Building with spaghetti: an unusual workshop was held at the National Centre RUSSIA

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The workshop "Pasta Laboratory" took place on May 13 as part of the educational programme of "The Birth of Scale" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA. At this event, each participant created their own construction using spaghetti.

The workshop was led by Dmitry Alexandrov, an architect and designer, graduate and assistant of MARCHI and the Milan Academy NABA, and a teacher at the SLONOPOTAM creative workshop, together with Polina Alikhashkina, a student at the Institute of Business and Design and assistant at the SLONOPOTAM creative workshop.

During the workshop, young participants worked alongside educators to learn how to think like architects. The children learned about the stability of buildings, their proportions, and beauty. At the end of the workshop, the children built real structures — from small houses to large constructions — and held a test to see which ones could withstand a certain weight.

"Today we are using an unusual edible material — pasta. It’s a current global trend: many international architects are trying their hand at so-called spaghetti modeling. Together with the children, we visited 'The Birth of Scale' exposition, saw the full range of architectural possibilities, got inspired, and I suggested they choose what inspired them the most. The children make artistic installations and unusual constructions. We glue the spaghetti together using hot glue," explained Dmitry Alexandrov.

The event was designed for children from 10 to 15 years old.

"My son and I made a cubic structure that, in our imagination, is a head full of thoughts. This is our first time at such an exciting workshop at the National Centre RUSSIA, and we really enjoyed it. We’re also planning to visit the 'Journey Across Russia' exposition — we’ve heard great reviews," shared Valeria Maslyuk.

School student Alexei Ivanov is already a repeat participant of workshops at the National Centre RUSSIA.

"I made a tower for off-site wedding ceremonies. Such a beautiful spot at a height. It was very interesting to glue pasta together — I’ve never done this before," said Alexei Ivanov.

Participation in such workshops is free of charge. To join, registration is required on the website russia.ru in the "Events" section.

"The Birth of Scale" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA showcases completed architectural projects as well as ideas that remain only as concepts. The exposition consists of both the National Centre RUSSIA's own objects and those provided by museums and private collectors across the country.

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 Charitable Architectural Foundation, and the HSE School of Design.