Strelna harbour, Saint Petersburg (RU)

PRECEDENT

The history of the development of the seaport in the city of St. Petersburg dates back to 1703, almost simultaneously with the foundation of the city. Nowadays the port is the largest transport hub in the northwest of Russia with a total of 31km of length for activity.

It offers a great variation of embankment scenarios and waterfront design. The General Plan of St. Petersburg 2005-2025 proposes to move the commercial port to the outskirts of the city, leaving the port with great potential for development.

ANALYSIS

The area of Strelna is located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, between the historical center of St. Petersburg and Peterhof. Currently it isn’t well integrated with the consolidated urban area. There is a noticeable widespread of small settlements and harbours along the area, which are not connected to each other or to the waterfront.

Leonidov’s Linear City Magnitogorsk

MASTERPLAN

Inspired by the Russian avant-garde architect Ivan Leonidov, the proposal brings forward the addition of new services along the coast as well as open public spaces. The masterplan aims to create urban nodes along the coast by providing more routes to the existing harbours. Moreover, the existing green areas would be treated and interconnected with the rest of the city, revealing a green belt running along the coast.

The urban nodes would serve as attractors to visitors, as well as complimentary functions to the residents alongside all the waterfront. The current city port would be transformed into an area of culture, education and leisure, besides being an area of commerce and sustainable living.

PROPOSAL

After exploiting the potential of Ivan Leonidov's Linear City on the whole coast of Strelna, the focus narrowed down on the existing harbour of Kirovsky district. The idea behind the revitalisation of the harbour was to create a hub for culture, commerce and recreation. The piers are connected through train lines to minimise the use of car, while the main focus lies on creating greenery that interconnects the recreational areas. The main nodes of the piers are the locations the buildings developed: the Commercial line, the Learning center and the Palace of culture.

Palace of culture | Kanonersky Island

PALACE OF CULTURE

Located in the Kanonersky island, the palace of culture rises up among the trees; it is connected by tramway and via ferry to the entire harbour. The monumental building is contained in a geodesic dome with a ramp that gives access to the rooftop of the palace.

It houses an auditorium, mediateque, exhibit gallery, workshops, lecture halls, dance halls and a chess club; as well as an underground plaza with cafeteria.

Level 7

Level 5

Level 4

Level 1

Level -2

Section a-a'

Section b-b'

STRUCTURE

The Palace of Culture is housed within a geodesic dome with a foundation ring. In addition to the ring, it has a foundation slab with load bearing walls that contain the underground levels; while the columns of the building have reinforced concrete piles as foundation.

Core + beams + columns | Structural axonometry

MPV architecture

Strelna harbour

In collaboration with Gëzim Rushiti and Stefano de Gennaro

Palace of culture

Located in the Kanonersky island, the palace of culture rises up among the trees; it is connected by tramway and via ferry to the entire harbour. The monumental building is contained in a geodesic dome with a ramp that gives access to the rooftop of the palace.

It houses an auditorium, mediateque, exhibit gallery, workshops, lecture halls, dance halls and a chess club; as well as an underground plaza with cafeteria.