News
Canstruction® Long Island 2011 Competition Held in RXR Plaza
More than 50,000 Cans of Food Donated to Long Island Cares, the Harry Chapin Food Bank. Members of 20 Long Island architectural, engineering, design and construction firms were joined this year by students from two local schools as they competed for top honors in Canstruction® Long Island 2011, the design/build competition that helps fight hunger in our communities. The annual contest took place in RXR Plaza for the second year in a row, inviting all competitors to take on the challenge of creating a Canstructure.
Each structure portrayed the theme of ending hunger, and included a life-sized Chess Set, Snoopy and Woodstock, a Train, Pac Man, a Care Bear, and the Freedom Tower, to name a few. Many returning teams started formulating the designs for their structures immediately following last year’s event, and the evidence was clear to visitors viewing the exhibit. Teams designed, planned, fundraised, and shopped for their creations for months, but had less than 24 hours to build the final structures at RXR Plaza in Uniondale, NY.
The “Most Cans Award” provided an extra measure of excitement this year, as two teams vied for the honor, which was decided by the slimmest of margins. H2M architects + engineers emerged victorious with 6,675 cans, while runner-up PW Grosser Consulting Engineers was close behind with 6,671 cans.
Here are all the winners in Canstruction Long Island 2011:
Winner, Juror’s Favorite: “Checkmate Hunger”, Rosenbaum Design Group
Winner, Structural Ingenuity: “Let’s Make-Up a Plan to Kiss Hunger Goodbye”, Wiedersum Associates Architects and JS McHugh, Inc.
Winner, Best Use of Labels: “CANtribute to Harry Chapin”, PW Grosser Consulting Engineers (guitar)
Winner, Best Meal: “The Elephant in the Room”, Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.
Winner, Honorable Mention: “The Little Engine that Can”, Grassi & Co. CPA’s and Lovett Silvermann Construction Consultants
Winner, Honorable Mention: “Care-A-Lot Can Bear”, H2M architects + engineers
Winner, People’s Choice: “CANtribute to Harry Chapin”, PW Grosser Consulting Engineers
Winner, Most Cans: “Care-A-Lot Can Bear”, H2M architects + engineers
Other notable entries:
“Lick Hunger”, RXR Construction & Development
“Happiness is a Full Supper Dish”, Lockwood, Kessler & Bartlett, Inc.
“Freedom From Hunger”, Designworks, LPS and Armao, Costa & Ricciardi, CPA’s
“It Was Beauty That Killed the Beast”, Jan’s Drafting & Designs, Dynamic Permits and Renaissance Design Studio
“Building a Future Without Hunger”, US Green Building Council, Emerging Professionals Group
Winning Student Teams:
Winner, Most CANtabulous: “Take a Bite Out of Hunger”, Friends Academy
Winner, Most CANTastic: “Escaping Hunger”, Temple Sinai of Roslyn
This year’s entries were judged by John Sorrenti, FAIA, President, JRS Architect, PC, Gilbert Anderson, PE, Commissioner, Suffolk County DPW, Carol Friedman, Assistant Vice President, Department of Design and Construction at Nassau Community College, and Paul Anthony, WALK General Sales Manager and Founder of the Long Island Comedy Festival. All cans of food were donated to Long Island Cares, The Harry Chapin Food Bank to help feed the hungry on Long Island. Many of the participating teams donated excess funds they had raised, resulting in a $3,100 cash donation to the organization, as well.
The five annual Canstruction® Long Island events held since 2007 have donated over 193,000 cans of food to help feed those in need in Nassau and Suffolk County. Canstruction® Long Island, Inc. is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) public charity formed to produce the annual Canstruction® Long Island design/build competition under the auspices of the Society for Design Administration.