Festive placemaking comes alive in the Gingerbread City
Now in its seventh year, The Gingerbread City curated by the Museum of Architecture, who has collaborated with hundreds of architects, landscape architects and designers to connect the public with architecture in an exciting way and spark important conversations around cities. This year it brings the expertise and baking abilities of over 70 leading practices to create urban landscapes created in Gingerbread.
The Gingerbread City masterplan, by Madeleine Kessler Architecture with Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design, is based on the ‘Water in Cities’ theme. The theme explores the effect water has on city planning and how it can be integrated into placemaking. We travelled to 4 miniature destinations - comprised four island zones, Urban Floodplain, Canal City, Frozen Landscape and Underwater & Floating City - that each incorporated an element of water or lack of water and discovered a host of interpretations of the theme.
We particularly love visiting the Gingerbread City each year and seeing placemaking concepts come alive in miniature baked delights. The festive exhibition is an intriguing world of aromatic structures made of gingerbread, icing, candy canes, frosting and a ton of sugar and spice. While the entire exhibition is a triumph in architectural baking, with many structures worthy of making it to the finals of the Great British Bake Off, read on to see which gingerbread places particularly caught our eye.
Canal City
The first display explores the many purposes in which urban waterways can be used, from transportation uses, to social uses, to environmental uses.
Bakewell Bridge - by Allies and Morrison
We loved the incorporation of the canal carved throughout Canal City, and how Allies and Morrison used the landscape to their advantage. The bridge, lined with residential areas, reminded us of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, incorporating the water way to make a unique living quarter in the city.
Other notable places:
Cosmos Observatory - by Studio PDP
Toffee Crisp Terrace - by Scene Architects
Butterscotch Botanical Bridge - by Charlton Brown Architects
Urban Floodplain
Rainfall is something we know well in London, but flooding is rarely seen due to the extensive flood prevention methods in place. A floodplain is an area which gets covered in water when the river, or other bodies of water, floods.
Amethyst Fields - by ARTES London
We thought ARTES London celebrated the Urban Floodplains theme well with their vibrant, raised gingerbread architecture. The distinctive buildings, with their peculiar angles and glazed sugar panels, defied the potentially hazardous, colourful water below.
The raised platforms linking the two buildings make for a dream location for some gingerbread and a hot chocolate!
Other notable places:
Peppermint Biodiversity Centre - by Yuliya Kaizer, Sustainable Conservation Trust
Cinnamon Stadium - by Hopkins Architects
Rising Residences - by [Y/N] Studio
Underwater & Floating City
With the climate change forever present, and water levels on the rise, floating cities may soon be a thing of the present.
Jammy Jubilee - by Foster & Partners
We loved this vibrant floating city from Foster & Partners, designed to be resilient against flooding, with floating domes, raised huts and a network of interconnecting bridges. The self sustaining structures help us visualise the floating cities of tomorrow.
Other notable places:
Shellotel - by PLP Architecture
Siren Crispy Reservoir - by EPR Architects
The Kraken - by Purcell
Frozen Landscape
Frozen landscapes make up 10% of the earths surfaces, but play a vital role in cooling the planet down. However sustaining a community in this harsh environment can be challenging.
PCAN (Penguins Climate Action Network) - by Corstorphine and Wright Architects
When you think of a frozen landscape, penguins often come to mind, but buildings are not typically associated with it. Corstorphine and Wright Architects produced an action centre for them to protest against climate change. The bold dome is symbolic of the earth’s atmosphere with the venerable earth core deep in the hillside.
We wonder how the penguins would tackle the climate conundrum.
Other notable places:
Frosty Fin Harbour - by BM3 Architecture
Icing Shelf Research Station - Hugh Broughton Architects
HeathrHo! Ho! Ho! Airport - Asseal Architecture
Have you visited the Gingerbread City yet? What was your favourite place?
We’d love to hear your thoughts, message us on Instagram!
Haven’t been yet?
We highly recommend going along to this food for thought experience. You can also vote for your favourite place online.
Gingerbread City is currently running between 2 December 2023 – 7 January 2024 at Westfield London in White City.
Visit their website for more information.
Thank you for reading!
If you enjoyed this article, check out the other articles on our blog on related topics such as placemaking, branding, marketing and storytelling!