SKYSCRAPER

Lakhta Center skyscraper is the highest in Europe, the northernmost in the world and the only one in St. Petersburg. Gazprom, the largest gas company in the world, builds it. Initially, the construction of the building was planned in the historical part of the city, which provoked a conflict between the residents and the city authorities. Scandals accompanying the construction divided the city into two camps: for and against. Interests of big business, authorities and residents clashed. There were concerns expressed that the high-rise building would destroy the historical panorama of St. Petersburg. Advocates of the construction stood for the need to develop and change the modern look of the city. A compromise was found: to move the construction to the coast of the Gulf of Finland away from the center. The attitude of residents to the building is still ambiguous, the skyscraper is called in different names: ‘corn’, ‘needle’, ‘gas-scraper’ or ‘tower’. In Lakhta Center there will be located: Gazprom headquarters, an observation deck, a planetarium, panoramic restaurants and galleries. The skyscraper is 462 meters high and visible from any part of the city.