As you know, one of the projects that brought wide popularity to Sergei Estrin was the reconstruction of the synagogue on Bolshaya Bronnaya. It was this object that became the reason for inviting the architect to participate in the new tender: the customers, even though they are representatives of a different confession, highly appreciated Estrin's extraordinary creative approach to developing the image of a religious building.
The seminary is planned to be built in the very center of Moscow, in the immediate vicinity of the Sretensky stavropegic monastery. For these purposes, in May 2010, the school building N1216 on Bolshaya Lubyanka Street was transferred to the management of the educational institution. Built in Stalin's time, it has an appropriate architectural and planning solution, which in general (dimensions, supporting structures) is supposed to be preserved. At the same time, reconstruction work is already underway: the corresponding project was created several years ago in the bowels of Mosproekt-2 and quite predictably prescribes to “revive” the massive volume with decor in the pseudo-Russian style. Some of these elements have already been made and, in fact, having “tried on” them directly on the building, the customers admitted that an attempt to cross such different styles looks out of date and does not correspond to the status of one of the best educational institutions in the country that educate future clergy. That is why it was decided to hold a tender for a new design project for the seminary. Its motto sounds like “Tradition has a future”, and the tender task was formulated accordingly: the interior should have reflected “a modern perspective when looking at canonical traditions” and “openness to the modern world in all its diversity”.
And since the reconstruction project already existed, the tender was held in a trial scaled-down format: the participants were asked to develop a design project for only two public spaces: the entrance lobby and the main recreation area on the second floor, into which the auditoriums and the conference hall open. The organizers' calculation is simple and straightforward: first, try to remake one small patch of area (200 sq.m. out of almost 3000), and if the proposed ideas like it, then entrust the winner with work on all the interiors of the future seminary. Sergey Estrin admits that such a tactic seemed interesting and reasonable to him. “It turned out to be a miniature concept competition,” says the architect. - Working on the appearance of just two rooms, we tried to put in the project techniques and ideas that, if necessary, can be developed on the scale of the entire building. Plus, of course, we were attracted by the freedom of creativity provided - it was very interesting to reflect on the image of a modern spiritual educational institution, not being constrained by the need to follow the classical canons”.
As Sergey Estrin recalls, the image of the interior spaces of the theological seminary was born from his very first sketches. In many ways, he inherits the ascetic design of the interiors of the Sretensky Monastery itself, but this asceticism is "retold" in the language of modern techniques and materials. The initial data also played an important role here: the hall of the second floor is a spacious room, in plan it has the shape of an elongated rectangle, along the central axis of which there are very massive rectangular columns. The architect strove to oppose these rigid verticals with an emphatically soaring - "elevating" - plasticity of the ceiling and walls. With the help of plates of white Corian, blown in waves over smooth surfaces, Sergey Estrin not only softens the original geometry of the room, but also creates a modern interpretation of such elements as arches and vaults so characteristic of Russian temple architecture. It alternates wide panels of this plastic material with stripes as wide as a column: the former are interpreted as canvases on which any "thematic" images can be applied, the latter zone the room, visually transforming the monotonous corridor into a front suite. The lamps hidden behind the plates help to enhance this impression - the diffused light, as if flowing gradually, gives the lobby not only solemnity, but also even more resemblance to the monastery interiors.
There are also other "borrowings" from temple architecture: high oval wooden doors, a balcony in the form of an apse, round illuminated recesses in the ceiling imitating dome drums, and a plan of the canonical temple laid out on the marble floor. As for such an integral part of the interior decoration of any temple as wall painting, here the architect proposed two possible scenarios at once - for genuine artifacts (or screens that will demonstrate them) space on the columns is reserved, and Estrin applies conditional, almost sketchy images of saints and temples, however, he does this not with paint, but with the help of narrow slots, illuminated from the inside.
“In fact, in this project, we separated the old and the new - we dressed the columns in“solid”wood, and the walls and ceiling were“pulled”onto the existing frame like new skin,” explains Sergey Estrin. It should be noted that this project aroused the keenest interest from the customer, however, Estrin's team was not awarded the tender. The tender did not end with anything at all, because at the last moment, the leadership of the seminary decided to abandon the idea of making the interiors of the educational institution in a modern style. It's a pity, since Sergey Estrin's proposal convincingly proves that modern materials and architectural and planning techniques are no worse than classical ones capable of creating an atmosphere necessary for spiritual development.
