Provided

Perhaps, amid last month's holiday madness, you missed the unveiling of Cornell's first facility to earn the U.S. Green Building Council's coveted LEED Platinum Rating.

The building sports eco-friendly features galore: high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, solar panels, a wind turbine, a "carbon negative" annual energy profile and a yard filled with native and endangered plants ... and more.

And the best part: It's entirely edible. In fact, surplus building materials doubled as snacks for the architects.

Okay, so the building in question is actually a gingerbread house. One of two, actually, created as part of a contest by staff in Cornell's Environmental Compliance Office.

For now, the houses are on display in the office at East Hill Plaza. But alas, "we are discussing their fate," said project coordinator Molly McGovern. "We are considering composting them."