Giving a second life to waste: a children's architectural master class was held at the National Centre RUSSIA

A master class for children "Household Garbage - a Planet for Fantasy" was held as part of the educational program of "the Birth of Scale" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA on June 26. The participants got the idea that ordinary household waste can become an unusual material for creativity.

Perfume bottles and packaging, boxes left from various household goods, wrapping paper of all kinds -- all these will work if you want to make something beautiful and useful with your own hands.

The master class was held by freshmen students of School of Design at Institute of Social Sciences of the RANHiGS, and by "the Honey Gingerbread" workshop members, under the guidance of Anna Medleva, senior lecturer at RANHiGS' School of Design at Institute of Social Sciences, an architect, member of the Union of Architects of the Russian Federation, member of the Union of Designers of the Russian Federation, curator of international cultural projects, visionary.

"This master class is suitable for the youngest. Today we made mockups out of seemingly needless things — plastic lids, cans, cardboard. The task was to make such a model so as a result, it could be viewed from three different angles and at three scales. The kids were divided into several teams and performed a group task. They learned to work in team, to interact with each other, like it is often the case in the architectural profession," explained RANEPA student Arseniy Lefler. 

He noted that a yard, a block, or even a city can be born from a pile of garbage. There, the makers themselves come up with a scenario, and determine its functional purpose. 

At the master class, the children learned to feel the scale, developed spatial and dimensional thinking, and got acquainted with a constructive approach to design. 

"My grandson Maxim made a robot out of a box and wooden sticks today. We really enjoyed the master class, it develops imagination. This is the first time we have attended such an event at the National Centre RUSSIA, and we will definitely come here again," said Victoria Globa. 

Svetlana Ukraintseva and her daughter Victoria made a general composition consisting of flowers and a building.

"I have built a house where our architects will live. It is a high-rise one, and has a helipad on the roof. And Mum decorated the space around with flowers. We have already attended master classes at the National Centre RUSSIA several times, and it is always very exciting," Victoria Ukraintseva shared. 

You can attend the events free of charge by pre-registration on the website russia.ru. Up-to-date information can be found in the "Events" section.

You can learn more about the Russian architecture from the cycle of educational lectures at the National Centre RUSSIA. 

The exposition "the Birth of Scale" at the National Centre RUSSIA presents realized architectural projects, as well as ideas remaining at the conceptual level. The exposition consists of the own exhibits of the National Centre RUSSIA, as well as of those provided by museums and private collections from all over the country.

Partners of the exposition "the Birth of scale" are DOM.RF, Ministry of Construction of Russia, Gazprom, the Shchusev State Museum of Architecture, the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art,  Yakov Chernikhov Architectural Foundation, and HSE School of Design.