Home Public News & Programs Local architects to build colossal structures from 30,000 pounds of canned, boxed food to be donated to Operation Feed
Local architects to build colossal structures from 30,000 pounds of canned, boxed food to be donated to Operation Feed PDF Print E-mail

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Central Ohio architects will unveil their 10-foot by 10-foot sculptures built from thousands of cans and boxes of food at COSI Wednesday, March 4, 2009, as part of Canstruction®, a North American design/build competition that supports area food banks in participating cities.

The sculptures, which will incorporate a sustainability theme, “Being Green,” will be judged and unveiled at a special reception Wednesday, March 4, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at COSI, 333 W. Broad St.  (All media are invited to the Wednesday reception.) The exhibit will open to the public Thursday, March 5, and be available for viewing through Sunday, March 29, during COSI’s regular operating hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

After the competition, approximately 30,000 pounds of food will be donated to Mid-Ohio Foodbank’s Operation Feed community food drive. Operation Feed helps stock the shelves of hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters in central and eastern Ohio.

“This annual event promotes team building and creativity, as well as a great local cause,” said Jon Stephens, an architect at Sullivan Bruck Architects and 2009 program chair, representing the American Institute of Architects, Columbus Chapter, or AIA Columbus, one of the program sponsors.

“We’re especially grateful to COSI, which is providing a venue for the exhibit in conjunction with its ‘Frogs, A Chorus of Colors’ exhibit. Our theme for Canstruction® 2009, ‘Being Green,’ connects well with COSI’s frog exhibit, and provides an opportunity for our teams to incorporate sustainability into their designs. We’re also excited to partner again with Giant Eagle and G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. this year to raise awareness for hunger in our community,” Stephens said.

Canstruction® 2009 will serve as the kick-off for a larger AIA Columbus food drive, which the architecture organization hopes will break the record for its annual contribution to Operation Feed, Stephens said.

Giant Eagle, the official canned goods sponsor of Canstruction®, together with assistance from G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co., will contribute more than  $10,000 in canned and boxed goods to be used by the central Ohio design teams. Design/build teams raise or donate the difference between seed funding and the final cost of their particular structure. Local architects and building industry professionals also donate their design and construction time to create the food sculptures. Design teams usually donate an additional $12,000 to $14,000 worth of food to Operation Feed.

Other Canstruction® sponsors are Mid-Ohio Foodbank and the Society for Design Administration.

“We can’t wait to see the creative sculptures our teams design this year to bring emphasis to the problem of hunger in our community, which has been on the rise as the economy struggles,” said Dave Daniel, Giant Eagle vice president of operations.

This year’s Canstruction® teams include architects from:

Abbot Studios
Bird-Houk Collaborative
Karlsberger
Meacham & Apel Architects
Meyers + Associates
NBBJ
Rogers Krajnak
Schooley Caldwell Associates
Sullivan Bruck Architects
URS

Sculpture judges this year include:

Timothy Hawk, principal, WSA Studio; president, AIA Columbus
Thomas Jackson, president/CEO, Ohio Grocers Association
Michael Robinson, director, corporate citizenship, Nationwide; Operation Feed Kitchen Cabinet Leadership Panel
Brian Ball, business reporter, Business First
Emily Rhoades, business strategist, COSI

Winning structures in Columbus will compete in the national Canstruction® competition to be held in San Francisco during the national AIA/SDA conventions, April 30-May 2, 2009. To learn more about Columbs’ Canstruction® competition, visit www.canstruction-columbus.com.

 

About our partners

Operation Feed is an annual community-wide food and funds drive coordinated by Mid-Ohio Foodbank. Each spring, local businesses, government agencies, school children and civic groups team up to donate critically needed food items and dollars to help those in need. Operation Feed helps stock the shelves of hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters in central and eastern Ohio. To find out how you can participate in Operation Feed, visit www.midohiofoodbank.org.

The AIA was founded in 1857; the Columbus chapter was founded in 1929. Through education, government advocacy, community redevelopment and public outreach activities, the AIA and its 80,000 members work to achieve a more humane built environment and a higher standard of professionalism for architects. AIA Columbus has 750 members, serving a 30-county area from Mansfield to Marietta. For more information, visit www.aiacolumbus.org

Giant Eagle was named America’s Second Harvest 2004 Regional Retailer of the Year for its support of local food banks including Mid-Ohio Foodbank, and also actively supports the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Columbus Metropolitan Library Summer Reading Program.  Founded in 1931, Giant Eagle, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest food retailers and food distributors with 224 supermarkets, in addition to 135 fuel and convenience stores throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland.

G&J Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. employs more than 1,500 people in 12 locations in Ohio and Kentucky, including production facilities in Lexington and Winchester, Kentucky, and in Columbus and Portsmouth, Ohio. G&J has distribution centers in Hamilton, Ripley, Hillsboro, Athens, Chillicothe, Cheshire and Zanesville, Ohio, and in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers produce, sell and/or distribute Pepsi-Cola, Diet Pepsi, Diet Pepsi Max, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Mug Root Beer, Dr Pepper, Orange and Grape Crush, Tropicana Fruit Beverages, Amp Energy Products, Starbucks Frappuccino and iced beverages, Lipton Teas, Dole Fruit Juices, Aquafina Water products, Sobe energy beverages, and Gatorade products.

The Society for Design Administration promotes the exchange of ideas and educates its members in the related disciplines of design firm administration. Chartered in 1971, Columbus SDA sponsors educational programs, seminars, and special events that directly impact design firm practice.

Parents Magazine recently named COSI, one of the most respected science centers in the nation, serving more than 20 million visitors since 1964, the #1 Science Museum in America and is. COSI features more than 300
interactive exhibits throughout discovery-based and themed exhibition areas. COSI’s groundbreaking, award-winning education programs have touched more than 6 million teachers and students. For more information please visit www.cosi.org