Canstruction 2019: Pollinators

Fox Architects participated in the Canstruction STL event  held at the Saint Louis Science Center this year. On June 22, the Fox team joined other area firms to design and create a structure entirely out of canned food items. With “Pollinators” selected as this year’s overall theme, the team chose to feature a non-insect pollinator:  the blue-tailed day gecko (Phelsum cepediana), the only pollinator of the critically endangered flower, Roussea simplex.

Fox President, John Berendzen, sketched some inspiration to help the team settle on a design, which was then modeled in Revit to estimate the number of cans needed.

Securing a prime build-spot on the lower level in front of the T-Rex, Fox’s final design consisted of 650 cans of food and 430 Kool-Aid packets and took four hours to construct. Fox also donated a $75 gift certificate to Operation Food Search. Fox Architects would like to extend a sincere thank you to our 2019 Canstruction sponsors:  Momentum Group; Patcraft; Knoll, Inc.; and Fox Architects’ staff and family.

Founded in 1992 by Cheri Melilo, Canstruction, Inc.’s vision is to unite the design, engineering, and construction industry through a unique and fun medium that would provide canned food to hunger relief organizations. Today, the events are held worldwide and generate over 82 million pounds of food.St. Louis’s event raised 25,220 pounds of food for Operation Food Search, valued at $42,621.80 (plus $125 in gift cards). Visitors to the Science Center could also vote for their favorites with pennies, which generated $105 to donate to Operation Food Search.