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One CAN Make a Difference

Posted by ablack on May. 3, 2017  /  Chapter News  /  Subscribe 0

Did you know that every 13 seconds, a child dies from hunger related causes? YOU can make a difference! Get involved with Canstruction® - this year marks the 11th Anniversary of Phoenix Canstruction®, a unique charity art exhibit in which AEC firms collect cans and compete to ‘can’struct the best exhibit.  After the show, cans are donated to the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance. 

It is the mission of the SMPS Arizona Chapter to advocate, educate and collaborate on behalf of the AEC industry to build business for a thriving economy.  What better way to accomplish this mission than to lend our time, energy, and creativity to the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, through Canstruction®? 

Five Tips to Simplify the Canstruction® Process

1. Draft a Large Team

Just because there are only five builders permitted during the build-day, doesn’t mean your team needs to be limited to just five people. In fact, the more the merrier! There are several phases of this event – just like a real project. Make sure you have committed team members for the following: 

• Captain – This person will handle all of the organizational tasks and makes sure your team stays on track and doesn’t miss any deadlines.
  
  
• Architect & Engineer  – Make your life easier and get an architect and an engineer on your team to design the structure. This person will understand structural integrity so that your structure stays intact for the two-week viewing period.  
  
  
• Contractor/Builders – Gather a few “builders” that can help create the structure on build day. This is a long day of building so the more people you have on your team, the better.
  
  
• DE-canstructors – Your team will return to the Convention Center on August 12 for break-down day. This process is much faster than Build Day and the more team members present, the faster it goes. 

2. Pick simple & easy-to-stack cans

When designing your structure, try to choose common cans. Rare cans, especially rare-sized cans, will be very difficult to order in bulk and will present problems down the road! Keep it simple and pick cans that not only work with your design but will be easy to find. It’s not a bad idea to go to the store and stack a few cans together to see which fit together best.  
*Important Note: Cans that look similar in size can be slightly different, which can have a huge effect on structure stabililty.

3. Create the final design as soon as possible and secure your cans as early as possible

These two steps should be simultaneous. Aim to have your design close to final by the time registration closes, then, shop for your cans immediately. This way, you have plenty of time to adjust your design should you struggle to find the cans needed to complete your structure. Ordering your cans eight weeks in advance is recommended.

4. Plan a pre-build day off site

Take an afternoon and test build at least some of your structure before build day. The last thing you want to do is get to the event and not be able to finish your structure. Also, this will make the process faster on the actual event day.

5. Stay hydrated and fueled

If you are going to build just a few hours then pack some water and snacks, but if you plan to build all day long, be sure and bring some lunch to scarf down in between stacking cans. 

Now that you have your tips for success, make a difference for hungry families in Phoenix and register for Canstruction® 2017

Canstruction® comes around at just the right time of year (Build Day is July 29, 2017). Donations are typically at their lowest during the summer months with many donors heading out to cooler climates, while children are out of school for the summer and not getting their typical breakfast and lunches at school. Hungry families are left to weather the Phoenix summers, leaving the demand is at its highest. 

We use our creative skills every day, through design or communication, to help achieve goals for ourselves and our respective employers.  Why not extend those skills toward a creative event that both involves and benefits the community? 

You can register your team here for the 2017 competition through Friday, May 19^th, 2017.

The competition during Canstruction® can get pretty fierce! Just check out some of last year’s amazing creations:

Image 1- Best Meal, Most Cans & People’s Choice 
What BB Ate: Gensler, PK Associates, Corporate Interior Systems, Airpark Signs & Graphics, and Holder

Image 2 - Judges Choice
Super Can Man: Corgan, Buehler & Buehler and Wood Patel

Important Dates:

• Deadline for team registration is May 19^th
• Build-Day is July 29^th
• Decanstruction is August 12^th  

 
Questions? 
Contact:

Sarah Clegg at [email protected] or 480-829-6000
Dana Varieur at [email protected] or 602-957-1155 

 Authors:

Taryn Marie Herbert
Corporate Marketing Coordinator, Rider Levett Bucknall

Taryn joined the AEC industry in 2015 and is a Corporate Marketing Coordinator with Rider Levett Bucknall. She joined SMPS this year and is loving the organization already; she ventured to Philadelphia for Build Business and is a member of the Blog Committee! Taryn loves creating writing - she's been published! She is training for a marathon right now and loves to read, run, hike, camp and practice yoga in her free time.

Ashley Black
Marketing Administrator, Ryan Companies US, Inc.

Ashley joined the AEC industry in January 2015 and became a member of SMPS shortly after. She is the current Blog Chair and a member on the hospitality committee. Ashley loves hot yoga, basketball, cooking and spending time with her newborn niece, Halle. 

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