by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
One way to bridge the hunger gap is to build a bridge, or at least a replica of a bridge. Five area teams of architects, designers and contractors are fighting hunger with canned good displays inside the Main Library, one of which is the Main Street Bridge complete with fish, water and boats.
Teams from Gresham Smith & Partners, the Haskell Company, JSA Architects Interiors Planners, Kasper Architecture and Development Inc. and the University of Florida’s interior design Campus Student Center built themed structures in the library Wednesday as part of the fifth annual Jacksonville design/build competition, a charity event committed to ending hunger.
The Jacksonville competition is part of a national charity competition called Canstruction, trademarked by the Society for Design Administration that works with the American Institute of Architects and other members of the design and construction industry.
The five teams completed creations including an oversized Winnie the Pooh, the Main Street Bridge and a Reading Rainbow-inspired display.
Constructed on different floors of the library, each design will be locally judged and winners will be given awards Sunday in categories such as best meal, best use of labels, structural ingenuity, jurors’ favorite and two honorable mentions.
JSA’s Reading Rainbow display took more than six hours to build and consists of 1,426 cans and 231 boxes of food.
“We used the site (the library) as inspiration to promote education and also to incorporate popular culture,” said April Blanckwood, who helped build the PBS show-inspired display.
Winners from the local event will go on to participate in the national competition which takes place each spring during the annual national conventions of the Society of Design Administration and the American Institute of Architects.
All the cans and boxes were donated by different organizations in Jacksonville and will be deconstructed March 10 at 9 a.m. They will then be donated to Lutheran Social Services Second Harvest Food Bank.
Last year, more than 16,000 pounds of food were donated to the Second Harvest food bank through the competition, according to Rachel Jackson, advancement assistant for LSS.
“Over the years, the food bank has received more than 61,000 pounds of food and that equals more than 41,000 meals that have helped those in our community,” said Amanda Holmes, associate director of advancement for LSS. “This event plays a significant role in helping to feed hungry families and we are extremely thankful to the architectural community for their efforts and continued support.”