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Tower Cranes Made from Spaghetti to Lift Weights at Varna Free University
23 October 2026
Tower cranes made from spaghetti, at least one metre tall, will be constructed by participants in the 12th National Creative Skills Competition, “Varna Spaghetti Engineering.” The competition will take place on October 31st, 2026, at the Academic and Sports Complex of Varna Free University “Chernorizets Hrabar.” It is organized by the Department of Construction of Buildings and Facilities at the Faculty of Architecture, which has received the “Varna” Award for its contribution to engineering education.
Fifteen teams from vocational high schools specializing in construction, architecture and geodesy in Varna, Shumen, Burgas, Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo, Stara Zagora, Haskovo and Kardzhali will take part. Each team consists of three students and one student adviser from the degree programmes in Construction of Buildings and Facilities and Architecture.
“With each edition of ‘Varna Spaghetti Engineering,’ we set an increasingly complex challenge for participants, one that requires not only technical skills but also in-depth STEAM knowledge and creative thinking. Our goal is to show that engineering thinking begins with an understanding of the fundamentals of structural stability - even when the material is as fragile as spaghetti,” says Assoc. Prof. Dr. Eng. Daria Mihaleva, Head of the Department of Construction of Buildings and Facilities.
Participants will have 180 minutes to design and build a load-bearing tower crane capable of lifting weights. Each team will receive an identical set of materials, including one kilogram of spaghetti, two hot glue guns, 20 glue sticks, a five-metre rope, seven polypropylene couplings and a base plate. The use of additional materials is not permitted.
The completed structures will be tested using loads increased in stages of 300 grams. The result will be determined by the last successfully lifted load for which the structure remains intact. The jury, comprising representatives of the chambers of builders, architects and engineers in investment design, as well as the construction industry, will assess the tower cranes according to four criteria: complexity, economy of materials, load-bearing capacity (the weight the structure can support) and originality.
The official opening will begin at 9:30 a.m., and the competition will run from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The afternoon programme includes measurements of the structures’ performance and team presentations to the jury. The awards ceremony and closing are scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
Over the years, the challenges have become increasingly unconventional. In 2023, the winning structure was a spaghetti tower standing 282 centimetres tall. In 2024, a bridge made from 800 grams of spaghetti withstood a load of 12.5 kilograms. Last year, students from the Vocational High School of Construction, Architecture and Geodesy in Shumen won first place with a flat roof structure supported by a single column that withstood a load of 900 grams.