NEW YORK — It’s a famous image: the mythological figure Atlas holding up the Earth. In this case, that image has been made into a 3D sculpture using 3,200 cans of tuna fish, by a team from Lera Consulting Structural Engineers.
“It’s all tuna cans, and in between each layer, we have an 8-inch board of Masonite, and we have a couple of alignment rods and tension ties to keep it all together," design engineer Josh Antolick said of the sculpture, which is called "End Hunger Atlas-T." “It moves a little bit as you are putting it together, so you really have to be careful where you are adding load to balance it out."
What You Need To Know
- Canstruction, which is in its 29th year, is on display at Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan
- It was founded by SDA, a professional organization made up of administrators in design firms
- The cans used in the competition will all be donated to City Harvest
- Canstruction has donated more than 1 million cans of food since it began almost 30 years ago
The sculpture is one of 16 that are part of Canstruction, a design and build competition that has returned to the Brookfield Place office, shopping and dining complex in Manhattan after going virtual last year due to the pandemic.
In its 29th year, the competition was started by SDA, a professional organization made up of administrators in design firms. It lasted from 6:30 p.m. Wednesday night to 1 a.m. Thursday morning.
“Kids that came as children are now bringing their children and their children’s children," said Jennifer Greene, a founding committee member. "It’s been wonderful watching how it has grown over 29 years."
The sculptures not only give Brookfield Place visitors something fun to look at, but the more than 53,000 cans — around 30,000 pounds of food — will all go to City Harvest, the city’s largest food rescue organization that helps feed hungry New Yorkers.
It’s free to check the structures out, but visitors are asked to bring more cans of food to donate. Cans can be dropped in a collection box at the site. Brookfield Place staffers said they were glad to welcome Canstruction back.
“It was definitely one of the most missed elements of our programming last year," said Elysa Marden, Senior Vice President of Arts & Events and Arts Brookfield. “We had a lot of people not only ask about it last year, but this year, as people returned to the office, they constantly ask, 'Are the cans coming back? Are the cans coming back?' So we are thrilled to have the cans back and have Canstruction here in residence."
Visitors can see all of the sculptures at Brookfield Place through Monday, Nov. 15.