Be sure to stop by the Cornwall Centre or Northgate Mall to join us on build day, Monday March 19th!

Teams will have only 12 hours to build their CANstructions, and this is your chance to cheer them on!  The finished structures will be on display until March 31st at both Northgate Mall and Cornwall Centre.  Make sure to vote for your favourite structure by visiting Guest Services at either mall.  All ballots received will be entered to win one of two, $250 shopping spree.  You can also cast your vote for your favourite structure by visiting the Regina Food Bank's Facebook page and "like" your favourite structure.

The structure that receives the most votes by March 31st will be awarded the "People's Choice" award.  Voting will end March 31st, so be sure to cast your vote!  

What is CANstruction? 

It starts with one can. To feed the hungry. To lift the spirit. To change the world.  For thousands, each day begins and ends with the anguish of hunger. Canstruction, a charity sponsored by the design and construction industry, is determined to end this suffering.

Canstruction is the most unique food charity in the world!

Canstruction is an international community service project of the design and construction industry, to benefit community food banks. Whereever a Canstruction Competition is held, thousands of hungry people are fed; a greater awareness of the issues surrounding hunger is brought home to the public, and a spotlight is placed on the design, corporate and construction industry giving back to the communities it helps build. 

Started in 1993 by Cheri Melillo, Canstruction has grown from a New York-based competition for the Society of Design Administration and the American Institute of Architects, to a North America wide competition involving the entire design and construction industry. Every local winner goes on to compete, via digital photography, at the American Institute of Architects/Society of Design Administration National Convention in the United States. Official award categories include: Best Use of Labels, Juror’s Favourite, Best Meal, and Structural Integrity. 

Canstruction are giant works of sculptural art. Like works of art, they have tremendous visceral impact on the viewer. They arrest the viewer’s attention, get them to focus on the issue of hunger, and evoke a personal response to those in need. Canstruction creates opportunities for the entire engineering, design and construction industry to become involved in a pressing social issue their profession would not otherwise link them to. 

Under the auspices of the Society for Design Administration, professional allied organizations and generous industry contributors, over one hundred cities across North America will be holding Canstruction Competitions in 2011/2012. Since its inception, over ten million pounds of food has been donated to aid in the fight against hunger.

Regina will be one of 15 cities in Canada to host a Canstruction event.

Architects, engineers, designers, and contractors compete to design and build fantastic giant-sized structures made entirely out of canned foods. In each city after the structures are built and the winners declared the creations go on view to the general public as giant art exhibits. At the close of the competition all of the food used in the structures is donated to the local food banks. Design and Construction Industry professional associations that have partnered with the SDA in organizing local competitions include the American Institute of Architects and the Society for Marketing. 

Canstruction is a design/build competition showcasing the talents of design and construction industry professional and students they mentor. At events held around the world, teams are given just 12 hours to defy expectations, logic, and gravity as they build fantastic sculptures from thousands of cans of food. Driven by the knowledge that their structure will change lives-by lifting the spirits of those in need, by raising public awareness, and most importantly, by filling the shelves of  local food banks-dedicated volunteers work tirelessly to bring their creations to life. The following day, the super-sized masterpieces are judged in a variety of categories as these unconventional art exhibits are opened to the public.

Canstruction creates opportunities for the entire design and construction industry (a very large industry) to become involved in a pressing social issue that their profession would not otherwise link them to. This amazing design/build competition, uses canned food as building blocks, brings together multi-disciplinary teams of designers, architects, and builders to create extraordinary structures, which are exhibited to the public and then de-canstructed and of course donated to the food bank. Canstruction promotes team building within firms. Professionals that are on different design projects get a chance to come together to design and build a canstructure, fostering new relationships and bonding within the design firm.

Canstruction invites the public to donate food in addition to the substantial amounts of food donated by the participants. Canstruction gives food manufacturers an event where they can receive product visibility while contributing to a worthy cause, thus increasing their desire to participate in providing food to those in need. Canstruction invites hunger advocacy groups to install exhibitions and give symposiums on hunger that run simultaneously with the events. Canstruction is a new valid pop art form, “canned art”, which challenges the imagination of the designer/builder and viewer alike. 

Canstruction is using one can as a catalyst for change. One can to represent the building blocks of these massive sculptures. One can to prove that every act of kindness makes a difference. Through the generosity of volunteers, celebrity judges, and member of the community, Canstruction has contributed millions of pounds of food to community food banks-demonstrating that we CAN win the fight against hunger.

 Thank you to the following teams for participating in Canstruction Regina 2012!