OAO Gazprom, Russia’s natural-gas exporter, won final approval from the city of St. Petersburg to build what may become Europe’s tallest skyscraper, overcoming objections from local residents and UNESCO.
St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko awarded Gazprom exemptions to the former czarist capital’s zoning laws that allow for the 400-meter (1,300-foot) Okhta Center project to proceed, the city government said in a statement today.
St. Petersburg’s 306-year-old historic city center may be removed from the World Heritage Site list if the skyscraper is built, UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, warned last month. Designed by U.K.-based RMJM Architects, the Okhta Center will serve as the headquarters for state-run Gazprom’s oil unit, OAO Gazprom Neft, and include a concert hall, art museum, hotel and a business center.
“This is a monstrous, barbaric decision,” said David Sarkisyan, director of the Moscow Museum of Architecture. “This tower is a symbol of political ego and people will always resent it,” Sarkisyan said by phone from the Russian capital.