At the back end of 2009, the climax of Russia’s Building Festival resulted in the announcement of their annual Building Award. The award is presented to the best building that has been constructed within the previous seven years. Furthermore, the building must have been in use for a period of at least 12 months.

The process of choosing the winner is very democratic in nature. Each member of the jury can nominate one building with the winner decided by the most number of votes. The winner this year was chosen by the award’s sponsors and was won by Sergy Kiselev & Partners and its developer Forum for Hermitage Plaza. This office complex combines brick and glass and has the unusual (at least unusual by Moscow standards) advantage of overlooking a large plaza.

Regardless of the public outcry at plans to build a skyscraper in Russia’s former imperial capital St Petersburg, the go ahead for the project has finally been given the green light. The proposed tower will be 1,322 feet tall and is to be named the Okhta Centre.

The tower will be visable from St Petersburg’s historic centre and is designed by a Scottish architectural company. Plans are for the building to house the headquarters of Gazprom Neft.

St Petersburg is commonly thought of as one of the world’s most beautiful cities but development may impact on its world heritage status.