Happy (Octo-licious) Holidays!

When thinking of a new gingerbread design for this year, my son requested that we build an Octopod, so… here is the result.

For anyone not familiar with the Octonauts, they are a team of animals who live underwater in the Octopod.

I feel pretty pleased with the pioneering efforts of baking gingerbread around an ovenproof bowl to create the rounded pods. Three pounds of powdered sugar later, there is significant icing coverage to create the dreamlike fantasy effect of the Octonauts’ aesthetic. And I think we have fully explored the structural properties of the gingerbread and icing combination. Perhaps next year we can push the boundaries of architectural baked goods even further.

If you missed the Green Urban Gingerbread House from 2010, here are some links to the (tasty and educational) results of last year’s baking exploration:

• The Green Urban Gingerbread Open House
• The Making of the Green Urban Gingerbread House: Solar Panels
• The Making of the Green Urban Gingerbread House: Windows
• The Demolition and Recycling of the Green Urban Gingerbread House

It seems so much more subdued than it did last year…. What do you think we should build next year?