London's Museum of Architecture has revealed the 2023 slate of participating design firms in its annual Gingerbread City exhibition, along with an expanded American component taking place in New York City through the end of the holiday season.

For the dual city festival, participants were charged with interpreting the role water plays in urban development. Their designs comprised four zones (Urban Floodplain, Canal City, Frozen Landscape, and Underwater + Floating City) in both locations, with a fifth Desert Landscape area presenting a “sweet feast for the eyes” in New York.

Highlights from the more than 100 firms that contributed to the London exhibition include a BubbleBurst Bonbon Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects, Jammy Jubilee by Foster + Partners, Atelier Ten’s The Gingerbread Factory, the Bakewell Bridge by Allies and Morrison, and a Cinnamon Stadium by Hopkins Architects.

On the other side, the first U.S. exhibition featured delicious baked creations by more than 50 designers, such as the Venetian Mac-a-Ruin from Cooper Robertson, a Lemonade Lighthouse by the Rockwell Group, MA|Morris Adjmi's The Eclair Eco Resort, Glacier Gallery by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, and Fridge & Freezer: A Penguin Story by CannonDesign.

Speaking from London, the museum’s founder, Melissa Woolford, said: “We are so excited to be back for our seventh year and looking at water in cities as our theme. Here in the UK, our summers are predicted to get hotter and drier and winters are becoming wetter and milder. What the exhibition shows, in a fun and approachable way, is how sustainable design ideas can help us create water sensitive cities and mitigate some of the worst effects of extreme flooding and water shortage.”

This year marks the third consecutive Gingerbread City contest to be master planned by Madeleine Kessler Architecture, whose work on both continents was supported by Tibbalds Planning and Urban Design.

The exhibitions are being staged through January 7th at 25 Fulton Street in the South Street Seaport in New York and the Westfield London shopping center in White City, respectively.