Lakhta Centre – St. Petersburg
General Facts:
As well as being Famous for Vodka, Red Square and Dostoevsky.
Russia is also known for being the Largest Exporter of Natural Gas.
As a Result, every Energy Company needs and Office.
This Office happens to be the Tallest Skyscraper in Europe.
An Effective piece of Architecture must carry a certain degree of Elegance as well as High Quality.
Good Design, Form and Function tend to be a Great Indicator of High Elegance and Quality.
The Lakhta Tower in St. Petersburg delivers, on all of the above.
Nestled on the Gulf of Finland on the West Coast of St. Petersburg. The Lakhta Center Skyscraper, being 462.7 meters High currently boasts itself as being the Tallest Skyscraper in Europe.
And as of today it is currently the 16th Tallest Building in the World.
TIP: ‘Look into Lakhta Centre Construction in More Detail Here’.
Construction began in 30th October 2012 and Finished in with a Topping out Ceremony on 29th January 2018.
Image 1. Shows the Lakhta Centre in St. Petersburg:
Also holding the Guinness World Record for the Longest Continuous Concrete Pour of 19,624 Cubic Meters over a Period of 49 Hours.
The Project Took 65 Million Man Hours, employing 20,000 People from 18 different Countries and was completed with Zero deaths.
The Skyscraper has a Total of 90 Floors, with 87 being above ground and 3 being underground.
16,500 Curved Panels of Glass were installed, each with their own Shutter System. With the Design of the Glass comes the Ability for the Whole Building to Change its Color depending of the Positioning of the Sun.
TIP: ‘Click Here to View in More Detail About Lakhta Towers Innovation Glass Solutions’.
Image 2. Shows the Skyscraper Changing Colour as per Design:
Design Facts:
The Core of the Building is a Solid Circular Shape all the way through the design, a Pentagon shaped tower is then surrounded by a Façade. The Façade is then attached to the Tower on the outside and continues to change shape as you move up the Building, in a Spiral Pattern.
TIP: ‘Click Here to View Lakhta Towers Structural Make-up in More Detail’.
Due to the Extreme Winter Conditions in St. Petersburg, Snow and Ice Tests were performed in order to Design the Building so that Falling Ice and Snow can be Safely Caught at the Base of the Tower. There is also guttering fitted with integrated Heating at every Spire.
Not only post Construction is Temperature a Factor, but during the Construction of the Steel Core, the Columns, Manufactured in Italy shrink by 1mm after being Transported to Russia.
Over 400m this Equates to a lot of Shrinkage, but all of this was taken into Account during the Pre-Construction and Monitored by Surveyors throughout.
Image 3. Shows the Tower During Winter Conditions:
For the Floor, C80 and B80 Concrete which is Specifically a Cylinder Reinforced Strength, and this was the first time this has been used in Russia.
The Tower Foundation itself sits on 264 Piles. Piles within the Tower Footprint are 65m Long and 55m long outside of the Footprint.
The Tower is also fitted with Ventilation Buffer Zones, which Open and Close to Allow for Natural Ventilation throughout the Building. There are 8 Vents per Buffer Zone, which are all Power Controlled.
Surveying Information:
The Surveying and Structural Health was Monitored using Strain Gauges, which were placed at Levels both above and Below the Four Sets of Outriggers. The Outriggers were fixed at even Elevations at each Quarter of the Total Tower Height. There are more than 3000 Strain Gauges in Total Contained in the Tower.
There are also a Total of 17 Accelerometers at the Base and at all the Outrigger Levels to Measure Frequency, Amplitude and Spectrum of Vibration.
The Verticality of any Skyscraper is always dependent on Tower Stability.
The most Accurate piece of Equipment used by Surveyors on the Project was the, optical precision plummet FG-L100.
The Vertical Laser has only 1mm of Error per Every 100m in Height. Leica Laser Scanners were used at each Level to Monitor Structural Deviations.
There are a Total of 26 Tilt Meters to Ensure Verticality of the Building during Construction, the Tilt Meters can also measure the Tendency of a Building to move Forwards or Backwards. Tilt Meters are also fitted with Temperature Gauges for more Accurate Readings.
TIP: ‘Click Here to Checkout Our Other Video on Other World Structures and Trigonometric Heighting’.
There is a Weather Station at the Summit of the Spire which is also fitted with a GNSS. Aswel as a Deep Benchmark under the Base of the Tower.
Purpose of the Building:
The Building is currently the Headquaters for the MultiNational Energy Corporation Gazprom. Gazprom Primarily Produce Natural Gas, Delivering to 25 European Countries.
Image 4. Shows Natural Gas Being Delivered Via Pipeline:
With a Total Project Cost of: $1.77 Billion USD, the Project was even more Expensive than the Worlds tallest Burj Kahlifah, the Russian Giant Gazprom is now in the Stages of planning a Lakhta Center 2 which will become the Worlds Second tallest Building.
The proposed Lakhta 2 will be a Staggering 703m High, after the year 1703, in which Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg.
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