The Felix Chopin Iron Foundry and Bronze Works, which was historically located on this site, which became an integral part of the Iron Rolling and Wire Plant Society at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, changed its name after the revolution to “Red Nailer” (in accordance with one of the types of products manufactured). The name change was followed by the modernization and construction of new buildings: steel-wire, rolling, cable cars, as well as a power plant and a water tower.
Yakov Chernikhov, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (then VKhuteina) and head of the Research Experimental Laboratory for Architectural Forms and Graphing Methods, designed the rope shop and the adjacent water tower.
The future inspirer of all modern urban architecture, forgotten at home and discovered abroad in the 1960s, was born in a small town in Yekaterinoslav Province to a large Jewish family. Since childhood, he has devoted a lot of time to drawing. At the age of 15, he moved to Odessa and entered a local art school. After graduation, he moved to the capital and enrolled in the painting department of the Academy of Arts. At the same time, she is studying at Higher Pedagogical Courses, which gave the right to teach in various educational institutions. In 1925, Yakov Chernikhov completed his studies at the Faculty of Architecture of the Higher Institute of Art and Technology.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Chernyakhov, in his laboratory, together with students and colleagues, was actively engaged in design and experimental work, wrote scientific papers, and created numerous series of architectural fantasies. His books “Fundamentals of Modern Architecture” (1929—1930), “Structures of Architectural and Machine Forms” (1931), “Architectural Fantasies. 101 Compositions” (1933) and others are published.
As fully as Chernikhov's theoretical legacy has migrated to the 21st century, his practical work is so sparingly revealed to us: so far, almost nothing is known for certain about his implemented projects. It is believed that at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, several dozen industrial enterprises were built according to his projects in various parts of the country. These were chemical plants where technology usually took precedence over architecture. But these buildings have been lost and their authorship is considered controversial, although some sources say that almost all the projects of chemical plants in the Soviet Union were under the auspices of Chernikhov.
In this sense, the tower of the Krasny Nailshchik plant is unique. This is the only surviving building by an excellent teacher, methodologist, designer and one of the most mysterious architects that has survived to this day in almost its original form.
Let's take a closer look at our object of admiration: the ensemble's dynamic composition is built on the sharp contrast between the tower's light vertical and the rope shop building stretching along the 25th line of the building. The theme of pylons with wide openings was chosen for the longitudinal facade of the workshop. Its final design was finalized by architect M. D. Felger and engineer K.V. Saxnovsky. They retained their previous structural basis, but the completed building turned out to be simplistic and utilitarian, and was later distorted by later alterations.
Unlike its neighbor, the water tower looks more authentic. With the exception of minor changes (the strip glazing of the upper lamp), it fully corresponds to the original idea of the architect, who embodied his constructivist fantasies and avant-garde thinking. Here, the formative capabilities of the most advanced material of those years, reinforced concrete, are perfectly realized. The narrow tall barrel of the tower, containing a metal staircase, raises the volume of the water tank to the sky, the rounded protrusion of which rests on two thin pillars. The contrast of rigid rectilinear and smooth curvilinear shapes enhances the plastic expression of the tower's laconic composition. The architect uses two simple geometric shapes here: a parallelepiped (stairwell) and a cylinder (water tank). They are connected sharply, without softening or transitions. The axes of the bodies are displaced in such a way that the volume of the cylinder protrudes to the side, resting on two thin column supports. The tower hardly resembles centric pre-revolutionary structures of this kind, which were characterized by their brick weight, solid forms and ornate relief on the facade. The expression of the building is complemented by a figurative characteristic. The architect appeals to the graphic image of the enterprise, which reflects its production profile: the water tank represents the hat, and the outstretched base — the body of the nail — is the basis of any construction undertaking.
The tower was supposed to look especially colorful immediately after its construction in the early 1930s, reflecting the waters of the Oil Canal that had existed here since the middle of the 18th century. It surrounded the brawler of the same name with the letter P and presumably lasted until the 1960s.
By the way, a similar architectural form can be seen in other water towers: in the once Finnish city of Sortavala near the railway station of the same name (1942, architect Jarl Unger), as well as in Yekaterinburg (the so-called “White Tower” by architect Moses Reischer, 1929-1931)
However, it was the Yakov Chernikhov Tower that received the visit of Zaha Hadid, a famous British architect of Iraqi origin, a classic of modern high-tech architecture, in 2004. It is known that Yakov Georgievich's books on architectural theory have always been a must-have item on her desktop.
It took another ten years for the regional authorities to appreciate the futuristic reinforced concrete nail that was firmly hammered into St. Petersburg's historic industrial district. In 2014, the building was included in the list of cultural heritage sites of regional importance. The tower is also included by KGIOP in the “List of newly identified sites of historical, scientific, artistic or other cultural value”. In 2021, it became known about plans to restore this constructivist monument and adapt it to a business center.
We also suggest that you trust the impeccable taste of the creators of the future and go to Vasilyevsky Island to see with your own eyes the symbol of the avant-garde industry, which is now reborn.
