in a more advantageous position in the future.
The concept provides for renovation by the “takeover” method, the conclusion of contracts with each of the owners, for whom an exhaustive set of all information necessary for drawing up a business plan has been prepared, which serves as a tool for involving the owners. Already, projects of several buildings developed by Studio 44 are undergoing examination. A number of contracts are on the way.
According to the rough estimates of the authors of the concept, the stage-by-stage renovation of the entire complex will take several decades. But for architects and for the city it is more important that "the process has begun." And there is no doubt that each new restored building, each new fragment of the historical ensemble will contribute to the involvement of new participants and investments, which means that there is a chance to see the revived Apraksin Dvor and, who knows, maybe even rent an attic for a week in order to feel a real St. Petersburg atmosphere in the heart of the city.
