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Get students to be involved in Canstruction

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Since 1995, the annual Canstruction Boston charity event has brought together architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the Greater Boston area to design and build sculptures made entirely of canned goods and other nonperishable food items-without the use of glue or other adhesives. These canned good sculptures provide an engaging way for visitors to learn about the fight against hunger in Massachusetts. After the sculptures are dismantled, all the canned goods are donated to the Merrimack Valley Food Bank (MVFB).

As we celebrate Canstruction Boston's 25th Anniversary in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we look back at 25 years of creative and thoughtful structures that resulted in over one million pounds of food for people experiencing hunger in Massachusetts-and this year's virtual design competition that is helping raise needed funds for the MVFB.

The exhibition provides information on hunger in Massachusetts, highlights 25 years of design-build excellence, and showcases this year's virtual designs.

Fighting Hunger

Learn more about the difference that the Merrimack Valley Food Bank makes, and how you can help make a difference too.

Explore Fighting Hunger

One out of 11 adults in Massachusetts experiences hunger-as do one in 10 children. Things right now are even more dire, as the COVID-19 pandemic and associated job losses have driven demand for food banks through the roof. At the same time, social distancing requirements have resulted in fewer fundraisers and canned food drives to stock the shelves at food banks. Learn more about the difference that the Merrimack Valley Food Bank makes, and how you can help make a difference too.

25 Years of Canstruction Boston

Look back at the past 25 years to understand the impact the event has made on our community!

In 1995, Canstruction Boston started with nine teams designing and building unique structures entirely out of canned food, which were then donated to a local food bank. Over the past 25 years, the event has grown-including up to 29 teams a year building increasingly complex structures-but the intent has remained the same: to help fight hunger in Massachusetts. Together, we've raised more than one million pounds of food, totaling more than 800,000 meals. Look back at the past 25 years to understand the impact the event has made on our community!

Winning Designs

View fantastic winning designs from over the past 25 years.

Using a standardized set of rules and regulations, teams use their creativity, design and construction expertise, and collaboration skills to compete against each other for a handful of awards. The results are awe-inspiring and entertaining structures that help raise awareness about the issue of hunger. See some of the award-winning structures from the past 25 years.

Looking Behind the Scenes

Our participating teams and volunteers make this event happen through hard work and determination-and they have a lot of fun in the process!

Go behind the scenes

The structures are the most recognizable part of Canstruction Boston's annual event. Behind the scenes, though, our participating teams and committee volunteers make this event happen through hard work and determination - and they have a lot of fun in the process! From the early planning and design stage, through event promotion, to the actual build out - we invite you to take a peek behind the scenes!

View this Year's Competitors

Canstruction Boston pivoted to a virtual design competition in 2020.

View this year's entries

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canstruction Boston looked at how they could continue to benefit the MVFB while keeping people safe and socially distant. With this balance in mind, Canstruction Boston pivoted to a virtual design competition in 2020. Seventeen teams entered the design competition this year, submitting renderings, sketches, and videos to be considered for seven awards. View their designs here.

25 Years of Canstruction Boston

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Also in Since 1995, the annual Canstruction Boston charity event has brought together architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the Greater Boston area to design and build sculptures made entirely of canned goods and other nonperishable food items-without the use of glue or other adhesives.

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Massachusetts Gov. Baker Signs Sweeping Climate Change Bill

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Massachusetts Gov. Baker Signs Sweeping Climate Change Bill

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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a sweeping climate change bill into law Friday, ending months of negotiations as the legislation shuttled back and forth between the Democratic-controlled Legislature and the Republican governor.

Baker and lawmakers have both hailed a key goal of the new law - creating a net-zero greenhouse gas emission limit by 2050.

"This bill puts us on an ambitious path to achieving a cleaner and more livable commonwealth while also creating economic development opportunities," Baker said moments after signing the legislation into law.

The new law includes additional steps like incremental goals every five years to reach a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 before meeting the 2050 goal.

The law also aims to strengthen protections for "environmental justice populations" - typically lower income communities facing greater health risks from pollution - and create a specialized energy code that would allow for net-zero building construction for towns that want it.

Other elements of the law include: requiring an additional 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind, increasing the total authorization to 5,600; setting appliance energy efficiency standards for a variety of appliances including plumbing, faucets, computers, and commercial appliances; improving gas pipeline safety; and creating benchmarks for the adoption of clean energy technologies like electric vehicles, charging stations, solar technology and energy storage,

Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka described the new law as groundbreaking.

"I have heard words used to describe this piece of legislation, words such as sweeping, landmark, far-reaching, ambitious, bold and nation-leading. Indeed I believe it is all of those things," she said. "We should be proud, very proud as a commonwealth to continue our leadership with this bill."

Ben Hellerstein, state director of the advocacy group Environment Massachusetts, also hailed the new law in a written statement, saying that with Baker's signature, "Massachusetts has taken an important step toward a cleaner, healthier future."

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Massachusetts Gov. Baker Signs Sweeping Climate Change Bill

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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a sweeping climate change bill into law Friday, ending months of negotiations as the legislation shuttled back and forth between the Democratic-controlled Legislature and the Republican governor. Baker and lawmakers have both hailed a key goal of the new law - creating a net-zero greenhouse gas emission limit by 2050.

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we need coursework that prepares students for ethical choices

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we need coursework that prepares students for ethical choices

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the civil engineering profession has a strongly codified ethical compass - this needs more exposure in class work

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Overview of climate issues with discussions about long term impacts and strategies.  This could be integrated at many levels into various curricula.

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Introduce Students to Interdisciplinary Thinking

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Introduce Students to Interdisciplinary Thinking

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Learning to look at AREN problems from multiple perspectives, i.e., considering how design decisions impact occupants/inhabitants and neighborhood/communities and the people that live and work there. How current and potential future regulations shape design decisions.

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The 2019 update lays out the climate strategies we will accelerate over the next five years. We want to increase carbon emissions reduction in Boston's buildings and transportation.
Explore the plan
You can also view an interactive summary in English or the following languages:

Please contact our office to request additional languages.

Becoming carbon neutral

The City has set a goal of making Boston carbon neutral by 2050. Buildings and transportation make up nearly 99 percent of Boston's carbon emissions. We are putting in place strategies to cut emissions from both these areas:

Buildings: We're transitioning to zero-net carbon new construction. We plan to develop carbon targets to improve existing buildings over time.

Transportation: We're putting in place Go Boston 2030 and supporting the adoption of zero-emission vehicles.

We will also take steps to make our energy supply cleaner and more resilient. We plan to reduce the environmental impact of consumption by Bostonians.

implementation

The City is carrying out the strategies laid out in the 2019 Climate Action Plan Update. We will provide regular updates on our progress in carrying out our climate plans. Learn more about the current status of strategies and progress towards our goals:

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Global warming is causing our climate to change. Recent climate reports show we're heading towards extreme climate changes unless we can act now. We have pledged to make Boston a carbon-neutral city by 2050. This means that in 30 years, our community can only release as much carbon pollution as our environment can safely absorb.

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Would recommend overview of issues in a data driven format regarding environment/life span, learning relationships. For example there is Worcester data available showing much lower life span in certain neighborhoods, also educational outcomes align.

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Consider learning about UNSDG's

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our profession needs to be both diverse and empathetic

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our profession needs to be both diverse and empathetic

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First off we need to tackle the lack of diversity in our profession. We need an architecture and engineering profession that mirrors the racial makeup of our population. Once we have that, we will be more inclusive and empathetic in our design as well.

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Striking a balance between technical, social, and environmental issues is important: Our company has a 3-pronged approach - People, Planet, Profit. All of these elements need to be addressed to promote an enduring organization.

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Striking a balance between technical, social, and environmental issues is important: Our company has a 3-pronged approach - People, Planet, Profit. All of these elements need to be addressed to promote an enduring organization.

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Emphasis of life cycle assessments in different levels of design - from location down to the type of materials used for the building, to where and how they are sourced, and how to weigh the difference factors into a complex decision.

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Interconnection of political geography and built environment. They have a recursive loop.

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Perhaps the question should be changed to "How CAN architecture and architectural engineering contribute to society.  There is both a need for society to demand this and for professionals to espouse it.

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Perhaps the question should be changed to "How CAN architecture and architectural engineering contribute to society.  There is both a need for society to demand this and for professionals to espouse it.

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Question 4 - I don't know enough about the AREN curriculum to say much that is useful:)

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Question 4 - I don't know enough about the AREN curriculum to say much that is useful:)

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Question 3 - This goes both ways and there is a feedback loop between current leaders and academic programs

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Question 3 - This goes both ways and there is a feedback loop between current leaders and academic programs

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Question 2 - Probably have to start small - or at a modest level

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Question 2 - Probably have to start small - or at a modest level

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The acknowledgement that environmental sustainability and social equity is an important aspect of the discipline, industry, and society as a whole, is a great start. Rather than trying to detangle the technical and non-technical issues facing society, I appreciate the approach of confronting them head on and acknowledging that they cannot, and should not, be isolated.

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Provide background of evolution of building codes/drivers early on in curriculum, and how they've evolved (high level). Milosh Puchovsky has presented this in FPE courses very well.

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1. Understanding history of how architecture, engineering, planning, infrastructure development, etc., has impacted social equity should be a baseline requirement to give students an understanding of the past, and a framework for understanding how future decisions could be made differently. I suggest this could be something incorporated into a Freshmen level, general engineering course - not necessarily discipline specific.

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Question 1 - Architecture is fundamental to society (social classes, health, happiness) - and Architectural Engineering drives many aspects... not just the physical buildings

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Question 1 - Architecture is fundamental to society (social classes, health, happiness) - and Architectural Engineering drives many aspects... not just the physical buildings

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How to improve the AREN program for achieving the ABET Student outcome?
An ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts

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How could AREN program improve the lecture series?
How Advisory board can support the AREN lecture series?
How we could improve the students participation in lecture?