Twenty-two teams of architects, engineers and builders are about to fill Brookfield Place with sculptures made from nothing but unopened cans of food, and every can goes to City Harvest when the show closes. Canstruction returns to the waterfront complex at 230 Vesey Street in Lower Manhattan with a live build on Thursday, October 29, and an exhibition open daily from Friday, October 30, through Monday, November 9.

The exhibition is open to the public, and visitors can add to the haul: Brookfield Place is collecting canned food at an information table in the Winter Garden every day of the exhibition, and those donations go to City Harvest along with the sculptures.

How the competition works

Each team designs and stacks a large freestanding sculpture using only sealed cans of food. When the exhibition comes down, the sculptures are taken apart and the food is donated to City Harvest, which describes itself as New York City's first and largest food rescue organization. The Downtown Alliance, the business improvement district for Lower Manhattan, says this year's entries cover pop culture, landmarks and New York subjects, with themes ranging from Homer's The Odyssey to the New York Knicks.

Canstruction was started by the Society for Design Administration, a professional group for people who manage architecture, engineering and construction firms. Canstruction New York is a nonprofit, and the organization runs similar competitions in other cities around the world.

The teams

The firms entering this year are Arup, Beyer Blinder Belle, Buro Happold, CetraRuddy, Design Park, DeSimone Consulting Engineers, Gannett Fleming (GFT), Gensler, Gilsanz Murray Steficek, HOK, JBB/VIATechnik, Langan Engineering, LERA Consulting Structural Engineers, Meyers+ Engineers with McNamara Salvia Structural Engineers, NV5, Perkins Eastman, Severud Associates, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Sweet Group, Thornton Tomasetti, TYLin with Marvel, and WSP USA.

Watch one go up

Most of the sculptures are assembled before the doors open, but one is built in public. On Thursday, October 29, the team from Design Park and West Collection will build its entry in the Winter Garden starting at 10 a.m., and Brookfield Place expects the build to take six to eight hours. Anyone passing through between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. can stop and watch.

Tours, voting and a kids' sheet

Brookfield Place is running educational tours of the exhibition on four dates. Space is limited, and registration in advance through Eventbrite is required:

  • Saturday, October 31, at 11 a.m.
  • Wednesday, November 4, at 5:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, November 5, at noon
  • Saturday, November 7, at 11 a.m.

Visitors can also vote for the People's Choice award, and Brookfield Place says the voting link will be posted on its Canstruction page. A judges' panel will hand out the other prizes: Best Original Design, Best Use of Labels, Structural Ingenuity, Best Meal and Most Cans, plus honorable mentions. This year's jurors include Ben Van Leeuwen, co-founder and chief executive of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream; Todd Yamamoto, director of operations for the Parm brand at Major Food Group; Chris Heintzen of Arcadis Architects; Breanna Katsman of the Center for Architecture; and Megan Marod, a New York tour guide who runs the @TheMeganDaily social channel.

For children, there is a printed activity worksheet with questions and tasks to guide them through the sculptures.

While you are there

Two art installations are already on view inside the complex: Fleeting Opulence, large-scale pieces by the British artist duo Graphic Rewilding, through November 13, and Woven Axis: Soft Chroma Systems, an installation by Katrina Sánchez, through November 9. Brookfield Place is also holding trick-or-treating for families on Halloween, which falls on the second day of the Canstruction exhibition.

How to get there

Brookfield Place sits on the Hudson River side of West Street, directly across from the World Trade Center. From the subway, the World Trade Center station on the E, the WTC Cortlandt station on the 1, and the Fulton Street station on the A, C, J, Z, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are all within a short walk. Chambers Street on the A and C is a short walk to the north.

Dates and hours

Canstruction at Brookfield Place, 230 Vesey Street: live build Thursday, October 29, 10 a.m. to about 6 p.m. in the Winter Garden. Exhibition on view Friday, October 30, through Monday, November 9, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, closing at 6 p.m. on the final night. Bring a can of food to drop at the Winter Garden information table, and register in advance for a tour through the link on Brookfield Place's Canstruction page.

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