An unusual lesson for students of "Petrischule"
On April 21, 2011, the New St. Isaac’s Office Centre (formerly the House of the Sarepta Society) revealed its secrets to students at the Petrischule.
- To whom did Catherine II present this house?
- Why was the house commonly referred to as “the Mustard House”?
- How many years did it take to restore the building?
All of these questions were tackled by Natalia Ivanovna Bednik, a historian and art art critic who gave a tour of the house, or more precisely, led her visitors on a real adventure in this 19th century building. Students ascended all three old staircases, , visited the attic with its traditional Petersburg view, and descended into the depths of the basement with its imposing brick arches. The tour was followed by an unusual career day for tenth graders during which the administration of the business center explained the work involved in taking care of and maintaining the whole building, as well as discussing how to manage internal relations, and why commercial real estate properties require creative PR approaches.
For the Petrischule students the day finished with some words from the Managing Director of the New St. Isaac’s Office Centre, Irina Rudukhina, "As is well known, in Europe aristocratic palaces and mansions that are owned privately are often open to visitors and form an important part of the life of the city. We support this attitude of social responsibility in business. Not so long ago, we arranged a private tour of New St. Isaacs for Karl Langerfeld, and it is a pleasure to now be able to host a visit for school students".