A whole country made from a sheet of paper: children’s workshop "Fantastic City" was held at the National Centre RUSSIA

---

The "Fantastic City" workshop by the HSE University School of Design took place on May 22 in the art classroom of "The Birth of Scale" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA. Young visitors to the creative space transformed an ordinary sheet of paper into a magical architectural land.

The organisers showed the children that it is possible to think creatively even within limitations — during the workshop, these limitations were represented by cards featuring animals, plants, and objects that participants had to incorporate into their designs.

"At first glance, the cards may seem to interfere with the creative process, but in fact, a certain limitation can be beneficial. This workshop develops figurative thinking and gives a child the opportunity to step outside the box. I believe that by creating such projects, children are able to express their individuality and creativity very well," said the workshop host, artist and designer Yulia Belousova, a graduate and lecturer of the "Contemporary Design in Teaching" programme at the HSE University School of Design, and curator of the Children's School of Design course "Art. Immersion in the Industry". 

A whole complex of interconnected buildings with unique functions was invented by a young workshop participant, Zakharii.

"I liked the idea of drawing cards, and even though I got rather simple objects, I tried to make something as unconventional as possible. My buildings have super-greenhouses where you can grow fruits and vegetables, and the super-complex is intended for celebrating birthdays. The forks, stools and table are decorative elements. I'm interested in architecture and sometimes at home I also create different constructions, for example from matches and toothpicks," shared Zakharii. 

The architectural exposition "The Birth of Scale" at the National Centre RUSSIA reveals the grandeur of Russia through its architectural legacy. The exposition includes both the National Centre RUSSIA's own objects and those provided by museums and private collectors from across the country. Among them are architects' tools from different eras, drawings and models, models of buildings both successfully constructed and remaining as innovative ideas. As a separate section, the future of domestic architecture is presented — children’s creative studios, student workshops, and works by young architects.

Watch the series of the National Centre RUSSIA’s educational lectures on architecture with Yelizaveta Likhacheva and learn more about the Russian architecture.

Partners of "The Birth of Scale" exposition include DOM.RF, the Ministry of Construction of Russia, Gazprom, the State Research Museum of Architecture named after A. V. Shchusev, the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, the Yakov Chernikhov Architectural Charitable Foundation, and the HSE School of Design.

 You can become a participant of the tour of "The Birth of Scale" exposition and attend workshops as part of the educational programme "Children’s Architectural Studios" free of charge by pre-registering on the website of the National Centre RUSSIA at russia.ru. Current information about workshops is available in the "Events" section.