EllisDon partnered with Zeidler Architects to produce an award-winning design for Canstruction Toronto. Canstruction is an annual charity competition in which architects, engineers, and construction experts compete to design and build structures made entirely from cans of food.On Wednesday May 15, 2019, an awards ceremony was held to recognize teams not only for their structures, but for their efforts in supporting the Daily Bread Food Bank. Through collaboration, creativity, and expertise, EllisDon earned the Structural Ingenuity Award in its first year of the competition! With every engineering, construction, and design firm eager to show off their expertise and produce something technically impressive, the Structural Ingenuity award one of the toughest to win.

"Canstruction is a fantastic initiative that brings together bright minds from across the design industry to help the less fortunate in a very creative way," said Peter Gong, Manager, EllisDon Capital. "It raises awareness on a global scale, inspires design creativity, forms lasting partnerships both inside and out of the workplace, and best of all, we have fun doing it!"EllisDon experts and volunteers from across the Civil, Capital and Buildings groups as well as site teams, joined in collaboration with our Zeidler partners to design and build the final sculpture.

EllisDon’s submission, the CANadian Moose, a massive head and rack of antlers in the colours of the Canadian flag, was created from 2,784 cans of tuna! The stylized design was inspired by a moose grazing in a lake, showing only its head and antlers above the water. To create the complex curves, the sculpture was modelled using Revit, a BIM software, to generate a level-by-level layout for the precise placement of each can- a critical component to maintaining balance and structural integrity across the broad antlers.

All of the Canstruction sculptures will be on display at the Design Exchange until Sunday May 18th, 2019, giving the public a chance to view them and vote on their favourite for the People’s Choice Award. Once the sculptures are ‘decanstructed’ all of the food cans will be delivered to the Daily Bread Food Bank, where they will go toward feeding the hungry in Toronto.EllisDon is proud to win this award, but even more proud to give back to our community!To vote for EllisDon’s structure for the People’s Choice Award, please visit the link HERE