Eight teams of local architects, designers and engineers will celebrate decades past — with canned goods — during AIA Honolulu's 21st annual CANstruction competition.
The teams will use thousands of cans of food to construct elaborate 3D structures as part of the yearly event, which will find a new home this year at the Downtown Honolulu branch of Central Pacific Bank, located within Central Pacific Plaza.
"CANstruction is an international program that provides architects, designers and friends with a creative opportunity to showcase their skills while bringing resources and attention to local food banks," AIA Honolulu Executive Vice President Julia Fink told Aloha State Daily via email. "We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Hawai‘i Foodbank, where all the cans will be donated at the end of the week.
"The structures are a great tool to give young-in-their-career members a chance to see a project fulfilled from start to finish, providing experience and leadership training in a fun way."
This year's theme "CANtennial: Design of the Decades!" honors AIA Hawai‘i's 100th anniversary and "invites teams to celebrate a century of creativity, culture and design," an announcement from AIA Honolulu notes, adding that each team must bring an assigned decade to life "by reimagining an iconic object, place, movement or moment from that era, entirely out of canned goods."
"From the bold beginnings of the 1920s to the innovations of today, this theme highlights how design reflects its time while contributing to a collective legacy built over 100 years," the announcement notes.
The professionals will build the displays on Sept. 12, and the completed structures will be on display and open for People’s Choice voting during business hours Sept. 14 to 18. 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 People's Choice Award winner.
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.
After five years at Kāhala Mall, Fink says that the move to a new location this year is an "exciting opportunity to bring CANstruction to new audiences."
"Central Pacific Bank has been a wonderful partner in welcoming the event, and the new location gives us a chance to showcase these incredible structures in a different setting," she says. "Being Downtown places the competition in the center of our vibrant business and civic district and makes it accessible to people who may be experiencing CANstruction for the first time. We’re hopeful the new location will bring in both longtime CANstruction fans and people who are discovering the event for the first time."
According to announcement, CANstruction has collected 787,005 pounds of canned food — enough for 712,826 meals — and more than $110,000 for Hawai‘i Foodbank since its inception.
Architecture firms and allied design partners competing this year include:
- Lowney Architecture and Swinerton Builders
- G70 and Hawaiian Dredging
- HDR, RLB and BASE Engineering
- RMA Architects Inc.
- RAV Productions and PHAD Home Appliance
- WhiteSpace Architects and Iwamoto Engineering Consultants, Inc.
- Bowers + Kubota Consulting, EnPro and Hensel Phelps
- Design Partners Incorporated and Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaiʻi Inc.
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
