On 10.11.16, WATG and Wimberly Interiors hosted seven architecture and design firms at Gallery 151 for the first annual Great Architectural Bake-Off New York, presented as part of Archtober.

Firms showcased their design and baking abilities to create delectable replicas of renowned international architecture, using cake as their primary building material.

The contestants constructed iconic structures, including Lincoln Center, the Sydney Opera House, Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Center, Philip Johnson’s Glass House, and SANAA’s New Museum, and another less iconic structure, IKEA Red Hook.

WATG and Wimberly Interiors convened a jury of design professionals and culinary experts to select a winning confection: David Graver, senior editor of Cool Hunting; Michael Laiskonis, creative director of the Institute of Culinary Education; Stacy Shoemaker Rauen, editor-in-chief of Hospitality Design (HD) magazine; and our own Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA, executive director of AIANY and the Center for Architecture. The esteemed jury rated the decadent designs based on realistic representation, creative use of materials, and tastiest building.

Following two hours of pin rolling and icing, the contestants presented their final projects to the jury. After much deliberation, STUDIOS Architecture took the cake for its elegant, fondant rendition of Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Center in Azerbaijan, complete with a mini-marzipan Zaha.

Prosky also announced an honorable mention for GRADE New York's sugar-spun Glass House.

Congratulations to all of the contestants! We look forward to more architecturally-inspired fun at the Center for Architecture’s Pumpkitecture! Pumpkin Carving Competition on 10.28.16.