Canstruction—a nonprofit organization that holds annual design-building competitions, at which local architects and engineers build structures entirely from canned goods that are eventually donated to charity—will host its 19th annual building day in Boston this Saturday. Each structure typically uses between 2,000 and 5,000 cans—all within a space that is 10 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 10 feet tall.
Participants will head to the BSA Space and the Atlantic Wharf Hotel lobby, where teams will start building structures that they have planned potentially for months. After the designs come to life and the winners are declared, the creations are put on public display as giant art exhibits from Oct. 14 until Oct. 31. Although there is no admission fee to the exhibit, there will be food bins in which attendees can donate canned goods to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank, which serves Lowell, Mass. This is a good cause, and Boston College students should consider attending this event to raise awareness for hunger in areas not far from Chestnut Hill.
Each year a new theme is selected, and the theme for 2014 is “Pop Culture.” Thousands of hungry people are fed wherever a Canstruction competition is held. Last year alone, 26 architectural and engineering firms donated 75,000 pounds of canned food to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank.
Canstruction is one example of the many fundraising events designed to tackle the issue of hunger in Boston. The problems associated with hunger and poverty do not have easy solutions, but events like Canstruction bring together support from across the greater Boston area. Aside from the many volunteering opportunities available to students at BC, Canstruction offers students a creative way to support awareness for hunger while interacting with some of Boston’s top architects, engineers, and designers.
Featured Image Courtesy of Canstruction
