15 Architectural Gingerbread Houses That Are Definitely Not Cookie Cutter
Although most gingerbread houses are of the ornate, A-frame cottage variety found in fairy tales like "Hansel and Gretel," they don’t have to be confined to convention. As we’ve discovered, there are many architecturally inspired gingerbread house designs to be found—and quite a few classic Airstreams and campers, too. From iconic homes like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater to midcentury-modern creations, these gingerbread houses are delectable interpretations of architectural history.
A Midcentury Gingerbread House With Breeze Blocks and a Lap Pool
In Phoenix, Arizona, Ted Scutti and Adam Starkey of Sugar Sugar Cake Studio invested 500 hours to build a 1:12 scale midcentury home composed of 210 gingerbread breeze blocks. The home measures in at 23 square inches and just over a foot tall—and everything is edible except for the baseboard. The house was flown from Phoenix to Asheville, North Carolina, where it was a top-10 choice in a national competition.
Inside are midcentury trimmings made of gingerbread, like a Noguchi coffee table and a George Nelson–inspired sun clock. The silver-plated Christmas tree is made of die-cut textured gelatin sheets stacked with ditalini pasta. The palm tree trunks are cinnamon sticks, while the leaves are die-cut wafer paper.
San Francisco–based chef Anthony Strong built a gingerbread-and-candy ski cabin out of candy and gingerbread with all the elements of a quintessential midcentury home, including a butterfly roof, large windows, and a breeze block–enclosed carport. In total, the house took Strong around 10 hours to build: three hours went into drawing and templating, two hours in pastry production and sourcing decorations, two hours to assemble the base, and three hours to decorate.
A Gingerbread Replica of the Midcentury House on Ozark
Anthony Strong has a Yuletide tradition of crafting elaborate gingerbread houses. In 2020, after he says he "finally binge-watched" the Netflix series during pandemic lockdowns, the chef made an edible replica of the midcentury home from the show, with an L-shaped layout and skewed gable roof. Candy rocks imitate the chunky look of a brick chimney, while caramelized isomalt—a type of sugar substitute—creates its floor-to-ceiling windows.
Food artists Caitlin Levin and Henry Hargreaves took gingerbread art to the next level with their rendition of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum.
This impressive gingerbread reproduction of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater was a total labor of love, taking over 12 hours to design and 40 hours to build and decorate. The river and waterfall are made up of three batches of hard candy.
The 2017 Gingerbread City exhibit at London’s Museum of Architecture included gingerbread houses by more than 50 participating architecture firms, including Zaha Hadid Architects, who built this monumental creation.
We love this Palm Springs–style gingerbread creation, complete with native drought-resistant plants, a carport, and even a kidney-shaped pool in the rear. Unfortunately, the vintage pink Bug is not edible.
A Gingerbread Dream House by Design Within Reach
This midcentury-modern gingerbread home features a snowman at the entrance.
A Butterfly Roof Gingerbread House
Based in Australia, McKean Studio chose sunny Palm Springs as an obvious source of gingerbread house inspiration. They Ikea-hacked a few prepared kits, modifying the designs to craft three midcentury houses.
This retro gingerbread camper comes complete with a recipe and a tutorial. We love the addition of Christmas decor which includes the vintage-looking lights, a tree on top, and even a little wreath in the back.
Cliff May–Inspired Midcentury Modern Gingerbread Home
Taking inspiration from a Cliff May home tour during Modernism Week, this gingerbread house was inspired by a classic example of his clean, modular architecture. There is even a template you can download to recreate this one at home.
Philip Johnson’s Gingerbread Glass House
Sweet Lisa’s Exquisite Cakes is a bakery in Connecticut that did this amazing gingerbread version of Philip Johnson’s iconic Glass House.
This 1950s-inspired gingerbread house is complete with period-appropriate decor that includes a black Eames lounge chair, a Noguchi table, a coconut shag rug, a wafer-cookie brick-inlay chimney, and a Nelson wall clock to complete the retro look.
An All-American Gingerbread Airstream
The gorgeousness of this edible Airstream by Black Market Bakery (which has locations in Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, and San Diego) may just inspire you to head out on your own holiday road trip. It even boasts a pretzel-lined campfire in the back.
We love this gingerbread version of a camper van. Hipcamp even published the recipe and a DIY tutorial—the best thing is that this is an easy holiday project can be tackled by even the most novice gingerbread builders.
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