Canal City
Urban waterways can serve many purposes, from transportation to social to environmental.
The efficiency of transporting materials and products to and from waterfront locations has turned many urban waterfronts into areas of industry. As a result, those waterfront spaces have often become polluted or inaccessible to the public. New concepts for urban waterways still take advantage of their potential for transport of people and goods, but also reclaim them for the public and the environment by rebuilding them into clean spaces that are enjoyable to use for travel, socializing, and recreation.
The Canal City has a long history of living with and appreciating the benefits of its waterways, but is keen to embrace innovation and encourage a green revolution that celebrates the ability of canals to improve the quality of life for residents.
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MaccaRoomi
Museum
Alexander Hills Architects
MaccaRoomi is a ribbed realm devoted to the Macaroon. Visitors walk up the lit caramel ramp to a raised sugar layer inducing a dopamine delight as they gaze up the vaulted ginger ribs to the layered clerestories of yum, each surface telling the story of how the macaroon has risen from obscurity to encircle the sandwich.
Alexander Hills Architects is an architecture and design studio based in Hackney and North Norfolk. Our work is craft-led, and our designs come out of an intimate understanding of how things are put together. We seek to make architecture that is surprising and memorable – characterised by a sense of dignity, refinement, subtlety and humour.
Bakewell Bridge
Bridge
Allies and Morrison
Bakewell Bridge provides a unique crossing, continuing the bustling streetscape of the Canal Quarter with a busy mix of shops, workplaces and homes which all enjoy a special connection with the water.
We are architects and urbanists. We strive to design beautiful buildings that have a long life and can adapt over generations. We shape enduring places whether new pieces of city or settlements at any scale. All our projects are concerned with the crafting of every detail and an appreciation for the uniqueness of each context.
Pistachio Terrace
Terraced Housing
Ash Sakula Architects + Human Nature
Pistachio Terrace is a productive, sustainable, and equitable neighbourhood with an integrated flood wall. The house forms, hosting a range of home sizes, jostle against one another to form a distinctive collage. They are constructed from locally grown timber, a lime hemp mix, delicately tinted lime render and vertical greening.
Ash Sakula are a team of creative architects, who love to collaborate with passionate communities and mindful developers. They find new stories for old buildings and uncover founding myths for new settlements. Toggling nimbly between digital and older disciplines of architectural craft, between moving and static imagery, between tactile details and cityscapes they give people reasons to believe in architecture.
The Gingerbread Factory
Factory
Atelier Ten
The Gingerbread Factory is the birthplace of all the gingerbread people who populate Gingerbread City. The residents have a zest for life that can only come from being born in the greatest factory of all, with the freshest, locally grown ingredients and being baked using the rays of the sun.
Atelier Ten is a collaboration of environmental designers, building services engineers and lighting designers who find ways for buildings to tread more lightly on the planet. We produce high-performance, sustainable, award-winning buildings and take on the challenge of doing more with less.
Crumbly Cracker Bridge
Bridge
Barr Gazetas
Our crumbly bridge was the first building built in Canal City made of local gingerbread bricks. This historically valuable bridge not only is beautiful but also acts as a flood barrier for the city. The river coast also has a defence system made out of concrete rocks, helping reduce coastal erosion and possible flooding in the future. The area also serves as a diverse public space for residents and visitors.
Barr Gazetas are driven by the desire to create environments that allow people to thrive. We are a team of collaborators and creators who enjoy reimagining existing buildings and providing thoughtful solutions with people at the centre of our designs. We have a considerate approach to heritage, well-being and sustainability, and believe in architecture as an opportunity for transformation.
Butterscotch Botanical Bridge
Landmark Bridge
Charlton Brown Architects
A Venetian-inspired stone arch bridge straddles the waters below, providing a blooming walkway for the citizens of Canal City. A choir sings around a bonfire in the town centre, bringing festive joy to those perusing the market stalls nearby, while twisty cobbled paths lead deep into the woodland beyond.
Charlton Brown Architecture & Interiors is an award-winning architecture and interior design practice which has operated out of Hampstead for 30 years. Their expertise lies in the sensitive restoration of listed buildings, with emphasis on timeless and liveable design. This is the team’s second time participating in The Gingerbread City.
Royal Fudge Festival Hall
Festival Hall
Concert (a Ridge company) / Henley Halebrown / Evolve
The structure has been designed to reflect some form of social logic to become a destination where people flock to experience the great sense of space that is opened out within the building and the lushly planted roof terrace.
Concert, a Ridge company, have assembled a “best in-class” project team in Henley Halebrown architects and Evolve Consulting Engineers to take part in this year’s Gingerbread City competition.
www.weareconcert.com
www.henleyhalebrown.com
www.evolveuk.biz
@we_are_concert
@henleyhalebrown
@evolve.engineers
Candy Barge
Barge
Eastfield Architecture
Details to follow.
Ponte Vecchio pan di zenzero
Bridge
Eckersley O’Callaghan
The bridge has been designed to maximise space above the canal with houses, green areas, and wildlife habitats integrated into the structure. This innovative approach not only offers a functional and aesthetically pleasing urban environment but also forges a profound connection with nature. It transforms how we engage with our surroundings, creating a unique and sustainable blend of urban and natural elements.
We are a creative team of gingerbread engineers who share a passion for pushing the boundaries of edible architecture. Our gingerbread bridge, within this gingerbread city, showcases our commitment to crafting unique, sustainable, and visually appealing edible structures that delight and amaze visitors of all ages.
Candy Apple Artists Studios
Cafe and artists studios
Frame Projects
Candy Apple Artist Studios is a creative hub located alongside the canal. At the ground floor, a workshop spills out onto the towpath, with full height windows showing activity within. A staircase leads up to the café and artists studios, with a large terrace dominated by a weeping willow tree.
Frame Projects is a design focused, project management consultancy. We are leading experts in design and community review, providing independent expert advice to clients, design teams and planning authorities on development proposals.
The Wobbly Craft Market
Marketplace
NBBJ
The Wobbly Craft Market is renowned for its shaking tectonics and monumental translucent hockey stick structure. The delicate trusses are protected over a layer of jelly which continuously shakes. With a river flowing beneath it, visitors experience the vibrant diverse crafts while gently swaying with the current.
We’re an ideas-driven architecture & design firm dedicated to making communities connected, buildings healthy & the environment resilient.
Magical Blooms
Park
Plans for Plants
Our park, Magical Blooms, is a dream garden that allows visitors to escape into the magic of nature. It is a public place where people can go to relax and unwind surrounded by a gorgeous lake and beautiful pastel perennial plants that magically bloom all year long providing homes for enchanted animals.
Plans for Plants specialises in organic garden design. The company was formed by two passionate plant enthusiasts Victoria Lewis and Emma Germain. They create beautiful, natural gardens, full of bloom, for clients in London and the Eastern Counties. They trained as horticulturalists with the RHS, Beth Chatto Gardens and Marks Hall Estate. In 2023 they were awarded five stars at The Chelsea Flower Show for their coastal garden planting design.
Mint-casso Modern
ROAR Architects
Floating on water the Mint-casso modern rises 8 storeys above canal city on a colourful candy cane structure. Open to the elements, very enjoyable if you’re of the snowperson variety!
Our practice is founded on a passion for and belief in architecture. Our aim is to elevate the everyday through bold and playful designs which push boundaries by collaborating closely with clients, craftsmen and specialists to create spaces of lasting value – purposeful, economically viable and a pleasure to inhabit.
Community Candy Allotments
Allotments
Ruth Campbell & Co
Ruth Campbell & Co, has created a series of sustainable and inclusive neighbourhood allotments, with engaging community spaces, raised beds, a greenhouse and an activity barn.
Ruth Campbell and Co creates hard-working, adaptable, inclusive spaces which are a joy to use, and which add economic and social value to developments. We are working on a number of exciting projects from strategic urban landscape planning to community consultation, activations and interventions.
Toffee Crisp Terrace
Residential
Scene Architects
Artfully crafted contemporary terraced residences boast meticulous design, featuring inset balconies with rotated angles for distinct canal views. Residents enjoy unique perspectives from their private spaces, while a communal rooftop terrace invites leisure and panoramic appreciation. The residences seamlessly blend innovative architecture with communal living, offering a refreshing urban experience.
Specialising in residential architecture and urban design master planning, Scene selected this location for its close proximity to the canal and the design possibilities it offered. The strategic choice allows us to craft a tailored and thoughtful design response that harmonises with the unique features of the surrounding environment.
Canal City Candy Cosmos Observatory
Observatory
Studio PDP
We can observe the entire galaxy with this bold yet whimsical structure. Supported with pillars of candy and adorned with decoration, the luscious lookout is surrounded by lifelike representations of planets from our solar system. The scene is meticulously crafted from vibrant sweets, creating a captivating display of confectionary cosmos.
We design for people and place. We put people first and we work together, creating respectful and responsible buildings and places which are responsive and contextually-led. We work across all building types and spaces, from the smallest detail to new destinations. We enhance heritage through contemporary intervention and respectful adaptation. Our key experience is in residential, hospitality, workplace, masterplanning and interiors.
Bake The World A Better Place Community Centre
Community Centre
tp bennett
Welcome to the ‘Bake The World a Better Place Community Centre!’. Come and immerse yourself in the syrupy sweet social heart of Gingerbread City, an inclusive and easily accessible centre right on the waterfront, for all gingerbread walks of life. This transformative centre sees you starting the day in the recycle and repair workshops whilst feasting in the food hall, before strapping on skates and dancing the night away in the funkiest of roller discos. Inspired by angular forms, green roofs and rainwater harvesting technologies, the Community Centre is pioneering sustainable architecture for the whole of the Gingerbread world.
tp bennett is a leading architecture and design practice located in London, Manchester and Leeds with sustainability at its core. For over 100 years, the practice has been at the forefront of architecture and design, offering cross-sector expertise from a world-class team.
Cinnamon Scrolls
Layercake library and book market
Useful Simple Trust
Paying homage to the canal’s industrial legacy, this retrofitted wharf celebrates the delicious history of the waterworks transport system for people and goods. Designed as an educational and social space for the community, the library is stacked with yummy books and acts as a sharing hub for local makers and bakers.
The Useful Simple Trust (UST) is an award-winning group of professional design and consultancy practices driving change in the built environment through our four brands; Expedition Engineering, Useful Projects, Useful Studio and Thomas.Matthews.
The Museum of Architecture is pleased to present the 7th edition of the hugely popular annual exhibition The Gingerbread City® at
Westfield London, White City
2nd December 2023 – January 7 2024
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
GINGERBREAD ACTIVITIES
TO DO AT HOME
Buy Creative Kits
BOOK YOUR EXHIBITION TICKET
Join one of our festive gingerbread house-making workshops taking place every day during the exhibition. Advance booking is essential.