Ten teams of local architects, designers and engineers will build a feast for the eyes at Kāhala Mall this weekend, and the public has a chance to vote for their favorite.
The teams will use thousands of cans of food to construct elaborate 3D structures as part of AIA Honolulu's 20th annual CANstruction event.
With a theme of "ExtravaCANza," they’ll draw inspiration from "dazzling parties, glittering galas and show-stopping celebrations," an announcement from AIA Honolulu, the Honolulu chapter of the American Institute of Architects, states.
Build Day for the professionals will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13. A Keiki Corner build is set for 10 a.m. until noon the same day.
The structures will then be on display for People's Choice voting from Sept. 13 through Saturday, Sept. 20.
The food will later be donated to Hawai‘i Foodbank while the People's Choice voting also serves as a donation to the organization — one vote is $1.
Cast your vote at aiahonolulu.org or by scanning the QR Code at each structure. The one that receives the most votes will be named the winner.
"CANstruction is an international competition that began in 1993 as a way to unite the design, engineering and construction industry around a creative, charitable cause: building large-scale structures out of canned goods, which are then donated to local food banks," Julia Fink, executive vice president of AIA Honolulu and the Center for Architecture, told Aloha State Daily in an emailed response to questions. "AIA Honolulu brought the event to Hawai‘i in 2006, partnering with Hawai‘i Foodbank, and since then it has become one of our signature community service efforts.
"We continue to host it because hunger remains a serious issue — one in three households in Hawai‘i experience food insecurity. Canstruction gives us a meaningful way to address that need while showcasing the talent of our architect members and partners. It also provides emerging professionals with an early opportunity to take on a leadership role, manage a project from concept to execution and see their work celebrated publicly."
Fink says it's "incredibly rewarding" to reach the 20th anniversary milestone.
"Over 20 years, CANstruction Honolulu has donated hundreds of thousands of cans — 743,690 pounds! — to the Hawai‘i Foodbank and brought the community together to enjoy these playful, imaginative structures," Fink says. "The public has come to look forward to it every year, and seeing the joy it sparks is as meaningful as the donations themselves.
"The anniversary is really a moment to celebrate the event’s legacy in Hawai‘i — the partnerships it’s built, the awareness it’s raised about hunger, and the creativity it’s inspired in our community."
According to AIA Honolulu, CANstruction has collected 743,690 pounds of canned food and more than $110,000 for Hawai‘i Foodbank over the past two decades.
This year, AIA Honolulu is partnering with ChefZone, a wholesale club offering food and restaurant supplies, to source the canned goods for the competition, the announcement notes.
The teams participating this year are:
Architecture firms and allied design partners competing this year are:
— Bowers + Kubota and Enpro Environmental
— Ferraro Choi and Nordic PCL
— Design Partners Inc. and Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii
— G70 and Swinerton
— HDR Inc and Rider Levett Bucknall
— MC3 Architects, Ralph S. Inouye, and First Hawaiian Bank
— RMA Architects and SSFM
— Constructors LLC, and Construction Insite Systems LLC
— WhiteSpace Architects and Albert C. Kobayashi, Inc.
— WRNS Studio, Coffman Engineers and HHF Planners
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
