The oldest cable plant in Russia, founded in 1879 by Karl Siemens, and after the revolution renamed Severny or Sevkabel, is located in the western part of Vasilievsky Island at the mouth of the Neva, not far from the brutalist Seaport of the architect Vitaly Sokhin (not to be confused with the Marine Facade). For several years, the territory of Sevkabel has been undergoing post-industrial transformations: production was reorganized, it began to take up less space, creative workshops, cafes, restaurants, and a farmer's market appeared in the vacated part; the embankment has been improved, the place has become popular. Meanwhile, it is planned to preserve harmless production, but now it will coexist with city life. The master plan for the reorganization of the plant's territory was developed by the Khvoya bureau; the same architects are working on the renovation of building B, a large concrete building on the banks of the Bolshaya Neva. The building should become a kind of the main river facade of the renovated territory, since the view from the river is wonderful, and the view from it to the water is also wonderful. Therefore, the Sevkabelport management company held an open international competition called “Horizon” for the “construction of a campus on the roof of production building B as part of the next stage of territory redevelopment”; the competition was organized by Project Baltia magazine. The results were announced at the end of May. The winner was the project of the architects DNK ag, which we are considering in more detail.
The bidders were required to: place on the roof of a Soviet concrete building an open public space overlooking the Bolshaya Neva, the width of the mouth of which here is about a kilometer; to create an object that would be noticeable and could pretend to be a sightseeing - especially since this summer the route of a tourist boat, entering the mouth, was opened, making it a part of the representative river "facade" of the city. Finally, a certain amount of office space was required on the roof. The authors were provided with a diagram of the approximate loads that, according to calculations, the frame of an existing building can withstand - according to the data provided, it was quite obvious that it can mainly be loaded in the eastern, right, if viewed from the river, part, and to a lesser extent - in the western one. left.
What determined the composition of the add-on proposed by DNK ag. The volume of the office part is located on the right and received the iconic shape of two cable reels, somewhat similar to those exhibited on the territory of the cluster as a reminder of the specialization of the plant, but not repeated, of course, literally, but flat and thin, especially in profile. Another association of a composition of two discs - the sign of infinity - was voiced by the authors at the competition and, according to the architects, aroused the sympathy of the organizers.
The discs turned out to be an ergonomic shape for office spaces: two continuous glass contours, external and internal, guarantee an abundance of natural light. Outside, a string of views of the city and the river opens, an almost circular panorama of the distant "sky line", also a kind of infinity.
The width of the arched volumes allows for all layouts, both openspace and cabinet, - the architects give examples of different options. The useful area is minimally occupied by the staircase and elevator nodes, and two of them are already in the building, they only need to be extended, and one is on the axis of intersection of the two discs, which ensures equal remoteness of spaces, the authors of the project suggest adding. A spiral staircase may appear on the same axis in the center - if there is only one tenant, anchored, it will help to connect the two floors with a spectacular spatial “screw”. In the round courtyard of the eastern disk, there is an amphitheater courtyard for employees' recreation, closed from the public, but with an open sky you have to head.
Under the same disk located closer to the end of the building, the architects found a place for ventilation chambers and technical rooms, which, as a result, do not spoil the view or silhouette, but are modestly hidden under the floor.
-
Image 
zooming 1/6 The concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Superstructure concept © Architectural group DNK ag
-
zooming 2/6 The concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Floor plan of the 2nd floor © Architectural group DNK ag
-
zooming 3/6 Concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. 1st floor plan © Architectural group DNK ag
-
zooming 4/6 Concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Section © Architectural group DNK ag
-
zooming 5/6 Concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Section © Architectural group DNK ag
-
zooming 6/6 Concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Schematic section © Architectural group DNK ag
The solution is not only optimal, but even seems to be a kind of sketch on the theme of the ideal office: the essence, brought to the iconic laconicism. After all, what is an office - a box with glass walls and an atrium for additional lighting inside. So here we are shown a composition of two slices, "slices" of typology, reduced to an economical circle shape, without atrium glazing and without corners. Even Konstantin Melnikov said that corners get in the way - remember now his house? Here's another association for you, this time from the classic avant-garde.
The disks are installed with a shift one above the other, forming a "ladder": as if the flying saucers land on the roof one after another in a tight dispatch schedule. The material the authors prefer - corten, oxidized iron - makes the discs also look like gears of a frozen mechanism, which reinforces the industrial theme and is especially readable on the layout, where the architects used corten plates. The relief of the stripes along the edges of the discs enhances the resemblance to both gears and reels - and in general emphasizes the industrial image.
-
zooming 1/3 The concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Layout © Architectural group DNK ag
-
zooming 2/3 The concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Layout © Architectural group DNK ag
-
zooming 3/3 The concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Layout © Architectural group DNK ag
The retro-technogenic image of "rusty" coils from the side of the Leather Line also echoes the rotary corten pylon plates designed and realized by the Khvoya bureau as the decoration of the main entrance to building B.
But back to the office drives and the roof. More than half of the open space is public. The upper disc, the beams of supports of which converge to the contour of the courtyard under the "occulus", by two-thirds serves as a canopy for the open courtyard under it. This is a transitional zone, the entrance to the offices from the roof is located here, its steps, repeating the arc of the second disc, are combined with the amphitheater. The console - a very large one, rather not a console, but a house on legs - not only hangs spectacularly, but is also large enough to protect from the frequent St. Petersburg rain or the rare sun. The part covered by the canopy is also interpreted by the architects as a weather-protected exhibition space.
In the middle of the open part of the roof there is a glass dome of the central staircase - part of the reconstruction of the building according to the project of the Khvoya bureau architects. Behind it is an open area for concerts and other things; its main feature lies in transformability: here you can create various compositions and enclosures using movable benches and tubs with trees. Further, at the open western edge, there is a cafe pavilion, two views of which have been turned into steps of an amphitheater. From here, as well as from the roof of the cafe, you can watch concerts.
In general, there are a lot of games with elevations and depressions: the entire floor of the roof will, according to the project, be raised so that the existing concrete fence does not interfere with enjoying the panorama. But in the pavement, there are indentations for hammocks, for a quiet rest. Along the panorama there is a string of benches, which sometimes rise upwards by 2-3 steps of mini-amphitheaters for contemplating the water and the city. In the northern part of the open roof, DNK ag has placed a small weather station for the Arctic Museum, which is planned to be located, among other things, in the main part of Building B.
-
Image 
zooming 1/3 The concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Nightlife © Architectural group DNK ag
-
zooming 2/3 The concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Roof with bar © Architectural group DNK ag
-
zooming 3/3 The concept of a public and business campus on the roof of production building B on the territory of Sevkabel Port. Axonometry © Architectural group DNK ag
In a word, the functions of open space are flexible and designed for different types of pastime. But it will be possible to walk on the roof as well - a looped route about 400 m long has been laid along it. The details should be clarified during the implementation process, but so far there is an idea of a circular bypass of the second disc at the roof level, and a circular observation deck on the roof of the first disc-console.
It turned out to be a curious type of office, not entirely new, but still rare: on the one hand, part of the "cluster" in a former factory, on the other, a completely new building in a very favorable location, high, with panoramas, a great place for some somewhere headquarters. Surrounded by an abundance of spaces for social life, complexly graded in accessibility and importance, yet flexible. It is very post-industrial, and at the same time - a building-sign, in essence a sign that interprets the peculiarities of St. Petersburg: this city is horizontal, but loves accents, the eye in its best parts moves from one recognizable thing to another. So, there is both a horizontal line and a speaking accent, whose industrial imagery perfectly correlates with the "constructivist" bulkhead of the transport terminal, carried out from the "B" building to the river: from here the cables were loaded directly onto the ships. This is noticeable from the water, but especially good - from the embankment.
