Houston's Gingerbread Build-Off Showcases Ambitious Edible Creations

Gingerbread houses conjure images of children covered to the elbows in icing, sticking graham crackers to the side of milk cartons and eating more candy than actually makes its way onto the creation.

But when architects get involved, it's a whole different ballgame. That was on display Saturday in downtown Houston for the annual Gingerbread Build-Off, sponsored by the city's branch of the American Institute of Architects.

Teams had five hours to create their works of art, and boy, were they ambitious. The final products included a lighthouse, the "Be Someone" overpass over I-45 in downtown Houston, the infamous leg lamp from A Christmas Story, a palace from Disney's Aladdin and a barn scene complete with a whirling tornado.

No small feat, considering all the building materials had to be edible.