A giant chess game? Take a closer look. It's a sculpture made of more than 3,100 cans of tuna and mixed vegetables. It can only be the design competition called "Canstruction New York" at Brookfield Place in Battery Park City.
So how do the teams of architects and engineers make this happen? There are rules.
What You Need To Know
- "Canstruction" is a design competition where architects and engineers build sculptures with cans of food
- 28 "Canstruction" sculptures are on display at Brookfield Place in Battery Park City through Nov. 13
- All of the cans of food are donated to City Harvest to help feed the hungry in the five boroughs
- The competition has donated more than 2 million pounds of food to local food banks since 1993, and more than 1.2 million to City Harvest since 2006
"You can use clear tape. You can use leveling boards. You can use rods to hold things together. You just ideally don't see them," said Jennifer Greene, founding committee member for the competition. "It's supposed to be like a floating structure."
The competition was founded by the late Cheri Melillo and colleagues from the New York Chapter of the Society for Design Administration. Greene says the first competition had eight sculptures. This year, there are 28 — eight more than last year's competition.
"We're all in the architecture and engineering business, and it was a way for our firms to kind of team [build], and give back to New York City," Greene said.
There's a lot of New York represented in the sculptures, including a pigeon, the subway, a "cantastic" sendoff for the MetroCard and a salute to 50 years of hip-hop.
Not to mention Mario, a spotted "canternfly" — get it? — "Winnie the Can," and some cute giraffes. It's the 16th year for "Canstruction" at Brookfield Place, in what has become an annual tradition at the downtown destination for shopping, dining and culture.
"We certainly have a full calendar of arts and culture here at Brookfield Place, but 'Canstruction' is one of the highlights of the year," said Elysa Marden, senior vice president of arts and events for Brookfield Properties.
When it's time to take the sculptures down on Nov. 13, all of the cans are donated to City Harvest to help feed the hungry. "Canstruction" has donated more than 2 million pounds of food since this all started.
Admission is free, but visitors are asked to bring their own cans of food and drop them in a collection box to add to the can count. Visitors can also help pick a winner for the People's Choice Award. Vote online here.