(Photo by Aaron Borchardt)

The 19 audacious, edible statues that are part of this year’s CANstruction build will become a more than 57,000-pound food donation for Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank. The works of art, created by teams from the architecture, engineering, construction and design industry in Toronto, will be on display until May 19 in Toronto’s financial district.

CANstruction, a non-profit competition that aims to decrease hunger and fight poverty in Toronto, is one of the largest private donors to the Daily Bread Food Bank through the annual contest that challenges architectural and engineering firms to create structures from full cans of food that are then donated to the food bank. This was the first year of the event since it was put on hold in 2020 due to the pandemic.

“Creativity, innovation and corporate social responsibility come together at CANstruction,” stated Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank. “Through this incredible initiative, teams involved are not only helping to provide much needed food donations for families facing hunger, but also raising awareness about food insecurity, and having a direct impact in our community.”

“We were excited for the design and construction community to be able to come together again to use our skills to fight hunger in our city,” said Christina Facey, co-chair of CANstruction Toronto. “This friendly competition not only shines a light on the incredible creativity in our industry, it also casts a spotlight on the fact that hunger is a reality for many people right now.”

Over the past 20 years, the architecture, engineering, construction and design industry in Toronto has raised over a million pounds of food donations through the annual competition.

To cast a vote for the “People’s Choice” award, hit “like” on a picture of your favourite sculpture on Instagram through the CANstruction Toronto page. The contest closes on Sunday, May 21st at noon (ET) and can be found at https://www.instagram.com/canstructionTO/.

CANstruction Toronto 2023 winning “Canstructures”

Best Original Design

Architecture49 Inc.

Get Crackin!

Structural Ingenuity

Architecture49 Inc.

Get Crackin!

Best Use of Labels

KPMB Architects

Nature vs. Nurture

Best Meal

Diamond Schmitt Architects

Be Kind and Feed your Neighbours

Honourable Mention 

BDP Quadrangle

Healthy Meal

CANstruction Toronto 2023 Participants

Adamson Associates Architects

Tower of Sauron

Combining architectural finesse and creative prowess, our team’s Canstruction design depicts the awe-inspiring Tower of Sauron from the legendary realm of Middle-earth, captivating the essence of Lord of the Rings in an awe-inspiring tribute.

Arcadis IBI Group

Our bunny cares about hunger 

Our bunny cares about hunger and is the perfect advocate to eliminate food insecurity for all!

Architecture49 Inc.

Get Crackin! 

The skyrocketing price of eggs in recent months is just one reason why feeding a family nutritious foods has become egg-ceptionally difficult, but with a bit of collaboration, creativity and egg-stra generosity, we can help those in need – so let’s get cracking!

BDP Quadrangle

Healthy Meal

Many Canadians rely on takeout and fast food as an easy and convenient food source, while the cost and health benefits of this do not always look quite like a Happy Meal.

Candevcon East Limited

Home is Where the Heart is 

Our home welcomes you to open your hearts and give generously to your community.

Canadian Turner Construction Company

Seize the opporTUNAty to feed the hungry 

Seize the opporTUNAty to feed the hungry, and be that glimmer of hope in the community.

Diamond Schmitt Architects

Be Kind and Feed your Neighbours

The raccoon sculpture encourages Torontonians to keep an open mind to all our neighbour and be kind to one another, especially in times of need.

Echologics

Trashed Treasure 

Trashed Treasure sculpture serves as a powerful visual representation of the issue of food waste across the country, highlighting both the magnitude of the problem and the regional variations in food insecurity.

Grounded Engineering Inc.

Next Stop… Donation Station 

Over 6000 cans stacked to form the newest iteration of the iconic TTC streetcar, reminding us that after a long day, food insecurity should not be on anyone’s mind.

Graham Construction and Zeidler Architecture

Azadi (Liberty) Tower

HOK & WSP Canada Inc.

Beyond the Event Horizon

Inspired by one of the Universe’s great mysteries, the black hole, cans of food swirl around the event horizon, a nod to the issue of food availability which appears endless for some but is an illusion to others.

KPMB Architects

Nature vs. Nurture

A visual representation of nature reclaiming its dominance over human interference.

LEA Consulting Ltd. + CS&P Architects

It’s a-me, CANrio!  

CANrio! represents a world where nutritious food is always readily available so anyone can power up like Mario and unlock their full potential.

NORR

Food for Thought

Our structure “Food for Thought” aims to provoke the thought of fighting hunger and helping those who are less fortunate in filling their tummies with much needed comfort and ease.

Q4 Architects

FOOD. FUTURE. FARMING.

We are worried about the loss of Ontario’s farmland and its effects on our food security; our futuristic, all-purpose, farming vehicle stands as an optimistic vision of an ethically produced and sustainable local agricultural future.

RJC Engineers

CAN you SEA the big picture? Let’s take a bite out of hunger!

When we share our wealth with each other, as our oceans coral reefs, we can take a bite out of hunger and together thrive! This structure, by RJC Engineers Ltd, consists of close to 3000 cans of various food products depicting a Coral Reef complete with a Shark, Starfish and even a Treasure Chest.

TPL Lighting + Design Agency

Made in CANada

A fully formed mitten, craftly made with intertwining stitches that serve the purpose of warming hands; this is a representation of our intertwining efforts to assemble a selection of cans to donate a full encompassing meal to fill bellies and warm heart.

Turner Fleischer Architects Inc.

One Can

One Can ignite change.

WZMH Architects

Layers of Emotions

Reaching through our inescapable visual overconsumption, sharing food brings layers of emotions to our lives, creates community and social connection, draws us all in.

www.dailybread.ca