We’re incr-edibly proud to win the coveted top prize at the 2021 Gingerbread City.
Chief baker, biscuit engineer and isomalt wizard, Rachel Bremner said of the win:
“We are delighted that Dammie Dodger won the People’s Choice! We’ve taken part in Gingerbread City for 5 years, it’s such a great way to get families talking about architecture and the built environment, so we really let our imaginations run wild and had fun with this year’s design. We loved the theme of “Rewilding”, which inspired our idea for a crumbling industrial hyrdo-electric dam that was being repaired by beavers and taken over by nature (including a whale, yeti, and a kraken!). We hope our work helps to inspire a younger generation and give people “food for thought” about future cities and our relationship with nature. ”
The Gingerbread City exhibition featured over 100 architects, landscape artists, engineers and ecologists, all working together to craft a mini settlement made entirely of biscuit, icing, chocolate and sweeties.
Now in its fifth year, the annual celebration aims to help the public better engage with architecture and inspire future generations of designers.
The theme for 2021 was ‘Nature in the City’ with a focus on re-wilding and creating space for biodiversity and balance. Our London team worked incr-edibly hard to create our biggest and most scrumptious entry yet. They reimagined a failing dam to create a sustainable power source for the city as well as a haven for wildlife and people.
Deep in the Sweetlands lies Dammie Dodger, a hardbaked hydroelectric power plant which harnesses the natural power of melted sugar to power the Gingerbread City.
Sadly the sugar plum village and the valley was submerged by the rising waters, but now nature is fighting back. The dam was in danger of crumbling away (like a biscuit in a cup of tea) but it’s being rebuilt, one biscuit at a time by industrious beavers, to protect the glazing land downstream.
They labour day and night to pump water back to the top using the GingerTwist Tower allowing creatures to reclaim the Sweetlands.
The jam-packed design featured an illuminated isomalt waterfall with brave icing kayaker; an underwater world rich with creatures including Jelly Bean fish and fiery gingerbread Kraken; rice krispy and white chocolate mountains inhabited by the sweetest bats, care bears, yetis, skiers and snowboarders; a doughnut tower with an Archimedes screw; and even a teeny tiny replica of our COP26 climate installation, Sinking House.
Thank you to everyone who voted for Dammie Dodger – it worked!
