The Vasilyevskiy Island masterplan creates a blueprint for extending the city of St Petersburg by reclaiming 480 hectares of land from the island’s current coastline. The extension will provide new residential, commercial and financial districts as well as parkland and seaside beaches. A new marina at the centre of the development will allow up to seven large cruise ships to dock at any one time.

Our environment group was appointed to undertake an initial assessment of the development proposals, taking into consideration the local political and physical environment, and identify key constraints and opportunities for development.

Such issues included climatic conditions (particularly wind chill effects), noise and air quality impacts from a proposed new eight lane motorway, surface water management, tidal influences and flood risk. Opportunities for employing sustainable development techniques were also identified, relating to ecological enhancement, transport and renewable energy generation, particularly wind energy.

As part of a larger transportation scheme in greater St Petersburg, a new motorway will pass through the proposed development with three major junctions serving the various districts. Two bridges for the motorway will connect the island on the north and south sides. Extensions of the existing metro, bus and light rail systems into the development are also proposed.