* The title of the article uses a quote from Boris Grebenshchikov's song "Railway Water"
The third stage of the residential complex "Ligovsky City" is the second joint project of the Dutch consortium KCAP + Orange Architects and St. Petersburg "A. Len". Their creative union was formed in the work on the Golden City residential complex based on the results of the international competition in 2015 - then the jury awarded 2 first places and proposed to unite the participants for joint work. The construction of a large residential complex, crowned with impressive golden structures, is now actively progressing, some of its parts are nearing completion. The interaction turned out to be successful, and last year the same customer, Glorax Development, invited the consortium KCAP & Orange Architects & A. Len to design the third stage of a large residential complex within the gray belt of St. Petersburg. At the moment, the concept has been completed, on its basis the PPT of the site has been agreed upon.
Golden City, a residential complex on reclaimed territories - that is, those that did not exist quite recently - appeals to the genius loci of St. Petersburg in general, saluting with golden gratings and spiers to Petropavlovka and the Admiralty. The nerve of the project of the residential complex "Ligovsky City" is also in the history of the place, but its plot is substantiated somewhat differently.
A plot of considerable area of 30 hectares, shaped like a petal, is part of the gray belt; until 2018 it was occupied by the Tovarno-Vitebsk railway station. The specialists of the A. Len bureau say that at the beginning of the 18th century, the Ligovsky Canal was dug nearby, which supplied the fountains of the Summer Garden and served as a transport artery, in 1837, the Tsarskoye Selo railway was laid to the south of the site, and the Moscow-Vindavo station was built in 1900 -Rybinskaya railway. Although the territory was demarcated for residential development, it was never inhabited, for many years it remained an industrial outskirts with vegetable gardens and rare mansions.
Ligovsky City is, perhaps, the first project for the gray belt, in which architects do not erase the past of a place, transforming chaotically built up lands into linear high-rise blocks, but strive to somehow preserve the spirit of the past. In particular, for the construction of the two previous stages of the same microdistrict - quarters "First" and "Second", completely
the 1905 Sausage Factory was demolished; new houses of indifferent neutral architecture and do not try to communicate anything about the past.
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zooming 1/3 Ligovsky City. Projected residential complex, as well as "First Quarter" and "Second Quarter" © KCAP Architects & Planners, Orange Architects, A. Len
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zooming 2/3 Ligovsky City © KCAP Architects & Planners, Orange Architects, A. Len
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zooming 3/3 Ligovsky City © KCAP Architects & Planners, Orange Architects, A. Len
The concept of the new, third stage is based on the preservation of the pattern of the railroad bed. The rails are being transformed into linear parks and boulevards, and instead of platforms, houses are being built that resemble wagons and freight containers. Because the spatial organization of the site is preserved, architects call their approach "adaptive reuse."
For the sake of fairness, it should be noted that a similar idea of wagon houses put on "rails" was proposed for this site in 2016 as part of the competition for the concept of transforming the southern part of the gray belt "Studio-44". On
City Council, where Ligovsky City was received very warmly, Nikita Yavein approved the idea: “The architects have come up with a compositional principle that follows from history and context. This creates a real variety of shapes. It will be unpleasant if the gray belt turns out to be built up as if there have always been residential buildings here. Ideologically, I like the project very much."
Sergey Oreshkin about the project and its consideration at the City Council:
Sergey Oreshkin, A. Len Architectural Bureau
The project of the Ligovsky City microdistrict was developed by a large group of architects: the A. Len team and our long-term partners - two well-known international design companies KCAP & Orange Architects from Rotterdam. Our bureau took part in the development of the project at all stages: from the birth of an idea to making a decision on implementation. Over a year ago, the leaders of the architectural consortium gathered for a workshop and brainstormed a winning idea from their Orange colleagues - a linear development concept inspired by the beauty of the railroad tracks lined with houses and green corridors with private courtyards and public spaces. It was decided to keep as elements of technical design items that convey the significance of the pre-revolutionary "gray belt". Most of the members of the City Planning Council appreciated the concept - at the moment there are no similar projects in St. Petersburg, carried out in the European traditions of renovating industrial territories. The designed green urban island "Ligovsky City" once again proves the effectiveness of consortia, especially with international colleagues.
In the Ligovsky City project, we started working together from the very beginning. A. Len architects not only supported the development of the project from the point of view of their knowledge in the field of local legislation, but also fully participated in the work on the concept. We use the experience of the three offices to create a very special project, and all participants complement each other with their approaches and specializations.
When we were in St. Petersburg even before the start of work, we were able to walk around the site for about two hours, imbued with the spirit of the place - the presence of history is still felt here very clearly. It was interesting to maintain that feeling, even drastically changing the function of the place - from a railway freight station to a vibrant residential area. By enhancing the character of the place, we try to make it worthy of St. Petersburg.
The historic center of St. Petersburg is magnificent, well preserved and a classic example of a European city. But the further you move away from the city center, the less human, understandable and connected the building becomes. We felt that it was important to trust the identity of this particular place and create something new for St. Petersburg: relying not on the classical, but rather on the industrial heritage of the city.
"A. Len" knows the city, knows the norms that are particularly complex and intricate in St. Petersburg, knows how to comply with them. The complexity of urban planning legislation in St. Petersburg affects the appearance of modern residential complexes - unfortunately, you need to be very creative in order to offer something different. In addition, Sergey Oreshkin is a member of the town planning council and knows how to present projects; it would have been impossible to prepare a presentation for the KGA without his help. All this helped the team to make the right decisions.
Another plus: with the help of the A. Len bureau, it was easier for us to tell a story, which is also very important for building a dialogue with the customer and the city, this is a guarantee that the concept will be implemented without major changes. We always try to study the context, find strengths, feel the atmosphere of the place. But we look from a different angle, based on our foreign experience and other cultural baggage.
It is generally accepted that St. Petersburg is primarily the quarters of the historical center. We also often work with the block type of development, as, for example, on Vasilievsky Island. But in this case, we were inspired by the lines of the railway and the freight containers preserved on the site.
So, in the places of the former cargo platforms, buildings with a height of 6 to 15 floors are growing. Due to the unusual factor of town formation, the configuration of the quarters is really very diverse and incomparable with anything, the microdistrict shows several dimensions at once.
The first dimension is high-altitude. The first two floors in all buildings are to a certain extent unified and are responsible for the scale of the street. Variety and coziness are added here by extensions of no more than four floors with contrasting finishes and shapes - the dryness of perpendicular lines can be diluted by a pitched roof, for example, and the industrial spirit of a brick finish is a warm wood. The middle and still comfortable height is accentuated by wide sections, while the upper level is either light towers or bright "containers" "submerged" on top of each other.
The second dimension - "axial", is set by the vector of green corridors and boulevards, the linear movement of which is interrupted only by a school for 1250 children. The aforementioned "container" method of setting volumes allows you to leave the corridor with blank walls towards the "gallery": the facades facing the inner streets are varied in design and finishing materials, and residents can easily identify their section.
Walking through linear parks, in addition to the usual playgrounds and sports grounds, it will be possible to come across artifacts - witnesses of the past, which, alas, it is often customary to get rid of. But in the project of the third stage, everything is different: it is planned to integrate the preserved cranes, poles, rails and warehouses into public spaces and parks, and the only object of cultural heritage on the site is
the house of the station superintendent according to the project of Stanislav Brzhozovsky, the author of the Vitebsk railway station, is planned to be restored and adapted for a new function. Public parks are located along the main railroad tracks, and more cozy private courtyards are hidden between buildings, which are connected into a single walking route.
Finally, the third position from which the complex can be viewed is a broader, urban-planning one. The entire section will be divided across approximately in the center by only one motor road. The Borovaya metro station is to open near the northern part of the "petal" soon, a friendly ensemble of small height with an "inviting" square is being formed here - a new point of attraction for the region. To the south of the site, the building height increases, ending at the last point with a culmination - an ensemble of three towers, reminiscent of powerful gates.
The entire complex is designed for 8600 people, includes four kindergartens, a large school, underground and surface parking lots. The third stage of Ligovsky City will be built in four stages, starting from the blocks near the Borovaya metro station. Despite the fact that the concept, which implies a wide variety of residential sections, is, in principle, conducive to tenders, at the town planning council the customer announced his intention to entrust the subsequent design to the consortium KCAP & Orange Architects & A. Len.
