ARC West London: Architectural Models Crafted from Sugar
Michelle Wibowo and her creation: 1:100 Scale Architectural Model of ARC West London Buildings
On March 20th, 2025, I had the honour of creating a very special piece to the official opening of the ARC Refinery building at ARC West London. This impressive new space will be home to some of the UK’s leading science and technology organisations.
ARC Refinery: New Science and Tech Laboratory facility in West London
What makes this site even more special is its rich history. The ARC Refinery has been built on the former site of the Manbré and Garton Saccharine Works, which was originally established in 1876. The company’s founder, Alex Manbré, came to England with a vision to scale up his groundbreaking method of producing sugar from potato starch—a true pioneer in sweet innovation!
To celebrate this legacy of creativity and invention, ARC Group planned an event that blended the sweet and the scientific—featuring both futuristic machines and delicious sugar-based gastronomy. As part of this celebration, I was commissioned to create a sugar-crafted architectural model of the newly refurbished ARC Refinery, along with its sister facility, ARC Waterfront.
This project was truly one-of-a-kind, and I was so excited to take it on. It brought together my two passions: architecture and sugar art. I built the model at a 1:100 scale, and every detail—from the layout of the buildings to the surrounding landscape—was handcrafted entirely out of sugar.
Artist Michelle Wibowo working on her creation in her studio
The entire process took me around 170 hours of meticulous work. I used approximately 20 kilograms of sugar paste (fondant), several kilos of royal icing (which acted as a kind of edible glue), and even some granulated sugar for the finer textures and detailing.
It was a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience to bring this vision to life in such a unique medium. I loved being able to pay tribute to the site's fascinating past while celebrating its exciting future.
The final piece is now on display at the ARC Refinery in West London. If you're nearby, I hope you get a chance to see it in person!
The 1:100 scale sugar model of the ARC West London building is proudly on display.
