Faculty of architecture students at the U of M competed in its annual gingerbread design competition last week.
The competition was hosted by the University of Manitoba Association of Architecture Students (UMAAS).
The student association hosts a variety of events throughout the year for students in the faculty of architecture.
Brittany Hince Siwicki, the social co-ordinator of UMAAS, said the gingerbread design competition is open to students in the faculty of architecture.
“It is annually every year somewhere around Christmas time,” said Hince Siwicki.
“It’s open to […] interiors, architecture, landscape, [environmental designers] and undergrads.
“It’s pretty much anyone within architecture.”
The rules of the competition were simple.
“Basically you kind of just show up with the team of, say, four people or whatever it is, and then design a gingerbread house and build it, and that’s all there is to it,” she said.
“We supply the materials and then people get pretty creative — it doesn’t have to be a house. Sometimes they’re doing significant Winnipeg icons,” said Westervelt.
The winners of this year’s competition created their own take on a significant Winnipeg landmark.
“The winners designed Garbage Hill today, so they had the hill and a train going by,” said Hince Siwicki.
To participate in the competition, applicants were asked to pay $25.00 unless every member of the team brought a food donation for faculty of architecture food hampers.
UMAAS president Jessica Westervelt said the association puts on events that allow the students to gain more experience and knowledge in their field.
“Some of them are inter-department events, so trying to get our landscape group, interiors and architecture students all together for events,” she said.
“Some of them are to meet with professionals, so we do an event to have architecture professionals meet with students and try to get answered questions and connections in the industry.”
She said they also have a year-end exhibition party for the members of UMAAS.
UMAAS also works with other organizations in the province.
“We have a relationship with the MAA, which is the Manitoba Association of Architects and [the gingerbread design competition] is our one event that we do with them and other than that, we just function within the university,” she said.
She added that the executive council and a Canadian Architecture Student Association representative helps to coordinate events between the two groups.
