Ameri-cana won the day at the sixth annual CANSTRUCTION® competition May 8 in Charlotte just prior to the AIA national convention. Many entrants designed powerful icons that paid homage to the tragic events of September 11 or represented cherished American symbols. The American bald eagle, U.S. flag, New York Big Apple, baseball, Converse sneakers, and a classic American breakfast were chosen as the winners from a field of 270 local city winners that went on to compete internationally.

CANSTRUCTION®, through which teams of architects, engineers, contractors, and/or students (mentored by these design professionals) compete to build colossal edible edifices all out of full cans of food, is quickly becoming the industry's biggest international charity event to aid in the fight against hunger. The stunning results are giant canned art exhibitions that invite the public to come view the structures while making contributions of canned food to a local food bank.

This year, some 1,150,000 pounds of food and an additional $121,742 were donated to food banks as a result of the 45 competitive exhibitions held in cities across the U.S. and Canada. That translates into 3 million nutritious meals for people in need.

In addition to the annual competition categories of Best Meal, Best Use of Labels, Structural Ingenuity, Jurors' Favorite, and Honorable Mentions, two special awards were created this year: Most Cans and Best Patriotic entries, the latter to acknowledge all those who memorialized 9-11 in their designs.

The Winners Are

Jurors' Favorite and Most Patriotic
"AmeriCan Espresso]," by Butler Rogers Baskett Architects, P.C., New York City, features a stunning American eagle, made entirely of silver, red, and blue illy espresso coffee cans. Like the emblem on the U.S. quarter, this eagle perches on a branch and fans out his tail feathers along the back.

Jurors' comments: "Wow! This is it! The best! Best holistic. Best structure. It sets a new design standard for the competition."

Photo courtesy of CANSTRUCTION®

Structural Ingenuity
"The American Flag," by Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, Memphis, takes the form of a giant rippling American flag.

Jurors' comments: "The composition and placement of cans created a perception of movement."

Best Use of Labels
"Pitch In to Strike Out Hunger," by Walter P. Moore, Houston, forms a giant baseball glove with perfectly round baseball nested inside.

Jurors' comments: "An all-American icon with three dimensionality. Subtle variations of color and texture achieved through the choice of labels."

Photo © Richard Loper

Best Meal
"Sole Food," by Gresham, Smith & Partners, Nashville, is a bright red Converse sneaker.

Jurors' comments: "A high level of refinement. Nice connection and consistency between design concept and choice of foods."

Photo © William O. Harper

Honorable Mention
"Breakfast Is King," by McClure Engineering, St. Louis, offers a complete breakfast that includes a giant box of Life cereal, milk carton, glass of orange juice, and breakfast plate piled with bacon, pancakes, egg (over easy), banana, and of course a knife and fork.

Jurors' comments: "A well-balanced composition combining many different elements of the competition."

Photo © Arttech Imaging

Honorable Mention
"The Big Apple CAN!" by IBEX Construction, New York City. Two sections of New York's Big Apple, one of which features the New York City Skyline, while the other shows the American flag.

Jurors' comments: "Visually self-explanatory, symbolic, structurally interesting. The structure speaks for itself."

Photo © Kevin Wick

Most Cans
"Firefighter Helmet," by DeBiasse & Seminara, P.C., Newark, features 11,000 cans of food.

The 2002 national CANSTRUCTION® jury members are:
• Jeffrey Davis, board member, Charlotte City Partners
• Christa Faut, Christa Faut Gallery/board member of Arts and Science Council
• Charles C. Hight, dean, college of architecture, UNC Charlotte
• Robert Krumbine, vice president of events and executive director of Charlotte Arts Fest
• Mark Richard Leach, director of the Mint Museum of Craft & Design, Charlotte
• Marvin Malecha, FAIA, dean, college of design, North Carolina State University, Raleigh
• Thomas Carlson-Reddig, AIA, director of design/senior associate, ADW Architects PA
• Kevin B. Utsey, AIA, associate principal, Perkins & Will

CANSTRUCTION® is a trademark event owned by the Society of Design Administration and sponsored in conjunction with professional affiliate organizations such as The American Institute of Architects, American Builders and Contractors, Associated General Contractors, American Society of Interior Designers, and community outreach organizations such as the Junior League and America's Second Harvest Food Banks.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.