Ekaterina Antipina

The buildings I enjoy are those that have a history to them. Those similar to the factory buildings of the Krasny Oktyabr factory or other industrial constructions of the late 19th century, which are marked by the peculiar aesthetics defined by the traditions of renowned architecture schools. I can imagine myself living in a place like this: with its enormous factory-style painted lattice windows, six-meter-tall ceilings, an enfilade of rooms which could be turned into a great library with a huge rolling ladder. Buildings like those offer incredible spaciousness and airiness. True, the Federation Tower might also hold tremendous prospects, but you could barely call it the heart of the city.

I can see the history preserved in stone fade away gradually. How wonderful would it be, if we could use environmentally-friendly materials for the erection of the new facilities, thereby renovating the infrastructure of the urban milieu without destroying the national architectural heritage. However, considering the colossal costs associated with reconstruction and maintenance of historical buildings, when it comes to the question of making this possible, I’m not the one to make the decision… but what makes it worse is the feeling that it has more to do with someone’s greed than actually reasonability and common sense.

I’ve got a lot of hobbies, that’s, probably, one of my vices, that I can’t really pick something one that I’d devote myself to entirely. Last year I tried myself in mountain skiing. Last summer I took part in a regatta, surely, sailing is just too exciting to leave anyone unmoved! Although there is a number of pastimes I’ve had as a child, but still stick with them even now, say, graphics, for example, because that’s what my job demands. Photography, cinema (I’ve set a goal for myself to watch through all of the chronology of cinema), theatre.

I’ve already come to figure out that watching all of the truly remarkable films of all the prominent directors requires loads of antidepressants, as most of those films tend to manifest their discontent with the humanity (laughs). I’ve watched “To Each His Own Cinema” recently — that was quite an enjoyable experience.

I collect impressions contained in scents. Neither sounds, nor visual images, but the scents alone possess the power of bringing back the memories almost instantly, the memories of the cherished past.

In my next life, I’d like to be spared the habit of idleness, given the courage to stay away from unessential stuff. Human beings waste a horrendous amount of time on useless things. The temptations are too hard to fight.

I’d love to go to Japan, a country where the cult of nature goes side by side with the cult of new technologies. People are weird there.