Scottish architect in Russian skyscraper row

● The design credit for the Lakhta Center is being contested

A row has broken out between a top Scottish architect and a Russian rival over the design of a controversial skyscraper near St Petersburg.

Members of the design team at Moscow architecture practice Gorproject have threatened legal action against Tony Kettle, the former design director of RMJM and the architect behind the Falkirk Wheel, over claims of “authorship” of the Lakhta Center tower project – the new headquarters of Russian utilities giant Gazprom.

Mr Kettle, who now runs his own practice, the Kettle Collective, worked at RMJM for more than 20 years. In 2006, RMJM won an international competition to design a headquarters for Gazprom on a different site, which eventually fell through. Work on a new design, which became the Lakhta Center, was later begun at another location on the Gulf of Finland.

The Gor project designers have now made a formal complaint to architectural bodies the Royal Institute of British Architects and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) over the issue and said that if the Kettle Collective continued to claim ownership of the project, they would consider legal action. The tower, which is the 13thtallest building in the world, was topped out earlier this year.

In the letter originally published by trade paper New Civil Engineer and seen by The Scots man, the G or project team admits that the original Okht aC enter design“influenced the architectural language and style” of the final Lakhta design, but said it was “not realised in its original fashion ”, particularly due to design concerns relating to its new position on the coast.

The letter, signed by 47 architects including chief architect Philip Nikandrov, who also worked forRMJM between 2007 and 2011, said: “We… the design team of architects of The Lakhta Center Project, are writing to express our deep concern, bewilderment and frustration in respect of persistent attempts of the British architectural studio Kettle Collective Ltd in their public presentations, publications and at their website to claim the exclusive authorship of the design of Lakhta Center Phase 1 project.”

Mr Nikandrov also complained personally in asepa rate letter about a similar issue relating to the awardwinning Evolution Tower in Moscow.

Mr Kettle said: “I am aware of a letter written by R ussian architects Gorproject in relation to the Lakht aC enter project in St Petersburg which appears to claim that Kettle Collective Ltd is claiming exclusive authorship of the design of The Lakhta Center Phase 1 project and claims that RMJM and myself, the former design director at RMJM for the project, have no claim to authorship of the Lakhta concept as delivered. This claim is simply wrong. Following the successful conclusion of an International Design Competition, I was responsible for the design of the concept for the project whilst design director at RMJM.”

He added that his personal involvement in the project had continued through Kettle Collective in some work on Phase 2 of the project. The wording of his involvement in the project has been changed since the letter was published.

He added: “There are many projects around the world that have “concept architect” and “deliver y architect” and this is no different. Credit should be given for each stage of the works.”

Maxim Bobkov, spokesman for the Lakhta Center project, said: “The author of the original architectural concept is the company RMJM with Tony Kettle Design Director; developed design of the project was carried out by G or project, working (detailed) design has been conducted by Samsung C&T since 2014 till now.”

A spokeswoman for RIAS said the information sent by Gorproject would be subject to a “review process”.