A SCOTTISH firm has beaten off competition from leading designers across the world to design a controversial new 396-metre high tower in St Petersburg, Russia.

RMJM, the Edinburghbased company behind the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, was yesterday revealed as the winner of a contest to build the GBP400m Gazprom Tower in the city known as the Window on the West.

However, the project has been mired in controversy before it has even got off the ground. The St Petersburg Union of Architects said any tower of that height would be an "architectural crime".

A spokesman for the union said: "The low skyline makes the verticals of St Petersburg especially magnificent . . . the conservation of inimitable silhouettes of its spires and domes is of great importance to town planning and spiritual importance."

Before the winner was announced, the union said: "A 300-metre tower, more than twice as high as the Peter and Paul Cathedral and three times higher than St Isaac's and Smolny Cathedral, visible from all the main locations of the historical city centre, will bring the irreparable damage to the fragile skyline of the city as it will make all its verticals look almost toy-like."

The tower is the new headquarters of one of the world's largest companies, state-controlled gas giant Gazprom.

RMJM's winning proposal is a twisting glass needle which echoes the spires across St Petersburg.

Tony Kettle, UK managing director of RMJM and lead architect on the project, said: "Winning the prestigious commission to design Gazprom's new headquarter building in St Petersburg is wonderful news for RMJM.

"There has been much debate and opposition to introducing a building of this height to St Petersburg but Paris, a city with an equally precious environment, has been made even more special by the 324-metre Eiffel Tower.

"Ithink that the quality of the tower's design and its exclusive nature is critical here and we firmly believe that our design truly works for the city. St Petersburg is not the place to create a collection of towers like Manhattan or Paris' La Defense.

"We have created something quite unique and timeless, a beautiful landmark which will also set new standards for energy conservation and sustainability. Gazprom is one of the world's most important energy companies and it is fitting that in a city of spires, this new spire should symbolise the importance of energy."

RMJM said the inspiration for the design came from the concept of energy in water as the site is located on the city's main waterway, the River Neva, with the form of the building deriving its shape from the "changing nature of water, ever-changing light, reflections and refraction".

There has also been controversy surrounding the planning process. The city's zoning laws, which forbid anything in that area higher than 48 metres, appear to be no obstacle, according to critics who recalled a Russian aphorism: "It is forbidden. But if you really want it, then it is possible."

The announcement comes on the day that RMJM opens its first office in Moscow, one of 11 worldwide. The architects were awarded the City Palace Tower contract in the country's capital city earlier this year as well as ongoing high-quality leisure, residential and commercial projects across Russia.

Critics described that project as "fantastically camp".

RMJM, which has Dubai Capital Towers among its bestknown projects, won the tender after beating off competition from six other celebrated architects.

The shortlist included France's Jean Nouvel, creator of the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris and the Urban Entertainment Centre in Frankfurt, and Dutchman Rem Koolhaas, who built the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing.

Other bidders were Italy's Massimiliano Fuksas who designed Vienna's Twin Towers; Swiss Herzog and De Meuron, the team behind Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena football stadium; Germany's Libeskind company, which will build the Freedom Tower in New York; and Britain's Richard Rogers, who has London's Leadenhall Building among his projects.