Design Community Creates Can Sculptures to Combat Hunger
Audrey II was composed of 5480 cans of soup donated by Campbell’s Soup Company.
With an ingenious Audrey II plant from Little Shop of Horrors, architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design firm Nadaskay Kopelson Architects is this year’s winner of the CANstruction competition. The annual engineering contest, honoring canned food structures, was conceived by the design and construction industry to replenish food banks throughout the U.S. Entries were awarded in seven categories.
The jury praised NK Architects, based in of Morristown, New Jersey, for its “flawlessly executed structurally complex sculpture,” noting the Venus fly trap gave a “simple message [which] came through loud and clear: Feed Me!” Audrey II was composed of 5480 cans of soup donated by Campbell’s Soup Company. The team of five NK staffers built Audrey II in five hours.
Participating teams in more than 50 U.S. cities were led by architects, engineers, designers, contractors, and mentored student teams. Constructed on 10-foot-square bases, sculptures are composed only of cans, cardboard, and fasteners. All cans are donated to local food banks for distribution to pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, and day care centers at the end of the exhibition.
“We had fun building this sculpture, and were especially pleased by the opportunity to help eliminate hunger. The real prize was the positive impact on the each participant’s local community,” says Jason Lee, team captain on NK’s Audrey II project.
A complete list of winners is below.
1. Jurors’ Favorite Award
Audrey II: “Feed Me” designed by NK Architects
2. Structural Ingenuity Award
Möbius Strip designed by Platt Byard Dovell White Architects
3. Best Use of Labels Award
Burning Hunger designed by Leslie E. Robertson Associates, RLLP
4. Best Meal Award
Gnome More Hunger designed by DMJM Design
5. Honorable Mention
We CAN Help, One CAN at a Time designed by Ted Moudis Associates
6. Honorable Mention
CAN Voyage designed by Freese & Nichols
7. Most Cans
Balancing Act designed by McGill Smith Punshon, Inc.
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