MBH Takes Top Honors at the 2nd Annual Canstruction Event in Northern Ca
Alameda,
CA – On Wednesday, October 11th a team of six from MBH Architects participated
in CANStruction, a national community service project of the design
and construction industry where architects and engineers, in cities
across North America, compete to design and build fantastic giant-sized
structures made entirely out of canned foods.
The MBH team worked for months to designed and then built-out in 10 hours the CAN Francisco Treat made entirely of canned chili, anchovies, sardines, diced tomatoes complete with a Rice-A-Roni bench. At the gala event on Thursday, October 12th MBH was awarded with top honors and took home the prize for Juror’s Favorite as well as the People’s Choice Award which was voted on by all the gala attendees. MBH used over 3,000 cans and at the close of the exhibition on January 2nd, these cans will be donated to local food banks.
As the Tony Bennet song goes, San Francisco’s little cable cars climb halfway to the stars – well MBH’s little cable car is on the fast-track to curbing hunger. As a famous symbol of San Francisco, one of the most progressive yet historic cities in the nation, the Cable Car represents innovation, industry and ideals. One of those ideals is that we can make the city a better place for everyone, by fighting hunger, homelessness and other social problems. Nearly 150,000 people in San Francisco live with the threat of hunger everyday. MBH hopes that our ‘Can Francisco Treat’ will stand as symbol to remind everyone to help in any way they can.
The structures were judged by a team of jurors from COPIA, and awards were handed out in the areas of Best Meal, Best Use of Labels, Structural Ingenuity, with the top prize encompassing all of these categories: Juror’s Favorite and People’s Choice. Local winners go on to compete nationally via photography, increasing visibility for their firms, and continuing this creative journey. MBH would like to thank our wonderful sponsors, including Cityscape Graphics. Without their help MBH would not have been able to participate in this incredible event.
COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts hosted the CANStructionÆ competition in Napa, representing the North Bay, East Bay, and surrounding communities of Northern California. The structures were built on site on October 11th and on October 12th a festive gala opening took place to honor the participants and announce the awards. The exhibit opened to the public on October 13th. The installations will remain on display for three months in the galleries, providing extended viewing opportunities for the community. At the close of the exhibition, all food will be donated to local food banks, which serve pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, and elderly and daycare centers.
Over fifty cities throughout North America have hosted CANStructionÆ
and the national competition is now in its 10th year. For a detailed
history and outline of the program, please visit www.canstruction.org.
The website offers visual images of past winners, explains the rules
and regulations, and highlights the extensive media coverage CANStructionÆ
has received over the years.
MBH Architects, is a diversified and multi-faceted practice, established
in 1989 and employing 200 professionals with offices in Alameda and
Newport Beach, California. As a comprehensive and service-oriented architectural
firm, MBH embodies Design Excellence from the inception of the project
through to its successful completion. The firm has designed and completed
a wide range of diverse projects in the housing, hospitality, retail,
restaurant, mixed use and planning industries. "It’s
our people who make great places." ®