The history of the "Red Triangle" is about the same as that of the entire "gray belt" of St. Petersburg: the once glorious manufactory, which received a monopoly on the production of rubber products and grew into a small town with its streets and the structure of life, became obsolete over the years, and after the bankruptcy of the company in in the early 2000s, it fell into decay, preserving hotbeds of life in the form of variegated tenants.
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zooming 1/4 View from the intersection of the emb. Obvodny Canal and Staro-Peterhof Street. on the territory of the plant "Red Triangle" Provided by Evgeny Gerasimov and partners
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zooming 2/4 View from the Obvodny Canal to the buildings of the Krasny Triangle plant. Courtesy of Evgeny Gerasimov and partners
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zooming 3/4 View of the cement plant building and the building of the Red Triangle plant Courtesy of Evgeny Gerasimov and partners
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zooming 4/4 View from Staro-Peterhof Avenue to the territory of the plant "Red Triangle" Courtesy of Evgeny Gerasimov and partners
But the "Triangle" also has significant differences, features. First of all, its size. The territory is vast: 34 hectares (a little more than the Hare Island), 80 buildings-monuments, enrolled in the register of KGIOP. Next is the location. Not only is the Obvodny Canal considered the southern border of the historical center, the Triangle also has excellent transport accessibility: there are two metro stations nearby with the prospect of opening an additional exit, Baltiysky Railway Station, and the WHSD junction. And there are also all communications of sufficient capacity.
The main reason why large developers have not yet started working in Triangle is the extremely confused property and legal status of most of its properties. In one building, part of the premises may belong to the state, the other - to tenants of varying degrees of legality, and the third - to no one at all. Some historical buildings have not been studied: there are no technical passports, the historical and cultural expertise has not been passed, so it is not known what can be done with them and what cannot be done.
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zooming 1/7 Red Triangle Factory, historical photography Source: pastvu.com
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zooming 2/7 Red Triangle Factory, historical photography Source: pastvu.com
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zooming 3/7 Red Triangle Factory, historical photography Source: pastvu.com
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zooming 4/7 Factory "Red Triangle", historical photography
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zooming 5/7 Factory "Red Triangle", historical photography. This photo shows how all the machines were set in motion before the advent of electric motors.
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zooming 6/7 Factory "Red Triangle", historical photography. Galoshes warehouses
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zooming 7 / 7
The hand of the tenant and the restorer touched the western corner of the "Triangle": a business center is located in several buildings, and the beauty of industrial architecture is clearly visible here - cast-iron columns, Monier vaults. But to the east, for the most part, real devastation reigns: it happened, in the nineties, equipment was thrown directly into stairways or windows, they broke through structures to basements, fires happened several times. It's dangerous to be here.
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zooming 1/11 Plant "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 2/11 Plant "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 3/11 Plant "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 4/11 Plant "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 5/11 Plant "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 6/11 Plant "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 7/11 Factory "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 8/11 Plant "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 9/11 Plant "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 10/11 Factory "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
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zooming 11/11 Factory "Red Triangle", St. Petersburg. State of the art Photo © Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners
There have already been several approaches to the development of the territory: they wanted to turn the Triangle into a technopark, a sports cluster, a museum of the siege of Leningrad or a motorcycle culture center, but they did not go further than proposals. Meanwhile, bright objects were reviving from the “gray belt”: the creative space “Tkachi”, the Central Museum of the October Railway, the gas tank-planetarium, the business complex “Obvodny Dvor”. All of these are successful examples, but point-to-point. But the “case” of the “Red Triangle” could really turn the tide and launch a clumsy mechanism for transforming the huge “gray belt”.
In 2017, the Property Fund became the operator of Triangle, which did two important things: it ordered a study of tenants for the Institute of Urban Studies at ITMO University, and a concept for the development of the territory was commissioned by the Evgeny Gerasimov & Partners workshop.
The workshop, especially now, with the concept of the "Triangle" in the portfolio, can confidently be called the main one in the city for working with former industrial territories. The company worked with projects to transform the territories of the Levashovsky plant and the Khimvolokno and Plastopolymer plants. Examples of successful gentrification with the participation of the architects of Evgeny Gerasimov's bureau are the residential complex Europe-City, Tsarskaya Stolitsa and Nevskaya Ratusha - it was built on the site of the former tram park and became a real gentrification driver for its area. In 2016, a joint project with SPEECH won first place in an international competition for the concept of transforming the entire gray belt.
The main idea of the workshop is to make the territory multifunctional. Create a comfortable environment with a well-thought-out planning structure, into which residential buildings will be integrated. As soon as the "Red Triangle" becomes accessible, safe and convenient, it will attract money and people, entail the development of neighboring areas and thus create conditions for business development.
The architects decided to consider several b about the largest territory: from Stachek Square to the Obvodny Canal, from Staropeterhof Avenue to Rosenstein and Ivan Chernykh streets. A number of other industrial buildings, operating and abandoned, fall under it: for example, the complex of the Electroplating Institution of the Duke of Leuchtenberg, ZAO Reinforced Concrete Structures and Details and others.
According to the concept, all historical buildings with a conservation status, as well as other buildings “at least somewhat beautiful or valuable” will be preserved, freed from later layers, and restored. They can accommodate anything: from environmentally friendly production to creative residences, a variety of museums, offices, workshops, sports centers. Buildings that have no value and only litter the space should be demolished.
To formalize the boundaries of the territory, to turn it from loose and half-abandoned into an urban one, the gaps along the contour of the "triangle" - to build up with housing. Wherever there is housing, there are kindergartens and schools. And in the "heart" to place a large park and square. This creates a full range of functions: working, residential and public, which makes the territory active around the clock. This is also an important difference and precedent.
The workshop presents the conceptual scheme in the beloved form of the Suprematist composition - a similar approach was also in
project for the territory of the Levashovsky bakery. However, behind a beautiful picture there is a logical and orderly justification, as there is truth behind a beautiful mathematical formula.
The workers of the workshop followed the development of the territory: how the grooves of land appeared on the site of the former park, how life began to boil next to the artery of the Obvodny Canal, and how then part of the Tarakanovka River was filled up. The industrial territory had its own logic of development, its own communications, and the concept in many respects was about their restoration.
Perhaps the most important element for the city is the ellipse, a large park with an area of about 7.5 hectares. Architects see it as "post-industrial": the remnants of rail tracks, single-track tracks, turning platforms, girder cranes and other evidence of the industrial past will be preserved and made part of the landscape. A road runs along the outer contour of the ellipse, which will connect all parts of the future complex - new residential buildings, as well as a school and a kindergarten. In total, six residential buildings with a height of 28 to 40 meters are expected with a classic rectangular structure, an axial composition and closed courtyards. (On the master plan, new residential buildings are highlighted in white).
The next figure is the triangular square, the main space for various events, from major festivals to open-air film screenings. On the square, it is proposed to preserve the chimney, the red-brick building, which is now occupied by a photographic studio, as well as the building of a cement factory, which could be turned into a kind of Museum of Modern Art in Cape Town, as an art object.
The smaller rectangle is the Duke of Lichtenberg promenade, a pedestrian boulevard, a kind of entrance to the square.
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zooming 1/5 Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art © Iwan Baan
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zooming 2/5 Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art © Iwan Baan
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zooming 3/5 Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art © Iwan Baan
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zooming 4/5 Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art © Iwan Baan
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zooming 5/5 Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art © Iwan Baan
All together, it connects the boulevard, laid along the former channel of the Tarakanovka, which began from the Fontanka - this line is now clearly visible on the maps from the outlines of the boulevard along Tsiolkovsky Street - flowed through the present Stachek Square and flowed into Yekateringofka. Architects poetically call it the "green river". Here the coveted idea of a continuous green frame is embodied: the linear boulevard of Tsiolkovsky flows into the “post-industrial” park “Tregolnika”, which is just a stone's throw from the landscape Yekaterinhof.
Thus, the concept links the interests of many parties: the city, business, ordinary residents. To make it even more viable, the architects suggest dividing the territory into "development stages" and carefully examining each one, adjusting it, while maintaining the general message.
Considering that now for the first time on the territory of the "Red Triangle" they are working in a comprehensive manner, developing not only an architectural concept, but also a business plan, and a mechanism for consolidating current and future tenants, there is a hope that this option is finally the last, and soon "Triangle" will again become a part of city life.
