Archinect - News

Scotland-based firm Kettle Collective unveils plan for world's second tallest tower in Russia

2021-05-27T16:07:00-04:00

Scottish architecture firm Kettle Collective has announced plans to build one of the world’s tallest buildings. The tower will be located in St. Petersburg, Russia and stand at 703 meters, making it the second tallest building in the world.

While shorter than Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the 150-story Lakhta Center II will feature the highest occupied floor and viewing gallery of any building in the world at 590 meters. The tower will be located on the outskirts of St. Petersburg and will sit next to the Lakhta Center, Europe’s tallest building and the headquarters of Russian energy company Gazprom.

Design lead and Kettle Collective founder Tony Kettle was previously the design director for Edinburgh architecture practice RMJM and created the competition-winning design for the 462-meter-tall Lakhta Center. The project was later handed over to Russian architect GORPROJECT to complete.

Why is Florida's coastal real estate still booming despite rising levels?

2019-02-20T13:49:00-05:00

In Florida, you will see a bewildering mix of optimism, opportunism and denial in the real estate market: luxury condominiums going up in flood-prone South Beach, and property values rising in the vulnerable Keys, post-Hurricane Irma. And though the House of Representatives passed a bill to require real estate agents to disclose flood risks, the Senate has not reviewed it, and a culture of “systemic, fraudulent nondisclosure” persists in high flood risk areas.

As part of her Climate Changed series for The Guardian, Megan Mayhew Bergman investigates the reluctance of Florida's condominium boom (and the wealthy investors behind it) to cool it a bit on new developments in the face of projected climate change-related devastation.

"Humans tend to respond to immediate threats and financial consequences – and coastal real estate, especially in Florida, may be on the cusp of delivering that harsh wake-up call," writes Mayhew Bergman. "The peninsula has outsized exposure: nearly 2 million people live in coastal cities. On the list of the 20 urban areas in America that will suffer the most from rising seas, Florida has five: St Petersburg, Tampa, Miami, Miami Beach and Panama City. In 2016, Zillow predicted that one out of eight homes in Florida would be underwater by 2100, a loss of $413bn in property."

Lakhta Center, Europe's new tallest skyscraper, now officially commissioned

2018-10-19T20:10:00-04:00

Local officials in Saint Petersburg, Russia have granted the RMJM-designed Lakhta Center Multifunctional Complex the authorization for commissioning of the facility after it passed final inspections this week.

While the grand opening as Gazprom's new HQ is still another year out, the 462-meter/1,516-foot tower is already holding the title of Europe's tallest building, the world's northernmost skyscraper, and sporting the fastest elevators in Russia (wheee!).

Photo: Anton Galakhov

The list of remaining tasks before the Center can officially open to the public is still quite impressive, as the announcement lays out:

"The final preparation of the business and public space by operators and tenants will take at least a year: completion of the finishing, fit-out of the premises, installation of equipment and improvement works.

"In the meantime the following will be prepared for reception of visitors: the highest panoramic restaurant in Europe at the level of 315 meters and a sky deck at...

Authorship dispute erupts over Europe's tallest skyscraper in St. Petersburg

2018-08-08T15:57:00-04:00

A row has broken out between former RMJM international group design director Tony Kettle and a Russian architect over who designed Europe’s new tallest building – an 87-storey skyscraper near St Petersburg. Staff at Moscow-based firm Gorproject have accused Scottish practice The Kettle Collective of trying to claim ‘authorship’ over energy giant Gazprom’s mammoth tower, currently nearing completion on the Gulf of Finland.

As Europe's tallest skyscraper nears completion, a dispute has erupted over the authorship of the completed project. The Moscow-based firm Gorproject claims design authorship over the Lakhta Center, while Tony Kettle claims the delivered design is his concept while working at RMJM. Letters on the issue were sent to the RIBA, the RIAS, and the Union of Architects of Russia. A statement from the client, Gazprom, asserts the design was RMJM’s original 2011 concept with Tony Kettle as design director.

Requiem - Lahdelma & Mahlmäki’s Museum for the Defense and Siege of Leningrad

2018-01-16T23:44:00-05:00

Lahdelma & Mahalmäki Architects have unveiled Requiem, their competition proposal for the Museum for the Defense and Siege of Leningrad, St. Petersburg. The project was undertaken in partnership with Ralph Appelbaum Associates who, together, formed the only international team amongst the four final designs. The design sees an elegant spiral, buried in the landscape, reaching up from the exhibitions which are buried in a vast cavern underground. The route corkscrews out the top of the riverside, reaching outwards to give views over the new St. Petersburg.

Images credit to: Brick Visuals

The Museum for the Defense and Siege of Leningrad and its several components form a powerful spatial composition, connecting to the character and history of the city. The Thread of Life, the Memorial of Heroes of Leningrad and the Square of Testimony all sit against the backdrop of a newly created tranquil river side park.

Images credit to: Brick Visuals

The ‘Thread of Life’ refers to the museum and ex...

This Russian farmer built a stadium out of straw to satirize the new Zenit Arena in Saint Petersburg

2017-07-24T13:13:00-04:00

A farmer in Russia has built a football stadium out of straw to mock the ballooning cost and corruption surrounding the construction of St Petersburg’s Zenit Arena, recently opened for the 2018 World Cup. Although the straw version in the Stavropol region lacks the extra-terrestrial elegance of the Kisho Kurokawa’s design, and while its seating capacity is rather less than 68,000, it was a great deal cheaper: $673 compared with the original’s $720m.

Here's an image of the IRL Zenit Arena:

And here's a video of the construction of the straw parody: