25 Years of Fundraising for CANstruction

Published September 10, 2024

This year marks NK’s 25th year of participation in the AIA Newark & Suburban Architects CANstruction event. The annual competition challenges teams to create imaginative structures entirely out of canned food. Once the competition concludes, the cans and proceeds are donated to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. To date, NK has donated approximately 150,000 pounds of food and $48,000, which supports over 1,500 programs and reaches more than 900,000 low-income residents across The Garden State.

This year’s theme, “It’s a Small World After All,” evokes the charm of serendipitous encounters and the interconnected nature of humanity. Our entry, titled “Virtual/Reality,” serves as a visual metaphor for the profound impact technology has had on the human experience. While technology can enhance our ability to connect with one another, access information, and relate to the world, it can also create unrealistic expectations for immediacy, narrow our perspectives, and limit our experiences.

Constructed from an impressive 5,088 cans, our design features the Earth and a tablet built at a similar scale, symbolizing the need to balance our use of and reliance upon technology in our everyday lives. We are excited to share that our build won the Most Cans Award, highlighting the collective impact that can be achieved when people come together with a shared purpose to make a positive difference in their community.

Special thanks to the NK team members who volunteered their time to design, build, and coordinate the logistics for this year’s event. We are also deeply grateful for the generous support from the donors within NK’s network who made our participation possible, including: