Quincy, MA This fall Wessling Architects was a participant in the 2016 Canstruction Boston Competition and donated over 4,100 cans of food to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank (MVFB). Canstruction, a local organization celebrating its 21st year in the fight against hunger in Massachusetts, commemorated the anniversary with the theme Journey Into Space. Wessling Architects’ team, inspired by a play on words and the movie Office Space, entered the competition with a structure titled “Office Space: Healthy Place.”
With a focus on a variety of essential and most requested food items, the team was honored to receive the “Best Meal” Award (locally known as the “Friend of the Food Bank”). As an award winner, the design will travel digitally to a panel of jurors and be judged at the National American Institute of Architects Convention in April 2017.
The food collected at Canstruction this year translates to over 88,000 pounds of food and 68,000 meals for families with children whose parents cannot afford to purchase nutritious food. The high cost of living in Massachusetts presents additional challenges to low-income families who are reducing their food budgets in order to make ends meet.
Food donated by Wessling Architects and the 27 participating teams along with foods from the Merrimack Valley Food Bank warehouse will be shared with 138 agency programs to feed more than 70,000 people monthly in 47 communities, offering hope and nutritious food to families in need.
Wessling’s team captains were Laura Whitcomb and Christopher Kurland. Team members included Scott Winkler, Patrick Norton, Daniel Mulvey, James Holland, Linda Works, John Bates, Deb Drisko, Mat Spinola and Jillian Huntress.
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