The Stamford office of international design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman received the "Juror's Favorite" award at CANstruction which took place at the Hartford Convention Center on Saturday, June 11. Inspired by the heavy snowfall this past winter, the team came up with the concept for "Melty the Snow-CAN." Built mostly using tuna cans for his body, Melty was also created with packages of powdered drink mix, bottles of fruit drink, and cans of chili.
This is the ninth year that the Stamford office of Perkins Eastman has participated in AIA Connecticut's CANstruction competition. This year, three volunteers teamed with six students from King School in Stamford, for the build. For the Perkins Eastman staff, involvement with local students creates a valuable interaction with the community and outreach to those in need.
CANstruction is a national community service project of the design and construction industry to benefit community food banks. Architects and local students in cities across the country compete to design and build giant-sized structures made entirely out of canned and packaged foods. After the winners are chosen in each city, the creations go on view to the general public. At the close of the competition, the food is donated to the Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare.
Students raise money through fundraisers and corporate sponsorships that are used to purchase canned goods for donation, and Perkins Eastman staff also helped with fundraising in the office. This year, the Perkins Eastman/King School team donated 2,000 cans of food.