1980s Video Game Rules! 44,032 Cans of Food Donated!

LOS ANGELES, CA, 2015-04-15 —Early 1980s nostalgia won the day at Canstruction LA 2015 Presented by Goya Foods.  “Pac-Can”—a three-dimensional rendition of Ms. Pac-Man chasing ghosts made by architecture firm Steinberg out of 5,740 cans of food—won both Juror’s Favorite and People’s Choice awards.  It joined nine other structures created by Los Angeles architects, designers, contractors, and engineers, which together totaled 44,032 cans of nutritious food that was donated to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.  The structures were recently on view at the Farmers & Merchants Bank Building in Downtown LA, and was a featured part of DTLA’s Art Walk.

A jury of architecture, media, and culinary experts judged the structures, naming the Juror’s Favorite, Best Use of Labels, Best Meal, and Structural Ingenuity, as well as an Honorable Mention.  Jurors were: Mary Melton, editor-in-chief of Los Angeles Magazine; David Montalba, AIA, principal of Montalba Architects, Inc. (designers of such eateries as Milo + Olive, Huckleberry, and Nobu Malibu); and Chef Ray Garcia, of Broken Spanish and BS Taqueria fame.  The winning Canstruction LA structures will compete against other regional winners for the National Canstruction Awards.

JURORS’ FAVORITE: “Pac-Can” by Steinberg was an interpretation of the 1980s video game that incorporated all the attributes the jury was looking for: precise details, creative application of labels and color, positive message, humor, and structural stability.

BEST USE OF LABELS: “An Apple a Day Keeps the Hunger Away” by Abramson Teiger Architects, PCL Construction Services, Inc., and KPFF Consulting Engineers used a simple, yet effective, palette of cans in a complex, visually arresting structure.

BEST MEAL: “Let There Be Light” by Pacific Westline, Inc., and Shawmut Design & Construction showed a wide variety of foods—from green tea to quail eggs—while representing LACMA’s “Urban Light” sculpture.
          
STRUCTURAL INGENUITY: “Star-Spangled Tower” by Gensler, Glumac, and Walter P. Moore twisted and torqued in a patriotic and artful display.

HONORABLE MENTION: “The Not So Very Hungry Caterpillar” by RTKL Associates and John A Martin & Associates delighted kids and adults alike with its whimsical message of eating a balanced diet.

In addition to the juried prizes, a People’s Choice Award was bestowed on the structure that gained the most votes from visitors to Canstruction LA Presented by Goya.  For $1 per vote, visitors praised their favorites.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE: “Pac-Can” by Steinberg proves the public agreed with jurors about the bold, whimsical structure.

A record 10 structures were on display this year, and included: “Pineapple Rising” by NBBJ and Thornton Tomasetti, “Mine-Food” by LARGE Architecture, “We CAN Fill the Holes of Decay” by Kamus + Keller Interiors | Architecture, “CANifornia Dream” by the American Society of Civil Engineers/Younger Member Forum, and “CANshaw” by Walsh, HNTB, Arup, Metro, and Shea.

“The Foodbank is grateful for the design community’s support,” said Michael Flood, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.  “This creative architectural display offers something for the local community to enjoy while they help us end hunger here in Los Angeles.”  Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is a nonprofit, charitable organization that has been serving the disadvantaged since 1973, and is at the heart of a charitable food distribution network that includes more than 640 charitable agencies with upwards of 1,000 program sites in Los Angeles County.

Canstruction LA 2015 Presented by Goya Foods is organized by the Society for Design Administration and hosted by Gilmore Associates.  Platinum sponsors are Herman Miller and TekWorks.  Gold sponsors are Milliken & Company, Dragonfly Design Group, and Tom Bonner Photography.  Silver Sponsors are Rouse and Society of Marketing Professional Services/Los Angeles.  Media sponsor is Los Angeles Downtown News.  For more information visit www.canstructionla.com.

For 41 years, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank has worked to mobilize resources in the community to alleviate hunger.  With a vision that no one goes hungry in Los Angeles County, the Food Bank has distributed one billion pounds of food since its inception.  It provides food to one million people and in 2013 distributed 60 million pounds of food.  The Food Bank collects food from hundreds of resources, which—with the help of 33,000 volunteers annually—it distributes through a network of more than 680 partner agencies at more than 1,000 distribution and program sites.  In addition, 97 percent of monies raised and in-kind donations go directly to programs.  Its efficiency and effectiveness led the Los Angeles Business Journal to name the Food Bank as the “Nonprofit Organization of the Year” among large local organizations in 2013.  For more information or to get involved, visit www.lafoodbank.org.

“CANshaw” by Walsh, HNTB, Arup, Metro, and Shea. “We CAN Fill the Holes of Decay” by Kamus + Keller Interiors | Architecture. “Pineapple Rising” by NBBJ and Thornton Tomasetti. “CANifornia Dream” by the American Society of Civil Engineers/Younger Member Forum. “Mine-Food” by LARGE Architecture. Photos: Tom Bonner Photography.  Click here to download high-resolution images.

Photos: Tom Bonner Photography

If you are unable to view the images, please click here.

Contact:
Julie D. Taylor, Taylor & Company, 310.247.1099, Email Contact
Heidi Simonian, Taylor & Company, 310.247.1099, Email Contact