Wright's Falling Water in gingerbread

As part of the Internet's ongoing effort to recreate Frank Lloyd Wright's famous Falling Water house in as many media as possible (Lego, Half Life 2), the folks at Garden Melodies have produced a gingerbread edition:

•It took over 12 hours to design
•It took Brenton and I around 40 hours to build and decorate
•There are around 164 different pieces of gingerbread
•It took roughly 12 square feet of gingerbread dough (that's four large batches) to make all the walls, floors and roof
•Over 8 bags of powdered sugar were used to make all the frosting
•It took over 40 sleeves of large Smarties which are used to simulate dry stack stone on the building exterior
•The river and water fall are made up of three batches of hard candy

Falling Water Gingerbread House (via Geekologie)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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bcsizemo

Given the lack of storm windows and all that steel beaming used, I bet heating is unreal…

I’m sure the stone helps hold in what heat you have, but when the river is frozen solid you know it’s cold….
- irksome
  
  Having visited Fallingwater a couple of times, I can tell you it is quite cold in the winter. I asked about the heating and they were rather vague on the topic. I think Wright was primarily interested in the concept of Fallingwater and less in the actual functionality of the design. Having said that, it is a remarkable building and I’ll go back every chance I get. It’s gorgeous there in the winter and this gingerbread version is deliciously evocative.
  
  There is a (perhaps anecdotal) story of Wright receiving a complaint from an owner of one of his homes, about a leak above a desk; Wright suggested moving the desk.
  
  I plan on submitting my own version of Fallingwater to Garden Melodies, in the medium of Interpretive Dance.
- Anonymous
  
  Take Note: The house was built for the Kaufmans as a “Summer” home. I doubt if it was used much in the winter, but just a guess. Thus, no need for much protection from the cold of the Pa. winter.
BB

Delicious design.
mdh

Sweet!
Anonymous

Fantastic!
Csteph

They should be careful. The FLW estate seems to be pretty touchy about people infringing their ‘brand’. The not-for-profit Frank Lloyd Wright museum in Second Life (which had some seriously detailed recreations of his work) was recently issued with a take-down notice and had to remove their builds.

Still, at least these guys can eat the evidence…
Anonymous

Falling Water was intended to be used as a summer home. Pittsburgh gets uncomfortably hot most summers and it was common for the rich to have a summer retreat in the mountains where it is cooler. FLW designed Falling Water to take advantage of this.

That said, i’ve been to Falling Water too and the the tour guides are mostly flakes. It’s become a commercial enterprise almost, and quality of the tour for the price you pay is not the best. (To be fair, a not insignificant portion of proceeds go to protecting pennsylvania wildlife which is some of the most diverse in the USA.)
genre slur

beautiful stuff. Trippy. And yet…
Given FL Wright’s conceptual manner, the total materials employed in this instance seem to diminish his aim to the point of nausea. You catch, or am I throwin’ balls?
brianary

Is there a tiny gingerbread copy of The Fountainhead inside?
Antinous / Moderator

I like how the roofs are a little saggy, just like in a real Frank Lloyd Wright house.
- PaulR
  
  Yeah, and it’s probably more stable than the real thing, too!
Anonymous

This is Melodie, the creator of the house. Thanks so much for checking it out! It was a lot of work to do but definitely worth it! Be sure to keep checking my blog for more cool stuff. I posted a follow-up post on the blog as well with some more information and pictures on the making of the house. gardenmelodies.blogspot.com
nemryn

Has anybody done Fallingwater in Minecraft yet? IF not, I know my next project.
- Anonymous
  
  Of course someone’s done it in minecraft.
  
  http://jeffcityjon.imgur.com/falling_water/
  http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/eebx6/hey_reddit_check_out_my_11_scale_model_of_falling/
  http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/egwkp/minecraft_falling_water/
  http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/dm2th/ive_been_constructing_frank_lloyd_wrights_falling/