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By Kirsti Marohn

About two dozen people crowded around tables in an art studio in downtown Sauk Centre on a recent Saturday, each with a box containing the essential elements of a building: four walls, a roof, a tube of “mortar” that looks suspiciously like frosting.

Ann Marie Johnson, who handles community engagement for the Stearns History Museum, welcomed the group. The museum sponsors the community classes that aim to teach concepts of architecture and design using an unusual medium: gingerbread.

“Hopefully you’ll learn something about buildings and architecture and how to put your structures together and maintain them, and have a lot of fun,” Johnson said.

The class was led by Evan Larson with GLT Architects. Larson typically designs more permanent buildings, including a new children’s museum in downtown St. Cloud. But both require the same kind of planning, he said.

“You don’t think about the design process before you start building sometimes,” Larson said. “So this makes you kind of think, ‘Well, how am I building it? Who am I building it for? What materials do I have to work with?’”

Larson required the gingerbread architects to sketch a blueprint of their house and apply for a building permit. He checked each design before stamping it. Then, the builders got to work constructing their houses.

The Stearns History Museum has hosted the workshops for a couple of years as part of its mission to preserve and share the county’s history, and connect people through the power of history and culture.

Johnson said she hopes people will take what they learn with gingerbread and apply it to their own homes and spaces.

“The idea is if you’re having fun, maybe you’ll keep those ideas in your head. It’s a great way to learn,” she said. “And if people are also able to know a little bit more about how buildings are put together, they might be able to better care for them and keep them in use for as long as they can.”

The gingerbread classes get people talking about topics that can seem serious and boring — like structural design and the building process — in a fun way, said Amy Degerstrom, the museum’s executive director. They typically host the classes in historic buildings such as the 510 Art Lab in Sauk Centre, a repurposed bar and supper club.

“As a country, the United States tends to be bit throwaway in terms of our structures and buildings in comparison to say Europe,” Degerstrom said. “So I love the idea that this could maybe spark an interest in someone who hasn’t thought about buildings, and why we need to keep them.”

After an hour of construction, a few of the gingerbread houses’ roofs had caved in. But most were still standing. Larson said he was happy with the group’s progress.

“A few people were assembling them a little bit quick. We do want our materials to set up a little bit before we move on to the next step, so that gets a little concerning,” he said. “They had a few structural collapses. But I think that’s the learning process.”

As they worked, the class members learned some architectural terms, such as gables, eaves and dormers. Stacie Michels propped up her collapsing roof with a graham cracker — like a flying buttress on a gothic cathedral, a design element she hadn’t known about before.

Michels is president of the Chamber of Commerce in Sauk Centre, a town known for being the birthplace of author Sinclair Lewis. Its original Main Street, the name of Lewis’ famous novel, is lined with historic brick structures.

The gingerbread class offers a chance to highlight the importance of making use of old buildings, Michels said.

“So many people want to go and tear down and build new, and I think it’s important that we preserve the history of our communities,” she said. If people don’t find value in old buildings, they’re unlikely to maintain and preserve them until they’re beyond repair, she said.

At the end of class, the builders packed up their gingerbread houses to take home, along with a little more knowledge about how to create something that lasts.

“I hope that they come away with obviously having a good time, but also thinking about the traditions that we do at holiday time, and how those fit into the bigger story of your community and the spaces where you live in and the spaces where you work,” Degerstrom said.