If you just can’t cut it as an architect, you now have another option—the ice cream sandwich business. Thanks to Freya Estreller and Natasha Case, the young women behind the Coolhaus ice cream sandwich brand, architecture and the mobile food industry have harmonized. Their all-natural, homemade ice cream is scooped between two cookies, and even delivered in an edible wrapper made out of rice paper and soy based ink. But what distinguishes these frozen treats, let alone relates them to architecture? Practically everything…

Though traditional in appearance, the stacking of the cookies and ice cream offers an opportunity to create a mathematical architecture through a mix of horizontal lines and circular forms. And check out the name of the business itself—the branding “Coolhaus” is a nod to Rem Koolhaas, the Pritzker Prize–winning architect and mastermind behind Seattle’s glass-and-steel Central Library. But the witticism doesn’t stop there: the girls deliver their ice cream sandwiches to hot and hungry Los Angelenos in a tricked-out truck—a “cool house” on wheels, literally cool in both temperature and manner. The notorious truck is a former postal wagon, revamped with a Barbie-pink roof, wheel rims, and an abundance of architectural tributes to decorate the truck’s façade. These photos feature notable buildings, like Louis Kahn’s Salk Institute from the nearby San Diego, as well as pictures of the architects themselves. The key photographs represent the central product—the ice cream sandwiches and the inspiration behind each famous treat.

It is obvious that Estreller and Case enjoy clever play on words—just look at our prior discussion of the “Coolhaus” name. The ice cream treats and their respective names are no exception. Customers can order a sugar cookie and strawberry ice cream, cleverly titled the Frank Behry, after architect Frank Gehry who designed L.A.’s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Or one can sample an Orange Julius Shulman, a blood-orange sorbet named after the renowned architectural photographer. Coolhaus also features treats in respect to architectural styles: check out Mintimalism, a mint chip ice cream layered between a chocolate cookie. Identifying the puns of each item on the physically rotating menu (an architectural and engineering tribute, of course) is almost as fun as actually digging into the sandwich itself! Furthermore, the pictures bring the theories, designs, and architects to mainstream society: Coolhaus customers get an art lesson while they wait by simply browsing the exterior of the truck.

The girls also credit themselves with another feat—bringing awareness to urban spaces that would not be utilized otherwise. Tapping into the ever-present social media network, the girls use Twitter to communicate their constantly moving location. When the truck arrives at a destination, it “creates a whole new atmosphere,” Case explains. “We’ll show up in a parking lot, and that leads to a gathering of people in a parking lot — a place they probably wouldn’t have gathered before.”

Estreller and Case are always looking to develop the business—their next step is expansion to New York and San Francisco. And Coolhaus is just the beginning for these architecturally-savvy entrepreneurs! The ice cream sandwich business is the first project under their recently formed brand “Farchitecture” (a – surprise! – play on words combining food and architecture). The girls are in the process of creating popsicles shaped like famous buildings, as well as edible, sugar-based spoons. The possibilities are endless, and the girls are thinking BIG. Estreller and Case are interested in real estate development, where a communal eating area would supply total sustenance for an area—a large garden, for example, that provides all necessary food for a community. Their overall Farchitecture goal is to explore how design can enhance the eating experience.

These girls aren’t the only ones finding alternative ways to use architectural know-how. Check out this discussion forum on Architectural Record’s website about emerging architects who leave the profession. Some are finding great success in interesting approaches; like Estreller and Case, these professionals still fundamentally designing, but in unconventional ways.