No, we’re not changing our name to the American Institute of Gingerbread Construction or the National Gingerbread Bridge Alliance, but you’ll want to get a load of these amazing baked bridges. Denver’s Gingerbread Bridge Competition, started by Ascent Group in 2006 and coordinated by the Structural Engineers Association Colorado Young Member Group (SEAC YMG), drew 16 teams of architects, engineers, contractors, and students this year. Teams ranging from middle-schoolers to practicing professionals created their bridges ahead of time and brought them to Dry Dock Brewing Co. to be judged in the categories of Architectural Design, Structural Design, and People’s Choice. The Structural Design rankings are based on the ratio of the total load capacity to bridge weight. Proceeds from the event go to charities designated by first-place teams. Check out the winning bridges below!
Architectural Design
1st Place: Yellow Brick Bridge – Campus Middle School 6th Grade STEMblazers
2nd Place: Galactic Bridge – Campus Middle School 8th Grade STEMblazers
3rd Place: Gumdrop Pass – Burns & McDonnell
Structural Design
1st Place: The Ministry of Hard Pudding – Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
2nd Place: Gumdrop Pass – Burns & McDonnell
3rd Place: Galactic Bridge – Campus Middle School 8th Grade STEMblazers
People’s Choice
1st Place: Route 66 – RMG
2nd Place: The Ministry of Hard Pudding – Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
3rd Place: Galactic Bridge – Campus Middle School 8th Grade STEMblazers
See more photos of the Gingerbread Bridge Competition here.
Photos by Nicole Crandall, Anchor Engineering