At Oxford, we pride ourselves up-to-date on the latest and best construction projects that are taking place in New York City. We stay informed on these happenings so that all of us at Oxford know about potential new homes for our clients and what might be the perfect fit.

In staying apprised of the building taking place in NYC, there is one construction project that we learned about recently that we think will be great for everyone to check out: Canstruction. Not quite real estate construction to live in, yet breathtaking none the less, this artistic competition combines some of the things we at Oxford cherish: the construction of incredible structures, friendly competition and helping those in need through one of our favorite organizations, City Harvest.

Canstruction brings together the best of innovation and philanthropy.

Beginning on November 3rd and running until the 16th, this annual event is in its 24th year and seeks to ease hunger as it enhances NYC with art. Free and open to the public, the premise of Canstruction is to design a structure, using only cans. Then, those cans get donated to the hungry through City Harvest. The official mission of Canstruction is “To feed and inspire the world, one can at a time” and having collected over 40 million pounds of food since 1992, they are well on their way. Structures can be fun, irreverent, provocative and sometimes spooky, but always utilizing cans.

This structure uses tins instead of cans, but still passes muster.

Founded in 1992 by the late Cheri Melillo, she had been inspired by trial competitions held by the Society for Design Administration (SDA) in Denver, CO and Seattle, WA. SDA is a national organization for the administrative persons who work in a professional administrative capacity at architecture/engineering and construction firms.

Melillo launched the first Canstruction competition in New York City in November of 1993 and the movement has been growing ever since. Now an international competition, Canstruction is in over 150 cities around the world and has six award categories including Honorable Mention, Juror’s Favorite, Best Meal, People’s Choice, Best Use of Labels and Structural Integrity. From around the world, each local winner then competes internationally through a digital contest via photography. But aside from the event, it is fascinating to see what designers can build, armed only with cans.

 NYC: The City of Dreams, sometimes made out of cans.

Beloved by the art community for the inventive structures and whimsical inspiration, Canstruction is one of the most interesting events to check out this autumn. Listed as one of the five best free things to do this weekend in New York City, we couldn’t agree more. This year will feature 25 unique structures and the only request that Canstruction has for you, is to please bring a can of food to donate. Each structure will yield roughly 2,000 cans to be donated to City Harvest. In 2015 alone, Canstruction featured over 300 structures and collected over 600,000 cans from that effort alone.

Taking place at Brookfield Place at 230 Vesey Street, we’re looking forward to seeing you there!