Ирина Мацанова
Novosibirsk is open to experiments in architecture. Contemporary structures are popping up next to merchants' houses and buildings in the style of Soviet Constructivism. One of such contemporary structures can be found on the Engineer Nikitin Square. It is a huge glass sphere in the style of London's St. Mary Axe Tower (designed by Sir Norman Foster). Unlike the London structure, which has forty stories, the Novosibirsk one has only four but, taking into account the relative sizes of the two cities, the appearance of this structure is no less important to Novosibirsk than is the construction of the "The Gherkin" to the City of London.
This project was spearheaded by an entrepreneur named Denis Gerasimov, who popularized the load-bearing structure technology in Novosibirsk back in 2007. In fact, the glass surface of the four-storied sphere is what supports the building, without any additional support structures. The sphere, along with similarly futuristic buildings of the Kokon (Cocoon) Business Center and the Buton (Flower Bud) Mall, adds a fresh touch to the city's architectural mix.
