canstruction® history

In 1992 the Seattle Chapter of the Society of design Administration held a food drive among architectural and engineering firms in the Seattle area. A team of architects and engineers was chosen to build something out of all the cans assembled. Staring at a sea of cans they decided to make a topographical map of the state of Washington. All of the food collected from the food drive was donated to the Seattle Second Harvest Food Bank, Food LifeLine. Their efforts resulted in a full range of coverage in the Seattle newspaper and the term "canstruction" was born.

To generate more enthusiasm for the food drive concept in the design industry, the New York and Denver chapters of the SDA took the basic construction idea one step further and turned it into a design/build competition in 1993. Under this framework architectural and engineering firms would enter teams to compete in designing and building "canstructions" that would be judged by a jury of their peers. They would pre-select the foods and corresponding labels that would execute their designs. The larger their entry the more food would get donated. Awards would be given for the Best Use of Labels, Best Meal, Structural Ingenuity, Juror's Favorite and Honorable Mentions. Competitive by nature, Canstruction® captured the imagination of Design Professionals and the first successful competitions were held. One team in Denver built Coors Field, a project under construction at the time. CNN captured the Can-Coors Field and brought the event to the public's attention. Willard Scott donned a construction hat of the Chrysler Building on the NBC Today Show and publicized the New York event.

In each city where a Canstruction® competition is held, a panel of celebrity jurors and awards presenters is assembled and the generous gift of their time has heightened publicity for the event. Celebrities such as John F. Kennedy, Jr., Amy Grant, nicole Miller, Stanley Tucci, Dorothy Maguire, mayors and State officials, sports figures, and local media personalities have raised the visibility of the project to a level of international recognition and increased participation nationally. In 1999 Canstruction® obtained 501(c)(3) status as a charitable organization.