Sculptures are usually constructed from wood, steel, paper or other materials, but some can be made out of the supplies found in your kitchen pantry.
CANstruction is an annual charity event that hosts competitions in more than 150 cities internationally to raise hunger awareness.
It was the brainchild of the American Institute of Architects and its sister organization the Society of Design Administrators to create a fun, challenging for architects to employ their skills and give back to their communities.
“It’s a showcase of creativity, and it’s really making an impact by raising awareness in a way that you wouldn’t necessarily anticipate,” said Mike Manning, president and CEO of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.
Intricate sculptures are made solely from nonperishable canned goods by teams made up of members from the American Institute of Architects.
The teams are responsible for coming up with their own designs and the materials needed to construct them.
Each year participating teams are judged on their creativity involving a specific theme and compete for awards. Once deconstructed, the canned goods are then donated to local food banks.
Baton Rouge’s CANstruction event began Wednesday and runs through Sept. 17, when viewers will get the chance to see the cans of food they see daily in a cabinet or grocery store transformed into monumental pieces of art.
Partners in the event include the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, the Art and Science Museum, the Old State Capitol and the Shaw Center for the Arts.
CANstruction has united these venues over the years. This is the fifth consecutive year the competition has partnered with the Art and Science Museum, the second year with the Shaw Center and first for the Old State Capitol.
“For us,it’s about connecting with the community,” said Douglas Kennedy, Art and Science Museum communications coordinator. “It’s our mission of being interdisciplinary.”
This year’s theme is “CAN Wars,” a play on the “Star Wars” franchise with 10 teams participating in the event. Each team is comprised of members of architecture, engineering and design firms from around the city.
“For us, it’s fun to be able to build the structures, but it’s a blessing to be able to give it all to the food bank,” said Kathleen Gordon, executive director for the Baton Rouge chapter of American Institute of Architects.
The teams began building at 10 a.m. Wednesday, and the deadline was at 10 p.m. the same day.
The process of constructing the works begins with planning out a rough sketch, gathering the materials needed to stabilize the cans and carefully planning where and how the cans should be placed.
Each sculpture can easily exceed a few thousand cans of food, depending on the scale of its design.
“It’s actually a big challenge because there’s little imperfections in the cans,” Crump Wilson Architects team leader Chris Stelly said. “Even though it might not seem like a big deal once you’re starting off, once you begin building it up, a fraction of an inch ends up adding up over so many layers.”
Crump Wilson Architects are constructing a light saber. Other teams such as GraceHebert Architects and Lionel F. Bailey AIA Architect LLC will be constructing the Death Star II and Cloud City, respectively. Other “Star Wars” themed constructions also will be present.
GraceHebert Architects team leader Taylor King said the team used building software Revit to model the Death Star II.
“We modeled in the computer and then took the layers from the computer model and started cutting them two days ago,” King said. “Last night we started sanding and painting, and then today we can just take these pieces like a puzzle and put them together and add the cans on top.”
While the event runs roughly three weeks, there is a special CANtina Walk on Sept. 15 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., which involves a walk through the three venues along with an appearance from “Star Wars” characters.
“I just think it’s a great partnership,” said Leslie Charleville, Art and Science Museum events coordinator. “It’s a great way for us to be able to give back.”

Gallery • 4 Photos

Olivia Ramirez

Team member Wade Lavignette of Crump Wilson Architects starts assembling their structure on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015 in the LSU Musuem of Art.