This weekend saw Benoy crowned grand winners at WATG’s Great Architectural Bake-Off held at Guildhall Yard in The City of London with the ‘Barbicake’, an entirely edible version of the Barbican, made from a scrumptious mix of chocolate fudge, wafer, blueberry swirl, ginger and Nutella.
The annual highlight of the London Festival of Architecture saw the biggest names in the field including SOM, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Squire + Partners and Wilkinson Eyre swap pens for rolling-pins and battle it out to create the best gourmet version of iconic buildings and landmarks.
Stand-out entries included a delicious edible edition of the London Aquatics Centre by Zaha Hadid Architects, winning tastiest bake, and the Imperial War Museum by Stride Treglown which received an honourable mention for its ingenious use of wartime flavours.
For the very first time, three elite universities also gathered for the inaugural Student Bake-Off which welcomed aspiring architects and bakers alike to flex their culinary and creative skills. Central Saint Martins whipped up an immaculate version of The Secession Building in Vienna while University of Greenwich baked Old Royal Navy College.
It was London Metropolitan University who narrowly edged it to be named champions with their semi-demolished version of Robin Hood Gardens, which expertly combined layers of phenomenal sponges of ginger, pistachio and classic Victoria. The edible entries were judged by a world-class panel of industry experts including Tom Hetherington, Jane Duncan, Bethan Ryder, Peter Murray, Carolyn Dwyer and Tamsie Thomson.
The panel witnessed recreations of landmarks including Wilkinson Eyre’s Gasholders London, Farrells’ MI6, a version of Gaudi’s Park Güell by Squire + Partners and Tower Bridge by Make Architects. Marks were awarded for realistic representation, a creative use of materials and – of course – great tasting cakes. Bonus points were awarded for any bakes that explored the London Festival of Architecture’s annual theme of Identity.
Ashley Fauguel, Organiser of WATG’s Great Architectural Bake-Off, commented “We’ve had a wonderful day here in the City with the teams creating some truly stunning cakes.
We had a lovely day in Guildhall Yard with some excellent bakes and stellar judging team, with Benoy’s ‘Barbicake’ winning best bake and Robin Hood Gardens by the student team from London Met winning their own competition.
This is our fourth year hosting the Bake-Off in London, with some of the world’s best architectural practices returning to compete. Along with the student competition, the Bake-Off has brought together both London’s current and next generation of architects for a showcase of their undeniable skill and creativity.”
The event is hosted annually by leading integrated design firm WATG, who organise the competition globally. The London edition was part of the London Festival of Architecture; The City of London is one of the festival’s focus areas for 2018, with Guildhall Yard providing an appropriate picturesque venue for the Bake-Off. Source
- Location: London, UK
- Organiser: WATG’s Great Architectural Bake-Off
- Year: 2018
- Photographs: WATG, Courtesy of Purple
