Sergey Makhno Architects is a modern Ukrainian architecture and interior design studio founded by Sergey Makhno in 2003. The studio works in a Ukrainian contemporary style that will change the Scandinavian image on the world design stage. Sergey Makhno Architects respects nature and works with it to create a project. They chose natural materials and colors: wood, concrete, copper, clay, flax. They don't deal with the texture because it's something that sees the warmth of the wood and feels the indifference of the stone, so the studio is good at finding the beauty around it and showing it.

Yinji：Every project you design is very artistic, can youshare the design concept for us?
Sergey Makhno：A very interesting question and, honestly, it is difficult to say unequivocally. Because there is no universal concept. Each of our projects is a search for a new solution, a new symbiosis. Why it turns out so artistically -it probably depends on our essence and what we believe.We believe in architecture, design and art. One without the other cannotbe complete. We believe in history and the power of roots, the memory of thefamily - without them the future is impossible.We believe in the symbiosis of cultures and the creation of something new on the border. It was thanks to my fascination with Japan that I learned to love Ukraine in a new way. When Ifirst visited it and saw how they valued their heritage, I realized that Ukrainian culture is also extremely rich, but we do not always know how to appreciate it. Japan returned Ukraine to me. I opened my eyes and, most importantly, opened my heart to the wealth that I have from birth, at home. That's why I create a Ukrainian, passed through the prism of the Japanese perception of beauty.And we believe in the higher meanings of the things that surround us.Here in such symbiosis everything is born.

Yinji：Wheneveryou start a project, how does creativity start?
Sergey Makhno：From questions. Why? For whom? Why? How will this affect the world?

Yinji：How do you maintain a passion for design?
Sergey Makhno：It is important to constantly learn something new, to look around, notto focus on one point of view. If you look for inspiration in other design and architectural projects - it will be a copy, no more. An important symbiosis, the birth of something new. Travel, books, discussions with the team, nature,new hobbies. For example, now I am immersed in the tradition of tea ceremonies.Every day I hold tea parties for my family and friends. And it opens upsomething new for me in design and architecture.

Yinji：We admire your dedication to your work. How did youform your current design style?
Sergey Makhno：We are still in progress. The way we work I hope to be called modernUkrainian one day. After all, there is no Ukrainian style in design. It ishappening, it is incredibly responsible and interesting.
Our work has gone through different periods: the fascination with theattic and eclecticism, then the Japanese wabi-sabi philosophy, but our Ukrainian cultural tradition has always followed the red line of creativity.This is where we started and returned. The ancient handicrafts and traditions of the Ukrainians are combined with modern technology and trends and the development of the world-and new things are born. There is a connection between generations of our projects, and each generation has a unique history of itsresidents or guests.

Yinji：We have seen a lot of inspiration from Japanese gardens in your works. How do you combine them with your works?
Sergey Makhno：In traditional Japanese gardens, I find peace and balance. This is a separate art that fascinates me. And, as in other projects, I am inspired and combined. For example, next to my house near Kyiv, I built a Ukrainian-Japanese garden, where Japanese maples and sakura trees met with traditional Ukrainian zoomorphic pottery and modern art.
There are 250 tons of stones and several prospects, as is customary inJapanese gardens. The Japanese believe that the stone itself must choose whereto lie. The same thing happened in my yard - the garden grew in a few months onthe site of a wasteland as if by itself, without human intervention.
And nearby - Ukrainian cherries, apricots, a bed of tomatoes and cucumbers. And this is something new, which was not before.

Yinji：What is your opinion about Japanese culture?
Sergey Makhno：Japan is one of my favorite countries to travel, explore and explore. AsI said, it was Japan that opened my Ukraine to me. Studying Japanese culture, Idiscovered my own - multifaceted, beautiful, unique. Japan is my guide.
The Japanese lifestyle - leisurely, measured and thoughtful - is manifested in their modern architecture and design, in the works of art oflocal artists. Making sense of minimalist buildings and sculptures is what Iconsider important, it is what gives each work its inner beauty.

Yinji：In fact, we also have a very strong garden culture inChina. Have you thought about doing projects in China?
Sergey Makhno：I have been to China three times, both in megacities and in remotenatural areas. The only reason why I am so fascinated by Japanese gardens isbecause I have been there with conceptual delegations 9 times already. China is also close to me in the culture of gardens, tea ceremonies, they areextraordinary. I hope that very soon the borders will be opened, we will befree in our travels around the world, and I will not just visit China again,but build something new there, on the border of Ukrainian and Chinese cultures.