Canstruction is a charity event and exhibition where teams of architects, designers, engineers, and contractors compete in magical feats of engineering to create sculptures made out of canned goods and other nonperishable food items—without the use of glue or other adhesives. Now in its 23^rd year, Canstruction raises hunger awareness in Massachusetts by challenging Boston design teams to transform thousands of nonperishable food into larger-than-life masterpieces at BSA Space and in the Atlantic Wharf lobby at 280 Congress Street, Boston. The participating teams will compete for top honors in categories including Best Use of Labels, Best Meal, Structural Ingenuity, Most Cans, and Jurors’ Favorite, among others.

The Canstruction 2018 theme is Heroes vs. Villains!

Admission is free and kid friendly. Suggested donation: one can or other nonperishable item of food per person (such as tuna, beans, peanut butter, and canned vegetables).

Members of the public will have the opportunity to vote online for their favorite works through the Canstruction Boston Facebook page at facebook.com/CanstructionBoston from October 7, until 1:00 pm on October 10. After the sculptures are dismantled, all the canned goods, supplied by the teams, will be donated to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Founded in 1992, Canstruction’s mission is to highlight the issue of hunger across communities, collect food for distribution to thousands and to showcase the creativity of the design industry. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 13.1 million children under 18 in the United States live in households where they are unable to consistently access enough nutritious food necessary for a healthy life. For more than two decades, the design community in Boston has united through a creative medium that provides canned food for charities fighting hunger in Massachusetts. In 2017, Canstruction Boston donated 93,955 cans of food from the participating 29 teams. In the past 20 years, Canstruction Boston has collected more than ONE MILLION pounds of food, which has provided over 675,000 meals to those in the Greater Boston and surrounding areas.

Download the Call for Entries here.

Important team dates:
Friday, May 11 at 8:00 am: Information session at BSA Space
Friday, June 1 at 6:00 pm: Deadline to register teams
Friday, October 5: Teams deliver food
Saturday, October 6: Build-out day
Wednesday, October 10 at 6:00 pm: Awards presentation and team celebration
Saturday, October 27: Deconstruction day