The Administration of the President of the Russian Federation held a closed competition to select the general designer for the construction of the judicial quarter

Photo: Maxim Atayants Architectural Studio

The Administration of the President of the Russian Federation held a closed competition to select the general designer for the construction of the judicial quarter in the center of St. Petersburg. According to the management's response to a request from RBC St. Petersburg, the company OJSC Saturn ultimately won.

A contract has been signed with the company to carry out design and survey work, the department notes. The management does not name the amount of the contract; there is no information about this competition on the government procurement website or the management website. According to RBC St. Petersburg, the competition was held in the first half of November 2015.

Under state secret

“Given that the design work for the specified complex of buildings involves the use of information constituting a state secret... a closed competition was held to select a general designer among organizations that have the appropriate license from the FSB of Russia,” notes the response to a request from RBC Petersburg signed by the first deputy manager affairs of Nikolai Abroskin.

The architectural studio of Maxim Atayants, which developed the architectural concept of the quarter, did not participate in the competition. The presidential administration noted that this is due to the company’s lack of a license from the FSB of Russia. At the same time, the management’s response indicates that the architectural and stylistic concept developed by M. Atayants’ studio will be taken as the basis for the development of competition documentation. “The issue of the participation of the studio itself in the development of sections of the project is within the competence of the general design organization,” the response says.

The editors have not yet been able to contact the Saturn company. According to Kartoteka.ru , the company was founded in 1994. Over the past years, she has been participating in competitions to carry out work commissioned by government agencies, including the presidential administration. In particular, in 2013, the company carried out work on the comprehensive design of Red Square and the Alexander Garden for the celebration of the 67th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, and carried out work in the B.N. Yeltsin Presidential Library. The company's revenue for 2014 amounted to 1.35 billion rubles, profit - 52.5 million rubles.

Currently, as M. Atayants told a RBC St. Petersburg correspondent, he is negotiating with the chief designer about the form and methods of interaction at the design stage. In accordance with the government contract, design documentation must be ready by September 1, 2016 (only after this the maximum construction cost will be determined). The construction work itself may take three to four years.

Judicial Quarter

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation will be located in St. Petersburg on the territory of the “Embankment of Europe” on the Petrogradskaya side (near the Sportivnaya metro station). Previously, the buildings of the Russian Scientific Center “Applied Chemistry” were located on this territory. Then they planned to build the residential quarter “Embankment of Europe” here, but these plans were not destined to come true. As a result, the land was given over to the judicial quarter.

This fall it became known that the move of the united Supreme Court to St. Petersburg would not take place earlier than 2020, and its cost would increase by 30%. Initially, it was planned that the judges would be able to move to St. Petersburg in 2015, then plans were announced to enter the site in the spring of 2015.

As for the cost of the move, in 2012 it was estimated at more than 50 billion rubles. However, after the merger of the courts in 2014, costs were significantly reduced - in the draft main directions of budget policy for 2015 and for the planning period 2016–2017, the move was estimated at only 23 billion rubles (since instead of two buildings of higher courts, now only one needs to be built). According to the architectural concept of the Atayants Architectural Studio, on a plot of 13 hectares it is planned to build the main building of the Armed Forces and the building for the Judicial Department (total area of 130 thousand sq. m), as well as the Boris Eifman Dance Theater (a separate building with an area of 30 thousand sq. m) . inside the judicial quarter . It is also planned to build office housing for judges

Now the Supreme Court occupies a complex of buildings on Povarskaya Street in Moscow with a total area of 50.5 thousand square meters. m and the former building of the Supreme Arbitration Court in Maly Kharitonyevsky Lane with an area of 5.6 thousand square meters. m, where part of the court apparatus is located. The court employs more than 100 judges and over 1,000 court staff.

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