Canstruction fights hunger, decorates financial district

The ‘canstructures’ are on display for public viewing in the lobbies of the TD Bank, Ernst & Young, Royal Trust, and Canadian Pacific towers at 77 King Street West until June 8th, before being disassembled and donated to Daily Bread Food Bank, the city’s largest food bank

By Riva Finkelstein –

Built with 52,200 pounds of canned goods, a collection of oversized sculptures is now on display in Toronto’s financial district. On June 3rd, teams of professional designers, architects, engineers and students took part in Toronto’s 14th Annual Canstruction Competition, donating their time, talent and 50,000 cans of canned food to build clever and edible structures, all destined to fill Toronto’s hunger gap.

“One of the most unique food drives in the world, Canstruction is a fun, visual way for the architecture and engineering industry to pull together and give back to the communities they build in,” says Helen Kabriel, co-chair of Canstruction Toronto. “It’s also a creative way to raise public awareness about the challenges of hunger in the city.”

The ‘canstructures’ are on display for public viewing in the lobbies of the TD Bank, Ernst & Young, Royal Trust, and Canadian Pacific towers at 77 King Street West until June 8th, before being disassembled and donated to Daily Bread Food Bank, the city’s largest food bank.

“Beyond impressive structures and creative designs, there’s this underlying message to the ‘canstructures’ that adds another layer of impact for people who walk by,” says Gail Nyberg, executive director of Daily Bread Food Bank.

The Canstruction competition recognizes a variety of factors, not just design aesthetics. For example, the ‘Best Use of Labels’ award focuses on creative graphic possibilities, “Best Meal” award considers the variety and quality of the fare, and “Structural Ingenuity” considers the complexity of the design.

Canstruction Toronto 2013 winning ‘canstructures’:
Jurors Favourite:

Turner Fleischer Architects Inc.

“TWO CANS” are better than one

Ernst & Young Tower

Structural Ingenuity:

BA Consulting Group

Hungry Humpty

Canadian Pacific Tower

Best Meal:

GHD

The Seasons Change, by the Need

Remains

Canadian Pacific Tower

Best Use of Labels:

Hatch Mott MacDonald

CARE-ousel of Hope

Ernst & Young Tower

Honourable Mentions:

EXP Services Inc.

Hunger is no Game!

TD Bank Tower

&

AECOM

CAN See No Hunger

Ernst & Young Tower