​...The Other Was Just Railroad Gin*

The project of “Ligovsky City” was developed by a large group of architects; the team of A-Len, and our long-standing partners – two companies, which are very well-known on the international design market – Rotterdam-based KCAP and Orange Architects. Our company took part in developing the project at all of its stages: from the idea to making the decision about its implementation. More than a year ago, the leaders of our architectural consortium gathered for a workshop, and, as a result of a brainstorming session singled out the advantageous idea of our colleagues from Orange – a concept of linear construction, inspired by the beauty of the railroad tracks, along which we positioned the houses and green corridors with private yards and public spaces. It was decided to preserve, as technical design elements, the objects that broadcast the importance of the pre-revolution “gray belt”. Most of the members of the town planning council appreciated the concept – currently, Saint Petersburg has no such project, executed in the European traditions of renovating industrial territories. The urban green island “Ligovsky City” that we designed once again proves the efficiency of consortiums, particularly with international colleagues.

We worked together on the Ligovsky City project from the very inception. The architects of A-Len not only supported the development of the project from the standpoint of their knowledge of local legislature, but they also took an active part in developing the concept itself. We relied on the expertise of three offices in order to create a very special project, all the members enriching each other with their approaches and best practices.

When we were in Saint Petersburg still before the beginning of our work, we had the time to take a walk around the future construction site for about two hours, feeling the genius loci – the history of the place is still very tangible here. It was interesting for us to keep up this feeling, even if we fundamentally changed the function of the place – from a freight railroad station, it turns into a bright housing project. Enhancing the character of the place, we are trying to make it worthy of Saint Petersburg.

The historical center of Saint Petersburg is magnificent – it is very well preserved, and, essentially, it is a classic example of a European city. However, the further away you move from the city center, the less humane, logical, and coherent construction becomes. We decided that it was important to trust the identity of this place and create something new for Saint Petersburg: based not so much on the classical as on the industrial heritage of this city.

A-Len knows the city; it knows the construction regulations that are particularly hard and complicated in Saint Petersburg, and it knows how to meet them. The complexity of town-planning legislature in Saint Petersburg leaves its mark on the appearance of the modern housing complexes – unfortunately, you need to be very creative if you want to come up with something different. Besides, Sergey Oreshkin is a member of the town planning council, and he knows how to present projects – without him, we would never have prepared the presentation for the Committee for Urban Development and Architecture. All of this helped our team to make the right choices.

Yet another plus: A-Len helped us to tell the story, which was also very important for building up a dialogue with the city and with the client – this was a guarantee that the concept would be implemented without major changes. We always try to study the context, find the strong points, and feel the spirit of the place. However, we need to admit the fact that we look from a different angle, based on our foreign experience and cultural background.

It is generally accepted that Saint Petersburg is primarily about the quarters of the historical center. We also often work with a block type of development, as, for example, on the Vasilievsky Island. In this case, however, we were inspired by the railroad tracks and the freight containers preserved on the site.