The Renowned and Novel Austrian Gingerbread

If I sayGingerbread man, what will you at once imagine: ghostbuster or Alice in wonderland? What I heard lately was that the gingerbread was being turned into something practical these days --- Open Spaces, the pre-Christmas theme of this inventive competition by Bene EAT ART. The event challenges the inventive minds of Austria's architects to produce some elaborate designs with the use of gingerbread. Architect Rüdiger Lainer, journalist Michael Freund, and last year's victors Andreas Machalek and Johannes Pesendorfer were chosen to be this year's jury for the gingerbread event.

According to the jury, it was a very difficult task to be a judge in this type of events. Another judge says that the architects this year have far more improvement than last year's contestants, since the former's works were nothing but modern and unique -- proofs that they put their hearts into their works. It has been a tough rough task to present the winners this year, but eventually, W. Stelzhammer Studio became the distinguished victor with Iris Karminski Pielsticker, Monika Hoffman and Celen Arcas for the work entitled Open Space With Bear. The jury criticizes their work as nothing but open, light-hearted, logical, self-sufficient, and flexible, as seen from the group's full mastery of the competition's concept, Open Spaces.