Half an hour before the start of the solemn part of the evening, Sergei Estrin led the journalists through all floors of the synagogue, introduced them to the building, told about the main stages of reconstruction, difficult and curious moments of work on the project. Despite the fact that the writing brethren actually intruded into the measured life of the community, or the fact that there were women among the journalists who were not allowed to enter the prayer halls, the guests of the hero of the day were greeted very kindly. Rabbi Yitzhak Kogan himself led the group to the main prayer hall, where he showed a cabinet with Torah scrolls (a prototype of the Ark of the Covenant) that had miraculously survived since 1937, and under the carpet on the “pulpit” there was an underground passageway through which it was possible to leave during pogroms. It's funny that currently it leads to a bank located next to the synagogue. When the owners of the bank discovered this, the passage was concreted. Maybe in vain: the bankers could use this shortcut to get to the recently opened restaurant with an open veranda on the fifth floor of the synagogue.
“The fifth floor” is not a reservation: a synagogue is a living, developing organism, and as soon as donations appear, it grows with new rooms and floors. So architects have been "growing" this building for 10 years, which requires a constant search for original solutions, not only architectural, but also constructive. So for the hall on the fourth floor, the workshop developed a unique sliding ceiling, and the foundations of the old part of the synagogue that had collapsed over 285 years had to be restored with the help of injections of concrete and reinforcement. The designer of the workshop S. B. Shatz told the journalists about this painstaking, jewelry work. It is not surprising that during the celebration of the hero of the day, the president of the Union of Architects of Russia, Andrei Bokov, highly appreciated this particular work of the workshop: “To build a synagogue in Russia is a feat. And to make the exhilarating beautiful architecture of the synagogue is a double feat. Sergei's place in heaven is guaranteed."
Other buildings and projects of the workshop, completed over 10 years of work, could be seen in the celebration hall on the third floor. It would seem that 10 years for architectural activity is not so much, but, as one of the speakers rightly noted, “10 years of work in our constantly changing country is a very long period”. During this time, AMCE has completed many projects for buildings, residential and corporate interiors. The works are bright, with unexpected shapes and details, saturated with color and images, sometimes extravagant, but always marked by “intelligent style,” as the architectural critic Nikolai Malinin, who hosted the gala evening, said.
Anna Babadzhanyan, head of the Johnson & Johnson Visual Care Institute for the Protection of Vision, whose interior was designed by AME, very figuratively described the impression that the construction of the workshop makes on others: “When they saw our office, everyone could only say:“Wow!”. Three years have passed, but so far everyone who comes to us for the first time cannot refrain from this enthusiastic exclamation."
Clients generally love Sergey Estrin and even, changing their place of work, moving from company to company, do not part with him, they turn to new orders. Why? Throughout the evening, a variety of answers to this question sounded from the stage: “he knows how to listen and hear”, “influences the perception of the world and professional growth”, “his works are amazing, you can't take your eyes off them”. But, perhaps, the most important thing is that this feeling is mutual: the hero of the day is sure that “the customer has the right to get what he wants. We must respect the wishes of the client and not impose his vision and preferences on him."
When asked what is close to him in art, what is his inspiration, Sergei Estrin replied: “I love Italy, I love traveling around Europe. There I usually only see old architecture. She is romantic, spiritual, emotional and at the same time reserved. It's more than just a function - it's an art. And in modern architecture, there is a desire to impress at any cost. I’m not saying this is bad, but sometimes it’s too much. I myself work in a modern style, I try to do something spectacular, keep attention, evoke emotions. The modern world literally bombards a person with impressions, colors, sounds, and architecture is forced to compete with other areas of art in order to become noticeable in this flow. I think the main task of an architect is to tune a person to the perception of beauty, to evoke acute emotions in him."
It is now possible to get to know more fully the works of Sergey Estrin, his creative credo and the professional kitchen of the workshop with the help of a book published by the TATLIN publishing house. The 10-year portfolio includes not only projects and buildings, but also Sergey's drawings - graphic sketches of architectural objects masterfully executed in various techniques and imaginations on architectural themes. As Estrin himself noted, he draws a lot and with pleasure.
In general, on this day, the impression was created that everything that Sergei does - designs, draws, brings up four children, goes in for sports, communicates - he does with pleasure. And it is obvious that a similar charge of positiveness extends to others. Sergey Estrin, for example, has not parted with his partner, General Director Konstantin Levin, since his work at Capital Group. There is no turnover in his workshop - former students are entrusted with responsible areas of work, they have something to learn, where to grow, and a wide range of typologies of designed objects allows them to be in good shape all the time. The hero of the day is convinced: "Our profession is so happy that it looks like a highly paid hobby."
