For the Love of Gingerbread!

For The Love of GIngerbread!

A resounding favorite among the team at Studio21 Architects is, of course, our annual Gingerbread Design Party. While in the past few years, we had to think creatively to organize an event while keeping health and safety a top priority, this year we were able to once again host in our office and to celebrate even further, we decided to add another tradition to the lineup: Gingerbread for Grown-Ups! It was two whole days of fun, with so many awesome designs and many great memories made. Before we get into 

some of the gingerbread design details, though, we wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that came and made donations in support of Toys for Tots and the Ronald McDonald House charities. Our Toys for Tots drop box ended up overflowing by the end if the day, and our lovely design party guests helped to fundraise $370.00 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities, meaning a grand total of $740.00 raised with Studio21 Architects’ matched donation! Every year, it is heartwarming to get together, not only to have a fun day of candy and design, but to charitably support causes that make the holidays brighter for children and families in need.
​

2023's Facebook Winner: Hannah, age 7 and her gingerbread castle!

2023's Office Winner: Roxanne, age 10 and her gingerbread zoo!

​We hosted a grand total of sixty Junior Architects this year (which we are already aiming to surpass in 2024!), and there were so many fantastically creative gingerbread designs, from castles to beach houses. For those unfamiliar, after the event, we post all the designs to Studio21 Architects’ Facebook page and let our audience vote for their favorites! Two winners are selected each year: one is picked through Facebook by friends, families, and gingerbread aficionados, and the second is chosen by the Studio21 Architects team. Our 2023 Facebook winner, featured at the top left, was expertly designed by Hannah, aged seven. Hannah designed a dazzling castle, which couldn’t be complete without the queen sitting on her silver throne. We love the bright colors Hannah chose for her candy décor, and we adore the drawbridge, which in her words, “make music as you walk across”. On the right, our 2023 office winner comes from the creative mind of Roxanne, aged ten. Roxanne designed a gingerbread zoo, complete with habitats for a herd of gummy bears, a polar bear, and a peppermint tiger! Working in the medium of gingerbread is the great equalizer; each person (both kids and grown-ups) starts by building a base for their design out of Styrofoam blocks. We cut blocks of all shapes and sizes to allow for everyone’s creativity to run free! The walls are made of graham crackers for longevity, and each gingerbread structure is held together with our homemade, almost industrial-strength frosting.

​With sixty whole gingerbread designs to choose from, there were certainly many more deserving of honorable mention. We got to see gingerbread houses in all kinds of architectural styles: midcentury, A-frame, and palaces. There were astounding design features like jails, water features, escape ropes, and hidden basketball courts! Not to mention the impeccable creativity of our non-house entries; we saw gingerbread racecars, a candy factory, and even a hangar for Santa’s sleigh. The creativity the Junior Architects bring to this event year after year never ceases to amaze!
​

1st Annual Gingerbread for Grown-Ups!

Over the years, we have had many parents mention how fun it would be to have an event where the grown-ups could join in on the fun and this year, we are so happy that we had the opportunity to make that a reality! We think this year’s Gingerbread for Grown-Ups event was a resounding success; scheduled for the Friday evening before the kids’ event, it proved to be the perfect way to wind down after the work week and a little wine helped to bolster creativity! Everyone came up with great backstories for their creations, too. Save the date for Gingerbread for Grown-Ups 2024: December 6th!

---

written by: emma H.

Emma H. works as the Marketing Coordinator at Studio21 Architects. For each of our newsletters, Emma conducts interviews, writes articles, and formats the pages to make sure they reflect the great design we value so strongly at this firm. She may not be an architect, but she certainly makes sure that the marketing materials have architect-worthy design as well!