SKK was one of the largest sports facilities in the USSR, the first in the world to be covered with a prestressed steel membrane. The hall housed a football field and a running ice track; all in all, the arena could host competitions in 14 sports. At the international congress in Paris in 1988, the building was recognized as one of the most outstanding in the 20th century, along with the Eiffel Tower and the Channel Tunnel. The experience of the SKK made it possible to use membrane structures at many facilities, including the Olympic ones.
The designs were developed by LenZNIIEP engineers Oleg Kurbatov and Yuri Eliseev. A membrane shell with a thickness of only 6 mm covered the hall with a diameter of 160 m. The membrane was attached to tension cables anchored in the foundations. The part of it, adjacent to the reinforced concrete support ring, was made with elliptical cutouts, and was attached to it with the help of hinges at 112 points - the structure of the building made it possible to see this solution from the outside. The membrane consisted of 56 sectors of 350 m2, each was made at the factory, delivered in rolls to the site. To protect the supporting structures from corrosion, they were metallized with zinc and painted with red lead. The upper surface of the membrane was protected by a multi-layer waterproofing carpet.
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zooming Sports and Concert Complex "Petersburg" Courtesy of M. Ya. Reznichenko
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zooming Roll out the membrane roll. Sports and Concert Complex "Petersburg" Courtesy of M. Ya. Reznichenko
Since the 1990s, fewer and fewer sporting events have been held at the SKK; more recently, it has been used mainly as a venue for concerts and fairs.
In the fall of 2018, it became known that the World Ice Hockey Championship in 2023 will be held in St. Petersburg. Soon after that, sketches of the arena appeared, which the customer - the hockey club SKA - decided to build on the site of the SKK and which "was supposed to surpass all existing ice arenas." The project was worked on by the company "Livequality Evolution".
Meanwhile, the City Council twice voted against the project, many already then spoke about the value of the building and the possibility of adapting it to the requirements of the championship.
Over the next year, city rights activists tried to get the complex included in the list of cultural heritage sites, which would protect it from demolition. According to the existing legislation, this can be done only after the building reaches 40 years of age. Thus, only
February 1, 2020.
In the fall of 2019, a fence was installed around the SKK and the stands began to be dismantled. In January 2020, ISP Georekonstruktsiya prepared an examination, according to which the membrane structure of the roof was in an emergency condition (fragments of the examination can be found here). On January 29, another sketch of the new arena, prepared by GorKapStroy, was shown.
On January 31, workers cut 16 cables that secure the SCK membrane to the concrete support ring. The structures of the building collapsed by 80%, one of the workers was killed. The dismantling continues now.
There are many questions to what has happened. Was the building in disrepair and could it be adapted to the new function? Was there any permits for dismantling works? If the CCM is so valuable, why didn't you manage to protect it? We talked about all this with architects and engineers.
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Union of Architects
From the official
statements:
“On January 31, 2020, an unprecedented act of vandalism was committed on the territory of St. Petersburg.
Obviously, those who are truly responsible for the accident will present what happened as if they averted an imaginary future catastrophe with numerous casualties due to the supposedly “dilapidated” building. Such a technique can be a distraction of attention from their own incompetence, since not all citizens are obliged to know that, according to paragraph 6 of Article 384, when designing a building, “an emergency design situation after the failure of ONE of the supporting building structures must be taken into account”. At the same time, before the building collapsed, the organizers of the operation to destroy it removed from work about 20% of the total number of supports - which can be equated with a rehearsal of an act of destruction.
It should be noted that in the course of the sad event, the nature of the collapse revealed the absolute structural reliability of the membrane - the main part of the historical design of the SCC.
The St. Petersburg Union of Architects insists on restoring the main structure during the construction of a new arena."
Svyatoslav Gaikovich
Head of the Studio-17 architectural bureau, vice-president of the St. Petersburg Union of Architects
“The attitude to the SCC now should be expressed from two positions: both to the object itself and to the dismantling work carried out. We can say about the works that this is hooliganism and partisanism, which ended in tragedy. And the SKK is an architectural and cultural monument. It is very complex, since the constructive essence prevails in it - but it is this that is the achievement of Russian science and technical thought, which has received worldwide recognition. The building should receive the status of a cultural heritage site - this is a fact.
After the collapse of the SKK, the Union of Architects convened two meetings of the presidium. Following the results of the first, an official statement was issued. The second took place with the participation of leading designers - Grigory Belenky, Kirill Rashi and Anton Smirnov. During the discussion, the presidium of the St. Petersburg Union of Architects came to the conclusion that even now the restoration of the SKK structures is more technically and economically feasible than new construction.
The persons responsible for the preparation for the Ice Hockey World Championship, in my opinion, should punish the performers of the barbaric demolition and restore the main structure. In the project of the renovated building of the SKK, it is necessary to use it, observing all the requirements of the International Ice Hockey Federation. There are such projects. The foundations have been preserved, the supports, the concrete ring, the membrane should be restored, and it is imperative to repeat the abutment of the membrane edge with ellipsoidal cutouts to the support ring, and so that it is still visible to any passer-by.
If the SKK had not been demolished, the reconstruction would obviously have been easier to carry out. But we architects and designers continue to insist that even now it is wiser and faster than building a completely new arena. In general, we architects do not care much about the issue of guilt and economic damage. This issue will be sorted out without us. It is important for us that the organizers of ice hockey competitions do not sweep away the achievements of national culture on their way."
Anton Smirnov
Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Architectural and Building Structures of St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, lecturer at St. Petersburg State Academy of Civil Engineering named after I. E. Repin, Chief Designer of the ASTAL Design Bureau
“As a result of the survey carried out by LLC ISP Georekonstruktsiya, water accumulated under the roofing cake in the form of multiple water bubbles, which was treated by layering new patches, and not by drying and replacing the roofing carpet. The thickness of the main working diaphragm has decreased from 6 mm in places to 3.5 mm. That is, the famous double reserve of Soviet structures was almost exhausted. It was ordered to replace 60% of the roof, as well as the support sections of the membrane and other elements.
However, this was only a pretext for demolition. Repair of the roof and replacement of its fragments was possible, and the required 22,000 places in the SKK could be accommodated through reconstruction.
On January 31, the dismantling was carried out asymmetrically. The two-belt system on a circular plan works only axially symmetrically. The support ring only works in full compression with slight bending from wind load. Cutting 16 out of 112 horizontal sail supports of the membrane led to the loss of stabilization of the fragment of the reinforced concrete ring and its bulging outward. The ring in the zone of loss of connection with the membrane collapsed from compression with bending. The rupture of reinforcement in reinforced concrete from the inside led to instant brittle failure of the support ring at several points from the horizontal bend with compression. Then, from the dynamic jerk of the destabilized membrane, from the loss of stability of the vertical position, the entire system of support pylons collapsed. The building folded inward. There was a so-called avalanche, or progressive destruction, for which after 11.09.2001 all unique structures must be calculated. However, then such a calculation was probably not carried out. The building only lived for 40 years. And this is a terrible age, which, alas, it did not survive! It can be called the "Titanic" of Soviet architecture, which has untimely gone into the abyss of modern, quirky life."
Margarita Reznichenko
Chief Designer of the architectural studio "Evgeny Gerasimov and Partners", Honored Builder of the Russian Federation
“I started my career after graduating from the institute in 1972 in SKO (special design department for the design of spatial structures), the chief designer of which was Oleg Kurbatov (one of the authors of the SKK membrane. - Ed.). The main work on the design of the supporting structures of the SCC was completed, so my participation was scanty: the development of fixing points for fixtures on technological walkways. I had to climb the bridges, but even that was interesting to me.
CCM is a memory of the era of upsurge, the atmosphere of creativity and enthusiasm. Science flourished, they carried out research, built and tested models, developed non-standard individual solutions, many employees of the department had patents for inventions. We tried to embody any ideas of architects. From an engineering standpoint, this is an art, and coating designs are music in metal. It is not without reason that the scientific and technical community included the CCM in the list of the greatest achievements of the twentieth century.
For the first time in the world, the diameter of 160 m was covered with a membrane only 6 mm thick, which became possible due to the correctly chosen shape - spherical, its radius, as well as the stabilization system: prestressed cables stretched from the columns to the inner steel ring suspended from the membrane. This design is resistant to both dynamic loads and uneven loads, and also weighs little. The attachment point of the membrane to the reinforced concrete ring was patented. The erection of such a structure required high skill from all participants - from the leadership to the last performer.
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zooming 1/3 Sports and Concert Complex "Petersburg" Courtesy of M. Ya. Reznichenko
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zooming 2/3 Sports and Concert Complex "Petersburg" Courtesy of M. Ya. Reznichenko
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zooming 3/3 Sports and Concert Complex "Petersburg" Courtesy of M. Ya. Reznichenko
The conclusion about the accident rate of the membrane is not substantiated. The membrane could be opened in sections and restored. And all the structures of the coating could be restored and, if necessary, strengthened. Apparently, such a task was not set. But inside it would be easier to dismantle everything, clean up and build what is required.
The dismantling organization project is also a complex and responsible work that requires the involvement of competent specialists, including in the field of settlements. It is easier to cut the bearing shrouds on one side so that everything will collapse at once. I am very sorry for the worker who was not warned of the consequences. It is very painful and insulting that one can simply take and destroy such a unique structure without documents, without permission.
Alas, the CCM cannot be restored. You can at least preserve the appearance and space around. The approach to spectacular structures must be free. It is difficult and useless to defend historical buildings with slogans. This should be resolved at the state level with the involvement of independent specialists and the allocation of funding."
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zooming 1/4 Cuts. Sports and Concert Complex "Petersburg" Courtesy of M. Ya. Reznichenko
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zooming 2/4 Plans of the 1st and 2nd floor. Sports and Concert Complex "Petersburg" Courtesy of M. Ya. Reznichenko
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zooming 3/4 Assembly and drawing of the membrane. Sports and Concert Complex "Petersburg" Courtesy of M. Ya. Reznichenko
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zooming 4/4 Sports and Concert Complex "Petersburg" Courtesy of M. Ya. Reznichenko
Evgeny Gerasimov
Head of the architectural studio "Evgeny Gerasimov and Partners"
“CCM is valuable for me in two ways. First, as a city property, which means mine too. I do not understand why my property is given to some people for destruction and making money. Why is it necessary to subsidize billions of already not poor people for this? Let them buy the building and the land from the city. Secondly, it is a unique building of Soviet architecture. The process of destruction showed that it did everything it could and even more - it resisted and stood. Such a margin of safety! The rest is slyness.
Appetites for capacity had to be tempered. Look not at the letter of the law, for which one day was not enough, but at its spirit. Develop within the framework of reconstruction, take on a building with all obligations. Let the CCM be handed over even under the “1 ruble per monument” program, but with protective obligations. Or they chose another place. In all major cities, stadiums are being built along the ring roads - easy to get to, lots of parking spaces, people from the suburbs can get there. Buy land, earn money - please.
All those guilty must be severely punished. It is necessary to punish those officials who were conniving. Dismantling project, dismantling project - were there any? Not a single building, not even a monument, is worth a person's life."
Workshop of Anatoly Stolyarchuk
“SKK is a vivid example of late Soviet architecture with unique constructive solutions. The object was designed at the LenZNIIEP Institute, where we worked and were personally acquainted with the authors of the project - outstanding architects and engineers.
In our opinion, a number of factors led to the disaster, namely:
- the desire of the owners to demolish the existing building at any cost for the construction of a new one;
- safety violations during dismantling without any justification;
- insufficient control over the situation of city authorities, public organizations, and all of us.
In our opinion, it was possible to make a genuine reconstruction. It is necessary to form legislation in the field of regulation of architectural and urban planning activities, in which such phenomena will become impossible."
Evgeny Podgornov
Head of the INTERCOLUMNIUM architectural studio
“I can't say anything about the technical condition, three offices - three different opinions, any building can be accepted as emergency if the owner wants it.
The value of the SKK is also in the fact that it was included in the ensemble of the Victory Park, closing the axis. It was a clean, professional building. In the new versions, most of all questions are about an asymmetric solution, “down”. The last attempt is a more correct direction. It is embarrassing that this is only the first part of the complex, there would be no residential development there. There should be something sacred in the city, not built up with housing.
The new project will have to be discussed at the city council. I think there is no point in repeating the lost building “one to one”. In addition, this is not possible, since the dimensions will change in the new project. In general, the whole situation gives rise to a feeling of deception, if only due to the fact that the whole day was not enough until the 40th anniversary of the monument."
Sergey Oreshkin
Head of the architectural bureau "A. Len"
“SKK is a cross section of cultural and architectural life, a representative of an era from which only a dozen objects remained in the city. Now there is one more page missing. This is just a beautiful building with a harmonious rhythm - there are only a few of them. There is a feeling that the spiral of history is twisting back in the direction of organized forms, after the not always successful experiments of star architects. In the direction of such objects as CCM - honest, with mathematical harmony and delicacy. And there are very few of them left in Russia. The new arena options that we are offered are below this level, to put it mildly.
As for the accident rate, it is difficult for architects to assess the structural condition of a building, we cannot speak in numbers and calculations. The renovation, of course, was needed, and it could be done. A compromise solution, not too clean, is to increase the diameter and height. There are a lot of examples of modernization of stadiums”.
