Gingerbread, chocolate, Aachener Printen (a type of gingerbread), powdered sugar, coconut flakes, and gummy bears aren't exactly the favorite materials of serious builders. But when it comes to modeling imaginative, unique structures on a tabletop scale, they can be used to great effect. Architecture students at the Giessen -Friedberg University of Applied Sciences proved this during Christmas week.
Prof. Peter Jahnen had enticed them with the following task for the "impromptu design" assignment: "You are to reinterpret the theme of the 'Christmas house.' Every building material must be edible. You are not allowed to use fasteners such as glue or pins!" The aspiring architects in their fourth and fifth semesters actually managed to present picturesque final results without any load-bearing elements or decorations falling victim to their own or others' sweet tooth.
{mosimage} There stood the "witch's cottage" in the New Objectivity style, constructed from black and white chocolate, next to "Santa's Stargate," a calorie-laden, futuristic-looking tunnel. A student had given in to her sentimental Advent spirit and built a multicultural star-shaped house on a gingerbread base, its vibrant colors intended as a statement against racism. A colossal building, reminiscent of a hospital or an oil rig, proudly greeted visitors with four towers made of double biscuits. Scandinavian religious architectural styles were represented in all their sweetness, as were hints of the Orient. And finally, a daring designer unveiled an avant-garde fireplace scene that, using marzipan, licorice, pretzel sticks, and icing, combined the traditional elements of the Nativity scene with motifs of beach vacations and shipwreck.
{mosimage} She, like the other constructive confectioners, was assured of the applause of many fellow students who didn't want to miss the baking exhibition in the auditorium of the Hugo-von-Ritgen-Haus. Prof. Jahnen and his colleague Prof. Nikolaus Zieske, both well-versed in architectural and art history, commented on the magnificent designs. Fittingly for the theme and occasion, students also presented Christmas decorations, which they had created using computer-aided design on the CNC milling machine of the Department of Civil Engineering. The event concluded with mulled wine for everyone.