Europe’s tallest skyscraper is a little known structure in a city on the outskirts of Europe. Taller than the Eiffel Tower and the Shard, the Lakhta Centre close to St Petersburg is the tallest building on the continent at a staggering 462m.

To put that in context, the building would hold its own in the skyscraper jungle of New York, towering above the Empire State Building and the roof of One World Trade Center. Located 12km outside of the city on former wasteland, construction on the project was completed in 2019 and is home to many of the country’s biggest companies, including energy giant Gazprom. Made from glass, the structure contains more than 16,500 curved panes, and has within it a sports centre, shops, restaurants and a planetarium.

The tower’s unique form takes inspiration from a Swedish fort built in 1611 and located within the present day city.

The replication of the strange shape posed enormous architectural and construction challenges, with each floor different to the one above and below it.

But the skyscraper, the world’s northernmost tower, is presented with a unique but unsurprising issue given its proximity to the Arctic Circle.

Its rounded structure helps protect it from the elements, with curves limiting the impact of winds on the building’s stability.

An open mesh at the top of the spire allows wind to pass through but comes at a price as it is prone to accumulating ice that can potentially drop 460m to the streets below.

At over 460 metres, many would presume that there is an abundance of usable space and whilst that is true, more than a quarter of the structure is unusable.

The top 117 metres serve no purpose other than to extend the building's height; something often referred to as “vanity height”.

This is not uncommon, with the 828 metres tall Burj Khalifa having a 200 metres spire to extend it in the same way.

The building was meant to be the first in a series of skyscrapers built as a symbol of Russian prosperity, but plans have halted since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent economic downturn seen across the country.

As sanctions, inflation and labour shortages continue to plague the Russian economy, the likelihood of work commencing on a similar structure nearby seems slim.