Sevkabel Port

The public space is located on part of the territory of the Sevkabel factory, the oldest cable manufacturing factory in Russia. It was founded by the German industrialist Werner Siemens in 1879 as a manufactory of the Siemens & Halske trading house for the production of lamps, cables, and switches. It was this company that first connected Saint Petersburg with Moscow by a telegraph network and began to assemble the radio telegraph, invented by Alexander Popov, on an industrial scale.[2]

Siemens & Halske supplied electricity to theatres, shopping passages, the entire Nevsky Prospekt and the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg on a special order from the Emperor. In 1918, the factory was nationalised and given its present name. It subsequently made a substantial contribution to the electrification of the entire USSR.

Winter view of Sevkabel Port from the Gulf of Finland

In 2017, the management of the Sevkabel factory decided to upgrade the area and make it a public site in Saint Petersburg with access to the sea.

The industrial area gradually developed into a cultural and business space. The authors of the project took as a basis the successful experience of their European colleagues who have opened centres of cultural and business activity in the place of unclaimed warehouse terminals, factory yards, and seaports[3]

For example, the Covent Garden district in central London, now home to theatres, pubs, clubs, shopping and entertainment venues, has become a destination for residents and visitors thanks to successful modernisation.[4]

As part of the production modernisation, the Sevkabel factory has moved its capacities to its shops at Kozhevennaya 39, thus freeing up 20% of its total space for the creation of a cultural and business project.[5]

The area allocated for the cluster is situated between the river and the Kozhevennaya line. About one fifth of it — the area near the water — is separated. The working part of the optimised production goes deeper into the town to the north of the street.

Sevkabel Port is located on the banks of the Neva in Vasilyevsky Island harbour, close to the Maritime Station, a monument to Soviet brutalism.[6]

There are several buildings on the site of the new multifunctional space: a three-storey factory management building of the late 19th century with a chimney, a one-storey building designed for the production of cable reels at the factory.

In 2021, the exhibition space became fully operational here[7]

A chain of open public spaces has formed around the perimeter of the largest building. Between the “ribs” of the cable building on the river side they are concrete and textured, matching the Marine Station.[8]

The gates on Kozhevennaya line between the 19th century brick building and the 20th century concrete one — four large rotatable Corten pylons — mark both the factory's past and the creative present of the area, which is an art object that is changed every season.[9]

The open space behind the mansion is divided into two unequal parts: one, which is slightly larger, is allocated to the festival area. The other, smaller but adjacent to the river, became a multifunctional area with a convertible amphitheatre, sun loungers, and an ice rink in winter.

The historic red-brick buildings are mainly used for small workshops, bureaus, and offices, with catering outlets on the ground floors. The Soviet administrative building accommodates a variety of educational and sports projects, as well as shops. The largest production hall, which forms the sea front, includes a multipurpose area, a concert club, and a restaurant on the ground level. The second-level houses the exhibition space.[10]

The pier functions here. This is a particular pride of the architects, as it fully justifies the name “Port” assigned to the new creative space. The boat is running, the new water route is in operation.

An inner Alley was formed within the area between the Soviet buildings[11]

The alley is lined with coil lights inspired by coil installations, with light reflecting off wooden structures. Such lights have wheels, they are mobile and can be easily moved and rearranged.[12]

The first of the buildings open to the public, the former cable tare area, has been given a deep portal decorated with "recessed" circle lamps in the wall, allowing light to be cast through the metal.[13]

Street art murals and the pier tower are highlighted by lights with narrow oval optics.

Special anti-vandal grids have been developed for all ground-mounted units to protect the lights but not to distort the light output.

There is also the first direct current generator in the USSR, the Tesla coil, located on the Sea Square of Sevkabel Port. It consists of a cascade of transformers designed for 1,500,000 volts. It was formerly located in the factory's laboratory, which also had a 2,000,000-volt direct current generator and a 3,000,000-volt pulse generator. The laboratory was set up in 1947 under the direction of Chief Engineer and Director Dmitry Bykov, and the generator was created in 1949 for practical testing of scientific developments[14]

Sevkabel Port was officially opened in September 2018,[15] but the visitors could attend the first event a month after the start of the renovation – in June 2017.

The beautification of the space is an ongoing process. Each phase involves the restoration of industrial architectural objects, their adaptation to modern needs, and the development of areas for cultural events.

Target residents and partners of Sevkabel Port include exhibition projects, IT companies, advertising agencies, architectural offices and design studios, gastronomic and educational projects, showrooms and interior and applied design shops, sports clubs, hotels, theatre studios, and many more[16]

In April 2022, the “Pererabotkinskaya” recycling centre opened in the public space. More than 40 types of fractions are accepted here for recycling, among them such rare ones as: foil, receipts, and blisters from medicines. During the first weekend after the opening, residents of Saint Petersburg disposed of more than a tonne of recyclables.

In May 2022, the inclusive cluster Normal Place was opened in Sevkabel Port in Saint Petersburg. It is a space for conscious consumption, charity and creativity, in which non-profit organizations and social entrepreneurs develop their projects. A coworking space is available here, as well as a variety of workshops and art practices.

The project offers an opportunity to provide jobs for people with special needs.

Traditionally, an outdoor winter ice rink has been open since November 2018 on the territory of Sevkabel Port.

A special cooling system ensures excellent ice quality even at air temperatures of +10 degrees Celsius. The official name of the ice rink with an area of more than 2,200 m2 is the Rink by the Sea.[17]

In Sevkabel Port, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, the development of the eastern part of the project called Eastcable continued on the historic factory site of the joint-stock company I. A. Voronin, Lütsch & Chescher. There are open terraces, a bar line, event facilities, and a view of the sea here.

In the summer of 2019, Sevkabel Port hosted Present Perfect, a three-day electronic music festival with more than 60 artists from around the world. The Berlin music duo Modeselektor headlined the festival.

The annual summer music festival STEREOLETO has been held at Sevkabel Port since 2019.

In the summer of 2021, the exhibition “Andy Warhol and Russian Art” took place at Sevkabel Port, displaying over 100 works by Andy Warhol.

In the autumn of 2021, an international multimedia art exhibition “Hydra. New Media Art in the Context of Eco-Anxiety” took place. Artists from Canada, France, Italy, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, and the UK took part in it.

In 2022, the “Balabanov” travelling exhibition in memory of Alexei Balabanov opened at Sevkabel Port. The project won the annual “Petersburg of the Future” award.

In the summer of 2019, at the XV Congress of the Organization of World Heritage Cities in Krakow, where Saint Petersburg was represented by five projects, including Sevkabel Port, became the winner of the Jean-Paul-L'Allier Prize. This prize focuses on the conservation and management of UNESCO-listed cities.[18]

Chairman of the committee for state control, use and protection of historical and cultural monuments Sergey Makarov and Chairman of the Sevkabel group board of directors Alexander Voznesensky installed a commemorative plaque in honour of this victory of Saint Petersburg.

• 3, 2 hectares – the total area of Sevkabel Port
• 5 former factory buildings found a new life
• 200 metres – the length of the renewed embankment
• 36 hours – the longest event in Sevkabel Port
• In the autumn of 2021 Sevkabel Port was ranked second in the Public Space category of the Treasures of Russia award by National Geographic magazine.