Condominium on Vasiljevskij Island,
st. petersburg, russia october 14, 2009

Did you ever want to know how professionals in other countries work and what challenges they face? Alexej Moldavskij is an architect from St. Petersburg, Russia who has worked on numerous projects in St. Petersburg and Moscow. In this podcast he will tell us about a condominiums project on Vasilievkij Island in St. Petersburg, Russia that didn’t got build.

The project was initiated by a historical society to preserve an archeological site. The developer was given rights to build a mixed-use development but was required to restore and preserve the archeological finds of Mikhail Lomonosov’s laboratory. The site had stood vacant since War World II, after the condominium buildings were destroyed during the bombings. The site has street access and is surrounded by historical residential buildings. All buildings that face the street have to comply with a vigorous building code for a historical district. Such requirements, preventing a building from being higher than 21 meters, preserve the panoramic view of the city which is dominated by old churches and cathedrals. Color pallets have to be selected from 17 colors approved by the historical society. Building elevation that faced the street has to have the same proportions as buildings next to it.

Taking these requirements into consideration, Alexsej Moldavskij proposed to build two separate buildings with retail shops and offices on the first level, condominiums above and underground parking. The foundation of Mikhail Lomonosov’s laboratory was supposed to be restored, including the inside of the building, together with offices for the historical society. The historical society liked the idea of creating a small exhibit and finally restoring Lomonosov’s laboratory. Neighbors, on the other hand, protested this development. Current residents didn’t like the idea of additional condominiums around them. As the project progressed, it started to generate heated debates. The press joined and things got blown way out of proportion. This project started to be called “condominiums on the grave of Lomonosov” by the media. Considering the negative publicity of the project in the media, the historical society decided to back out of the project.

As of today, the site is unbuilt and the archeological discovery of Lomonosov’s laboratory is covered by the soil. As a result, the public realm has lost an opportunity to have a nice courtyard and a restored historical treasure; at the same time, the historical society wasn’t able to create additional office space for research and the developer couldn’t build the condominiums. Everybody lost in this fight except the media, which got a great story out of it.


Aerial rendering of the project. Provided by Alexej Moldavskij.	Exterior elevation. Provided by Alexej Moldavskij.


Lomonosov's laboratory inside proposed building. Provided by Alexej Moldavskij.	Photo simulation. Provided by Alexej Moldavskij.