RUSSIA TELLS UN DROP DEAD
RMJM TOWER APPROVED
3,000 DESCEND ON SITE TO PROTEST
Architecture rarely inspires such heated passions but the Gazprom HQ in St. Petersberg has just been approved by the city and the oil giant Gazprom will supply 100% of the financing, thereby eliminating the remaining hurdles to beginning construction on the immense structure. The Tower will rise sharply against the background of the neo-classical urban design of Peter the Great. Once the capital of Russia, the entire city is a wonderland of 18th century Imperial Architecture. The buildings speak of great wealth, inexhaustible resources and immense power.
Flash forward to the 21st century and observe the new czars and the modern expressions of imperial power. Ruled by oligarchs, the massive Gazprom is a money mill for the political and aristocratic class of the new Russia. It's octopus-like tentacles stretch globally in a range of businesses that metastasize from an endless stream of oil money. Unrecognized by many is the fact that Russia has energy reserves that surpass Saudi Arabia's and the wealth it generates has become similarly concentrated.
Erasing inferiority by architecture was Peter the Great's main concern when he undertook the massive development of St. Petersberg. Russia at the time was isolated and backward and as Peter visited Europe, his aspirations for the nation grew. He imported architects, masons and craftsmen of all types and set them on the task of building a city to rival the splendors of Paris. St. Petersberg became both the capital of the country and the doorway to Europe's ideas and cultural acheivements.
In an effort to protect the architectural heritage of a city that represents so much of Russian history, the residents of the city, the UN's UNESCO and a crowd of prominent architects has protested the 1,300 foot tall skyscraper that Gazprom is building. Rising above the Neva river, the phallic glass and steel edifice will soon become another chapter in St. Petersberg's history with a story to tell.
The story however, is sharply different from the heroic tales of nation building that Peter the Great inspired. This tale is one of greed and power, backed by the state and unsupported by democratic actions. Corporate HQ's are frequently hailed as a sign of a company entering a mature state in its growth. Cities that are home to these iconic structures point to them as evidence of modernity and as an attraction for businesses and tourists. The friction arises form the skyline and view changing permanence of a New York or Hong Kong style building plopped down in the middle of a world heritage site.
RMJM, the English architectural firm is responsible for the project and unlike master architects Rafael Vinoly and Lord Foster, have not walked off due to moral considerations. With the final approvals from the City (With allegations of kickbacks) in hand and money available, the construction cranes and bulldozers are already being positioned for groundbreaking. The UN will now consider placing St. Petersberg on its endangered list of world heritage sites worthy of international protection.
Observers of the Russian political scene predict that the men running Gazprom will indicate how much they care for such issues in the most dramatic way possible. They will put up the skyscraper and launch a PR campaign blaming foreign agitators for the hoopla.
The accompanying articles help to illustrate the dynamics of power and how with sufficient monetary reserves, even terrible ideas can be brought to fruition.