The cans were stacked and have probably already been distributed by Gleaners Community Food Bank…but did you know – QEA CANstructed this fall?
CANstruction is a national charity event created for the design and construction industry by the Society of Design Administration. This design and build competition challenges teams to construct large scale fantastical structures made entirely of canned food. After the structures are built and the winners declared, the hosting venue is opened to the public for exhibit. At the close of the competition all of the food used in the structures is donated to local food banks for distribution to community emergency feeding programs. The first event was held in New York City in 1992; since then the competition has been held in over 140 cities world-wide donating over 15 million pounds of food to alleviate hunger and malnutrition. This year the AIA Detroit Chapter hosted CANstruction at the Detroit Institute of Arts to benefit Gleaners Food Bank.
This year’s theme was “You can’t spell food without the ‘D’?
So that got us thinking, what is the quintessential symbol of Detroit? You can imagine how long the list became, and quickly…ok, what can also be distilled and abstracted in such a way that it keeps its meaning AND can be recognizably rendered in CANS? Here’s what we came up with…
This big fella was put in place in the ‘50s and has since become a local icon. He sports team jerseys and has been known to spend nights with Giacomo Manzu’s Dance Step ballerina. The former has often been photographed, the latter evidenced by the green footprints left behind the following morning. His image and name have been lent for many uses, from choral groups to government awards, but we just borrowed his bling for this event.
By the way, the whole shebang wouldn’t have been possible without support from not only our own team and the QEA office donation, but our generous sponsors: Evergreene Architectural Arts, Fitzpatrick Structural Engineers, Giffels-Webster Engineers, NORR, Peter Basso Associates, and especially the event sponsor, Kroger.
Can you spell food without the ‘D’? We don’t think so. Detroit’s spirit inspires our everyday work, and the iconic ‘Spirit of Detroit’ sculpture by Marshall Fredericks inspired this entry. Human relationships and greater purpose symbolized by the statue are resonated in cans to feed hungry people provided by our donors. The glowing sphere in this instance emanates rays of generosity and baked beans.
After a LONG, but successful practice build we knew it was possible.
In the end, QEA’s team put together 2,505 cans, which is about 1,650 pounds of food. We also raised enough money, beyond the cost of the cans, to give Gleaners a check for even more meals. The 2011 CANstruction event gathered together 19,416 pounds of food, roughly 14,931 meals.
Check out the time lapse video of the actual build day by clicking HERE.
If you want a more complete picture of the entire collection of CANstructions, check out the interior scan done by Brandon Walker of Midwestern Consulting by clicking here.
Post new comment