Can-Can

Building materials reached a whole new level Thursday night at the Merchandise Mart, where architects and contractors built 15 different structures out of 65k cans of food, which will be donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
 
Event organizers OKW Architects' Megen Briars, JLL's Mark Collins, and Greater Chicago Food Depository's Andy Christensen. Megen (in year two as co-chair) moved the event from the Apparel Center to the Mart, and found food and liquor sponsors (a handy skill indeed). She even helped supervise the four-hour construction process Wednesday night. The presumably nutritious buildings were judged by a panel of experts, including Simeone Deary Design Group's Gianna Tetrick and Top Chef 5's  Radhika Desai. The winner will move on to a national competition.
Winners of "Best Name" were Gensler's  Laurel McNaughton Smith,Bryan Roe, Shannon Riddle, and Linda Mysliwiec  for their “Bust Your 'Burro' to End Hunger” giant food piñata. In non-condensed life, they're designing a new education center for Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, not to mention the world's second-tallest building, the Shanghai Tower in, well, Shanghai.
The Juror's Choice Award went to Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates' “The Changing Face of Hunger”, which used 7,134 cans, the most out of all 15. It resembles a certain Millenium Park fountain, minus the screaming children.
BSA Lifestructures/ Maregatti Interiors' “Little Engine That Can”
“CAN You See The Light?” by KJWW Engineering, Valerio Dewalt Train, and  Executive Construction.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Chicago Newsletters
Related Stories

The Geo Group To Reopen 2,329-Bed Immigration Facility In Texas

What's At Stake For CRE In Tuesday's U.S. Midterm

From Pandemic Darling To Cautionary Tale: Pickleball Clubs Face A Reckoning After Betting Big On Retail Space

Morningstar Releases New Details On Over 350K SF In Q3 Office Leases

New Bears Stadium Proposal Floated For Bridgeport

Prologis To Develop 3.8M SF Industrial Park On Former Casino Site

Foundry Robotics Leaves San Francisco For New East Bay HQ

Tenant Rep Firm Expands To Philly, Hires Industry Veteran

$120M Ambulatory Center Planned For Suburbs: The Chicago Deal Sheet

Data Centers Lose The Top Spot, San Francisco Jumps 40 Places: 9 Takeaways From ULI's 2027 Outlook

Obama Center Shows Chicago Is Starved For Development

Mapped: Major Chicago Office Sales Since 2024