This year’s Canstruction was even more exciting than the last! It was an honor to be part of this project. It combined community service and an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our design client,” stated Emily Jahansouz, Design Engineer.
At KNA Structural Engineers, we welcome any opportunity to have fun while putting our structural talents to work. This is the fourth year that we’ve contributed as sponsors and participated in the design-build competition for Canstruction® Orange County. The project was led by Little Diversified Architectural Consulting’s Team Captain Romeo Ramos, along with other participants including four from KNA; Joey Mao, Emily Jahansouz, Han Kim and Mark Patterson.
Darin Eng, Senior Project Manager at Little told us he really appreciated KNA’s help, especially in the pre-build at their office. “It’s was at the end of the day on a Saturday, and Mark Patterson said ‘nice to meet you’ to Emily and Han. I wondered why he didn’t know them, and he said his first day was the next Monday and he showed up to help even before his first day at KNA. That’s great commitment…”
Eleven architectural, engineering and construction firms participated this year to create amazing structures built entirely out of canned food. Little’s structure is now on public view at South Coast Plaza until September 30 in front of Anthropologie. To top off the event is the People’s Choice Award. Vote for your favorite structure and donate to the cause! All the canned food that is used to create the sculptures goes to the Orange County Food Bank for distribution to those in need.
This year’s sculpture is titled “Banishing Hunger, To Infinity and Beyond!” and is in keeping with the mission of Canstruction:
IT STARTS WITH ONE CAN®.
TO FEED THE HUNGRY.
TO LIFT THE SPIRIT.
TO CHANGE THE WORLD.
Canstruction started in 1992 and now has 192 cities throughout the world building sculptures to help feed those less fortunate.
Yes We Can!
Little’s inspiration comes from Buzz Lightyear’s famous line in the movie when Woody tells Buzz he can’t fly (after all, he was just toy), and Buzz emphatically replies, “Can!”
Challenges kept arising throughout the entire project due to the size and irregular shape. But the team’s creative thinking and seamless cooperation solved all these. It’s exciting to see how the sculpture came to life based on the design and engineering time invested. It looks phenomenal!” commented Joey Mao, Design Engineer.
Here are the stats for the design-build sculpture:
Can Count: 12,072
Shopping List:
4,896 (5 oz. cans) Sprouts Brand Chunk Light Tuna
960 (5 oz. cans) Sprouts Brand Albacore
480 (16 oz. cans) Tropical Fruit
1,800 (13.5 oz. cans) Polar Coconut Milk
816 (14.5 oz. cans) Swanson Chicken Broth
840 (14 oz. cans) Libby’s Cut Green Beans
2,280 (14.5 oz. cans) S& W Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes
Just think, if all eleven structures used 12,072 cans, that’s 132,792 cans. That will feed a lot of hungry people. Thanks to everyone who participated. Come by South Coast Plaza to see our work and vote for your favorite!
Little Diversified Architectural Consulting
KNA Structural Engineers: “Banishing Hunger, To Infinity and Beyond!”
An architectural twist on ordinary food drives with Canstruction