Clark Nexsen receives Structural Ingenuity award at D.C.s CANstruction

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington, D.C., office of Clark Nexsen Architecture & Engineering was awarded the “Structural Ingenuity” award at the annual CANstruction competition, sponsored by the Washington Architectural Foundation and the Society of Design Administration.

CANstruction brings together teams of architects and engineers to design structures out of canned and packaged foods to help raise awareness and fight hunger in the Washington, D.C. area. This was Clark Nexsen’s first year participating in the design/build competition.

This year, CANstruction’s theme was International Architecture. Clark Nexsen’s submission was a model of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. Entitled “We Come from a Land of No Hunger,” the model, which the team designed using the SketchUp 3D modeling and Revit programs, consisted of more than 3,500 cans. The assortment of cans of tuna fish, baked beans, soup and sardines were donated to the Capital Area Food Bank.

The build-out was held Sept. 11. Steven Grossenbacher was the team leader for Clark Nexsen, and core team members were Leo Coelho, Rachel Islin, Whitney Madron and Christina McEnroe. A panel of judges chosen by the Washington Architectural Foundation reviewed the entries, and an award ceremony was held on Oct. 2, 2010.

“We were very excited to hear that we were awarded the Structural Ingenuity award. There were several teams vying for that honor,” Grossenbacher said. “Our model was unique, because it looked like the cans were cantilevering over other cans. We were really happy with the way our entry turned out.”

Grossenbacher explained that in addition to the canned food, teams could build with only leveling boards and tape or putty. But the team had to be careful with sticky substances, because the labels had to remain intact.

“We learned a lot from our experience this year,” Grossenbacher said. “The Capital Area Food Bank is a great cause. Our Clark Nexsen office will definitely enter CANstruction again next year, and I think our entry will be even better.”

For more information about Clark Nexsen, please visit www.clarknexsen.com.