Building Arizona

6th Annual Event Begins on Saturday, March 31 Using Thousands of Cans to Fill Emergency Food Boxes at St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance

Competing teams of architectural, engineering and construction firms will both showcase their talents and feed the hungry when the CANstruction® 2012 competition and judging takes place March 31 through April 7 at its new home, the Phoenix Convention Center’s West Building (1003 N. 3^rd Street).

Now in its sixth year, the CANstruction competition will again benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance and will be hosted by The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), Arizona chapter, under the auspices of the Society for Design Administration (SDA). The event has become one of the largest single-event donations for the Food Bank, with more than 56,000 cans used to construct incredibly imaginative designs last year, with all the non-perishable items used earmarked to help fill the more than 300,000 Emergency Food Boxes St. Mary’s distributes into the community annually.

The teams, which will include high school and college-aged design students working alongside some of the professional firms have 12 hours to build their structures on the morning of Saturday, March 31 at the convention center. The completed structures will be on display for the public to see beginning March 31 and continuing through Friday April 6.  During the exhibition, the public may cast their vote for the AIA Phoenix Metro People’s Choice Award and donate canned food to food drive boxes positioned around the exhibits.

Other awards will be given for Best Use of Labels, Best Meal, Structural Ingenuity and Jurors’ Favorite by a panel of judges. Winning teams will be publicly honored at an Awards & Networking Mixer on Tuesday, April 3. Winners from local competitions around the nation will compete in the national Canstruction competition through a slideshow photography submission.

“CANstruction is a unique way to raise awareness and non-perishable items for the Food Bank,” said Terry Shannon, the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance President and CEO. “We are excited to be involved in the event for the sixth year and, as always, are very curious to see what kind of incredible structures will be created by these innovative minds.”

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***MEDIA IS INVITED TO FILM THE CANSTRUCTION BUILDING PROCESS ON SATURDAY, MARCH 31 (BEGINNING AT APPROXIMATELY 9 a.m.) OR VIEW THE COMPLETED STRUCTURES AND SPEAK WITH THE DESIGNERS ON MONDAY MORNING, APRIL 2. PLEASE COORDINATE WITH JERRY BROWN FROM ST. MARY’S FOOD BANK ALLIANCE AT (602) 684-0939 TO DISCUSS INTERVIEW TIMES AND AVAILABILITY.*****

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ABOUT ST. MARY’S FOOD BANK ALLIANCE: Now in its 45^th year of operation, the world’s first food bank is a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization that alleviates hunger by efficiently gathering and distributing food to 500 agencies that serve the hungry.  Serving two-thirds of Arizona’s 15 counties, the organization is a member of Feeding America, the national network of food banks, and is committed to volunteerism, building community relationships, and improving the quality of life for Arizonans in need. Last year, the Food Bank distributed more than 74 million pounds of food to families and individuals, provided enough food for 275,000 meals every day, and garnered more than 310,000 volunteer service hours. Web site: www.FirstFoodBank.org Phone: 602-242-FOOD.

By Jodi Weisberg for the Arizona Builder’s Exchange

Can you make a difference?  Yes, you can.  Literally—one can at a time.

Canstruction, an international community service project of the design and construction industries to benefit food banks, is kicking off its 2012 competition.  The event is run through the local chapter of the Society for Marketing Professionals (SMPS).

Founded in 1992 in New York City, the event is now celebrating its 20^th Anniversary.  In the last decade, canstruction has spread to almost 200 cities and several foreign countries.  It incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1998, and became trademarked in 2000.

Jerry Brown, Director of Public Relations for St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, said this is an important event for them and among their top 10 largest food drives.  “Everyone thinks of us in November and December, but in the Spring, we don’t receive as much food.  So this is stuff we can really use!”

Jennifer Schaefer of Henderson Engineering and Maureen Carpenter of Pulice Construction are the co-chairs of this year’s event.  They expect 15 teams, up from 10 last year, which means even more food will be donated. “The more food we can raise the better,” said Schaefer.  “More teams equals more cans which equals more food.  It’s a win-win for everyone.”

Some interesting facts about how Phoenix fared in the 2011 contest:

• Ranked #7 nationally in the amount of cans donated
• More than 56,100 pounds of food donated to St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance
• Enough food for 47,547 meals

The rules are simple: Five person teams must plan, shop, construct and then tear down their can structures. Teams are comprised of architects, engineers, designers, contractors, and professionals mentoring students, associations or businesses.

St Mary’s Food Bank Alliance helps each team by weighing, wrapping and delivering the cans to the event site each year. “We want the teams to focus on building their structures and not worrying about hauling cans to the site,” said Brown. “We deliver everything on wooden pallets to make things easier for them.”

Among the new teams this year are a group of ASU graduate students in architecture and engineering.  With no company backing, the team is looking to use student food cards to purchase their cans.

The event will be held at the Phoenix Convention Center and is open to the public free of charge.  The public is invited to watch the teams as they build their structures on March 31, and to view them during the week they remain up, from April 1-7.

If you want to join in on the fun, or just have a desire to give back to the community, contact either Jennifer Schaefer at 602-336-5235, Jennifer.Schaefer@hei-eng.com or Maureen Carpenter at 602-889-1448, Maureen@pulice.com.

“I just want to encourage everyone to come out to this event,” said Brown. “It is unbelievable to see what these teams do and to see the planning, structures, and colors.  They are like works of art.”

Sponsorships are still available – see the benefits and levels of sponsorship available here.

In the coming weeks look for a complete list of teams and their theme build. Learn more about it here http://www.phoenixcanstruction.org.

March 8th was the 2011 Phoenix Canstruction Awards Gala held at Red Development in CityScape.  The winners are…

Juror’s Favorite – It’s Time – We Can End Hunger by Arrington Watkins Architects / Dibble Engineering / Paragon Structural Engineers / LSW Engineering / Gilbane Building Company

Honorable Mention: DESPICABLE Meals, No More! By FoRM Design Studio / Ryan Companies / Kendle Design Collaborative/ JRC Design/ JLC Consulting

Honorable Mention: The Stagecoach Journey – A Mission to End Hunger by DWL Architects + Planners / Mortenson Construction

Best Meal: Hal the Hungry, Hungry Hippo by ULI Central Arizona Young Leaders Group

Best Structural Ingenuity: Take Hunger Off the Grid by SmithGroup / JJR|Floor / DPR Construction

Best Use of Labels: The CANdidate for Change – is You by McCarthy Building Companies / Leo A Dal

Last but not least, other great entries and winners in our book for helping St. Mary’s Food Bank are…

CAN-u-copia by Lawrence Lake Interiors LLC / Loewen Design Group LLC / Sources + Design / Phoenix Architecture, Design & Planning, LLC

Step Up to the Plate by Gensler, Holder Construction and Corporate Interior Systems

Through Perseverance, We CAN Wear Down Hunger by Strand Associates / East Valley Academy

Bridging the Hunger Gap by AECOM

The Most Important Meal of the Day By Michael Baker Jr., Inc. / Felten Group, Inc.

The Society for Marketing Profesional Services Arizona chapter under the auspices of the Society for Design Administration is bringing you once again the 5th Annual Canstruction competition.

Who:
Teams of local Architects, Engineers, Contractors, Designers and Students.

Canstruction 2011 Teams
Even in these economically challenging times, the following teams have committed to ending hunger with Canstruction 2011!

• Arrington Watkins Architects / Dibble Engineering / Paragon Structural Engineers / LSW Engineering / Gilbane Building Company
• DWL Architects + Planners / Mortenson Construction
• Gensler / Holder Construction / Corporate Interior Systems (CIS)
• SmithGroup / JJR|Floor / DPR Construction
• Strand Associates / East Valley Academy
• FoRM Design Studio / Ryan Companies / Kendle Design Collaborative/ JRC Design/ JLC Consulting/
• Robert Kubicek Architects and Associates, Inc.
• McCarthy Building Companies / Leo A Daly
• Michael Baker Jr., Inc. / Felton Group, Inc.
• AECOM
• ULI Central Arizona Young Leaders Group
• Lawrence Lake Interiors LLC / Loewen Design Group LLC / Sources + Design / Phoenix Architecture, Design & Planning, LLC

What:
Design and build structures made entirely from canned (nonperishable) foods within a 10′ x 10′ x 8′h space!

When:
January 6, 2011
Kick-off Meeting and St. Mary’s Food Bank and Tour, 5 p.m.

January 14, 2011
Entry Form and Fee due by 5 p.m.

February 24, 2011
Can Count Spec Sheet Due to Lori Bennett

March 5, 2011
Building Begins at 5:30 a.m. (teams only)

March 5-12, 2011
Exhibition open to public

March 8, 2011
Judging

March 8, 2011
Awards Celebration (time TBD)

March 12, 2011
De-Canstruction (time TBD)

Where:
RED Development / CityScape
One E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85004

How:
Help us fight hunger in Arizona by being a sponsor or participating in the build competition. Download the sponsorship form or the call for entries from our website.

Complete rules and regulations were provided to registered teams. Teams are responsible for obtaining all food items for their structure. For more information on Phoenix Canstruction, please contact:

Kristopher Gray, Canstruction Organizer KGray@LOGANSIMPSON.COM
Lori Bennett, Canstruction Organizer lbennett@summitbuilders.com

Visit Phoenix Canstruction http://www.phoenixcanstruction.org or  www.canstruction.org for more information on Canstruction throughout the United States.

Watch a time lapse of the \”Giving is Winning\” structure at Canstruction 2010 Build Night!

Stop by Fiesta Mall the week of Feb. 22 to see the eight structures A/E/C teams build to benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance for Canstruction. Then mingle with the creators of the structures to at the Phoenix Canstruction Awards & Networking Mixer to learn the secrets of the pros and be one of the first to hear who wins the coveted AIA Phoenix Metro People’s Choice Award!

February 24, 2010, 5-7 p.m. by registration only

Chevy’s Fresh Mex® Restaurant

1335 S. Alma School Road, Mesa, AZ 85210

Appetizers and a drink ticket will be provided for all attendees. 

Check-in and networking from 5 p.m.-6 p.m.; the awards presentation will begin at 6 p.m. 

Limited seating is open to all SMPS Members and Non-members for the full $20/person rate.  

Please register online by February 22, 2010 to attend the Awards Mixer:  www.smpsarizona.org/events. E-mail Brenda Gerhardt with questions.