Maria Kostyuk: "It’s important to enjoy your job"

In the next academic year, our university will celebrate its 190th anniversary. We are starting the project "Our Graduate" aimed to tell about people who graduated from SPbGASU and have made a successful career.

Lakhta Centre is an ultra-modern complex with an area of 400,000 square metres featuring a 462-metre skyscraper, which is the tallest building in Europe. ‘Renaissance Construction’, one of the world leaders in the construction industry, is the key project contractor. This fact is widely known. But few people know that the chief architect of the company that built the tower was Maria Kostyuk, a graduate of the SPbGASU Faculty of Civil Engineering of 2006. Maria took the time to answer our questions.

–- How did you choose the profession of an architect?

– When I was in school and began thinking over choosing my future profession, I was considering several options. My Mom often advised: "Look closely at what you do best." So, I looked closely. I was fond of geometry, and we had a wonderful geometry teacher at school. Physics and chemistry were easy for me, and it was clear that I needed a technical speciality that would leave space for creativity. It also had to be related to construction, because I love to create. Therefore, when the question arose about applying to a university, I considered only civil engineering universities.

– Why did you prefer to study at SPbGASU? 

– At the time when I decided about my future profession and realized I wanted to become a civil engineer and architect, SPbGASU was the only university where computer-aided design (CAD) was taught. When I came and saw future architects studying CAD and 3D modelling, I realized this was exactly the place where I wanted to study. I applied only to SPbGASU, to the Faculty of Civil Engineering. And it wasn’t easy to get into it.

– What was your strongest impression of studying at our university?

– The university teachers made a great impression on me. It is not an easy job to deal with students, some of whom are not particularly eager to learn. And the teachers put their hearts into these young people. I really liked that some of the teachers were practising specialists. This is a big advantage for the university, as a practising professional can give students so much more. These are the main things that sunk into my soul. I also liked our student activities and events, we do have something to remember.

– How did you become the chief architect of the Lakhta Centre construction contractor?

– I actually never wanted to be the chief project architect and a leader. But everything has worked itself out. At a certain moment you come to the company, you are given a task, and you cope with it. People see you can do something quickly and efficiently, so they give you more and more tasks. One fine day they came to me and said: "Starting from tomorrow, you are the Head of the department." I agreed. When one project is completed, a new one begins, so I was told: "Here you will be the chief project architect." And I agreed again. Now, as a leader, I understand this very well. You set a task for people and you see that they cope with it faster than others. You give them more. And when the need arises to put someone on top, naturally, you promote the one you trust.

Probably the secret of my success is that I just really love what I do. I get great pleasure from my work, and sometimes I stay up late. I just can't stop, and then I look at my watch and see that it's already 10 p.m. It seems to me that achieving goals is only possible when a person not just does his job very well, but also enjoys it. These are interrelated things. If a person loves his job, he automatically begins to do it better. 

– What were your responsibilities during the construction of the skyscraper?

– I was the chief project architect, head of the design department of the contractor company ‘Renaissance Construction’. Now I work at the Lakhta-2 facility – this is the second phase of the project. We carried out construction and installation works at the Lakhta Centre tower, and it was my responsibility to ensure that everything on the construction site was carried out in accordance with the approved documentation. In case of difficulties or questions, it was necessary to interact with the documentation developers or give proposals to the customer.

✔ A very important point is the harmonization of materials to be used: for example, the design documentation provides for the use of certain materials, but they are no longer available for various reasons (either they went out of production, or this sort of marble, for instance, has been mined to depletion). An alternative must be offered. This is team work.

– What was the most important and most difficult part of your work at the Lakhta Centre tower? 

– The most difficult thing is working with the customer. He is the property owner. And if working together is too smooth and simple, then something is going wrong. It is the customers who pay, and certainly they try to get the most out of their money invested in the project, so difficulties in working with the customer are always for the benefit of the construction process.

Working there was difficult because there were so many nuances associated with the facility interiors and construction issues. Lakhta Centre is absolutely unique, such a building had never been built in Russia before. It has very high fire-resistance limits, which are not standardized within the framework of existing regulatory documents. We did many things for the first time in Russia. We hired a lot of subcontractors having the experience of building similar facilities in other countries, but they had never worked on such projects in Russia. In our country there is our own specifics of regulatory documentation and approvals. It was very difficult, but incredibly interesting. 

– What are your responsibilities now?

– I am the chief architect of the general contractor, working on developing engineering documentation for Lakhta-2. There are many employees in my department. There are people who deal with construction issues and interact with builders on the site. There is a BIM design department, whose employees make a 3D model in Revit. I am in charge of the architectural sections. The current design is done here in our office. My task is to prepare the project documentation for the customer.

– What are the rules for operating a skyscraper?

– The people who will be using the building should pay attention to a few things. The first is the lifts. The higher the building, the more important and more difficult communication between the floors is. Second, you need to strictly monitor fire safety systems. If something happens in a high-rise facility, the system should work instantly and ensure the safety of evacuation of each person from any floor.

– What advice could you give to SPbGASU students who want to build a career in a large company?

– Most importantly, don't be afraid of anything. Take the initiative, this is a prerequisite. Your initiative may look a little silly, but it is still better than just sitting and being silent. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. I believe that there is no such thing as error, instead there is experience. When you make a mistake, you know that if you do it the next time, you will get a negative result. So, you won't do it anymore.

Text: Elena Shulgina
Photo: Sergey Klishis

✔ Learn more about the Faculty of Civil Engineering of SPbGASU