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Late into the evening yesterday, teams of designers, architects and engineers were applying their creativity and ingenuity to combat hunger in an unconventional way. The lobbies of the TD Centre's five black office towers have once again been turned into temporary showcases for a series of 'CANstructures' built with non-perishable food items, which are then judged before being disassembled and donated to those in need. Since its inception in 1999, Toronto's CANstruction competition has contributed over 700,000 pounds of food to the Daily Bread Food Bank, enough to provide 200,000 meals to the hungry. On a global stage, CANstruction events have donated approximately 17.5 million pounds of food to similar food banks and programs around the world since being founded in 1992.
For the 17th Toronto CANstruction event, the lobbies of the TD Centre were abuzz with activity as teams—fuelled by a revolving door of pizza deliveries—raced to assemble their complex creations. By late evening, a few of the CANstructures were closing in on completion, with some teams continuing well into the early morning hours.
Structures will be judged in a few different categories, with the ‘Best Use of Labels’ award, the 'Best Meal' award, and the 'Structural Ingenuity' award, as well as the 'Jurors’ Favourite' and 'Honourable Mention' categories.
The 2016 awards presentation will take place this evening at 6:30 PM in the TD Centre link building immediate west of the Design Exchange (234 Bay Street). Our own Managing Editor Craig White is serving on the panel of judges this year. Following the awards, the CANstructures will be left on display for the public through May 20th, with 'deCANstruction' to begin on May 21st.
We will return tomorrow with a look at this year's winners, and hope that you will take the time to tour the TD Centre's lobbies to see the completed works. In the meanwhile, let us know what you think using the comments section provided at the bottom of this page.
