By Miranda A. Holden
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
This college’s chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students is the only participating college in Canstruction, an annual charity event in which architectural firms create structures using cans.
This year marks the 11th year of the event, and the team of architecture students can’t wait to begin the project, sophomore Shane Anderson, AIAS president, said Aug. 27.
Canstruction is a trademarked charity that hosts competitions, exhibitions and events showcasing colossal structures made out of full cans of food.
The results will be displayed through Sept. 24 in North Star Mall. Cans will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank Sept. 25.
Anderson said the cansculpture this year will be Atlas, the Titan god who held up the world as punishment by Zeus for leading the war between the Titans and Olympian gods ,according to greekmythology.com.
The idea came from architecture sophomore Kylar Flores, head of the build team.
Instead of the world on his back, this Cansculpture god will be holding a big bowl of chili, hoping to “raise the world against hunger,” the slogan for the entry.
“We’ve never gone this big for a structure we’ve built,” Anderson said.
The sculpture will be 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide and consist of 1,975 cans.
“Our standards trying to design something that used as many cans as we could considering they all go toward the S.A. Food Bank,” Anderson said.
All can donations were from Trader Joe’s, which gave them a 10 percent discount. Luby’s provided $2,500 as a sponsor.
The team of about 10 architecture students has dedicated four to six hours Fridays and Saturdays to work on the project. They planned to install it in North Star Mall a few days before the event opens, he said.
“We just wanted to find another way to help the community; it’s rewarding in itself and it’s also a fun activity for upcoming freshmen to come and help us with,” he said.
The students used SketchUp to create the design. SketchUp is a 3D modeling computer program used as a drawing application for architectural designs.
They printed templates and placed them on boards to help build the structure. The actual assembly will be at the mall.
All Cansculptures will be eligible to receive a “People’s Choice Award” presented inside the mall 6:30 p.m. today.
Vote for your favorite Cansculpture before 6 p.m. today by voting in person or by “liking it” on Facebook.
For more information, visit www.sanantonio.canstruction.org.