Home

Event Details

Enter a Team

The Rules

Get Involved

Past Winners

Photo Gallery

Contact Us

What's changed since last year?

Whenever we update or change a rule, we'll put it in bright red and mark it as "2009 Rule Change," so you know something is different.

Home >> The Rules

Corridor Canstruction Rules and FAQ

TO ENTER: Contact the TEAM COORDINATOR

Donna Hubler
c/o Shive-Hattery, Inc.
2834 Northgate Drive
Iowa City, Iowa 52245
dhubler@shive-hattery.com
TEL: (319) 354-3040
FAX: (319) 354-6921

BACK TO TOP

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND DATES 

Find all the dates and deadlines on our Event Details page.

 

Rules

1.    ELIGIBILITY

Those eligible include, but are not limited to: Eastern Iowa architects, engineers, contractors, and designers; student groups and community service organizations are also welcome and encouraged to participate. Not on the list, but want to build? Contact us to ask if you can play, too.

BACK TO TOP

2. DESIGN RULES & REGULATIONS

  • Maximum size of any build is 10'L x 10'W x 8'H. A build area will be provided to each team.  Each team is responsible for leaving their area "broom-clean" after build-out.
  • Five-person teams with a designated captain are advised. Teams may work in shifts to accommodate additional team members.
  • Builder Limit: For professional teams, please observe that only 5 people may be building at any one time. That includes those who are outside the 10x10 square. In other words, if 5 team members are inside the square building the structure, others cannot be outside assembling other parts. They can be unpacking cans or assisting, but they cannot be constructing or assembling any part of the structure.

    • This note applies to student/community groups. While we encourage participation of as many students as possible, large groups can present a hazard to mall patrons and a nuisance to store owners. We encourage large groups to work in shifts, or as tag teams. Please remember that mall stores will be open and we must be considerate of mall customers and store owners, as well as respect fire codes with regard to corridor clearance. If your group is blocking mall traffic, you may be asked to leave the area.

  • Aluminum food cans of all sizes may be used. Cans must be full, unopened, and with labels intact and legible. Labels may not be covered or altered in any way. Do not place tape anywhere on the can's label. During decanstruction, the tape pulls the label from the can. A can with no label cannot be taken at the food bank. Your build may be disqualified if labels are taped, which we really do not want to do!
  • Minimal accessory props are allowed (some boxed foods). Props and boxes should not be a dominating feature of the entry. Jurors will be instructed to consider this in their judging. Nationally, jurors are prone to select structures that are made entirely of cans.
  • No glass containers, pet food, alcoholic beverages, or open or exposed food are allowed.
  • Your Canstruction must be structurally self-supporting.
  • Velcro, clear and double-faced tape may be used as adhesives (note: no tape can be used on the can's label, however). High-tension rubber bands, nylon string and wire are permissible. No permanent adhesives, such as glues, may be used.
  • Foam core, cardboard, 1/4" plexiglass, and other leveling (but not supporting) materials are permitted.
     
Failure to adhere to these regulations may result in your build being disqualified.

BACK TO TOP

3.   ACQUISITION AND DELIVERY OF CANNED GOODS

  • Participants are responsible for obtaining their own supply of canned goods. You may solicit donations of canned goods from manufacturers, consultants, contractors, or conduct employee/school food drives. School and community groups are eligible for assistance to get started. Email the planning committee to see if your team is eligible for kick-off cash!
  • For school/community/youth groups, we've compiled a list of ideas--different ways you can begin fundraising or collecting cans for your Canstructure. Not all the ideas will work for every group, but this should get you started. Download the list here!
  • Teams may unload their building materials on the evening prior to the event. Dollies and carts will be available, but the number of carts is limited, so you are encouraged to bring your own two-wheel cart. The food can be stored directly in your build site (you'll receive a map prior to the event detailing where your build site will be).
  • The day of the event mall doors will open at 7:00 a.m. At that time you are free to move your food to the build site you have been assigned and start building. Carts and dollies will be available to move the food to your build site with some volunteers to help if needed. However, ultimately you are responsible for moving your food to the build site.
  • Save all packing boxes. A storage space for packing boxes will be available at the mall. Boxes must be used to repack cans during dismantling.

 BACK TO TOP

4.  SUBMITTING YOUR DESCRIPTION

The following must be submitted (we prefer you submit online but you can also fax/email it to the Team Coordinator) five days before the event.

  • Submit a TITLE and DESCRIPTION of the Canstruction.  Description should be no longer than one paragraph.

The descriptions are most helpful in drawing the juror's and public's eye to the rich detail in each design.  Don't get caught up in making long, drawn out philosophical statements -- keep it short and let your entry speak for itself.  Spend your time describing the choices you made in cans and labels to articulate your theme, your use of double entendres with label names, play on words, themes, etc. 

  • Each entry must supply the number of food items used, weight, and approximate cost.  In addition to National jurying, this information is used to quote statistics and to provide information to new cities or entrants asking for information on typical costs.
  • Submit the firm name the way it should officially appear. Submit team member names including a designated captain.
  • Submit your description using the form on this page or fax/email it using the contact information for the Team Coordinator at the top of this page.

BACK TO TOP

 5.    BUILDOUT, DISPLAY & DISMANTLING

  • The mall doors will be open at 7:00 a.m. Registration begins shortly after 7:00 a.m., and a member of the committee will come around and check you in.
  • Teams should start building no later than 8:00 a.m. Judging begins at 11:00 a.m., so your build must be complete at that time.
  • Each entry will be on display from the day of the build until approximately one week later.
  • Each team is responsible for DISMANTLING their structures and packaging the food in boxes (see dates for decanstruction here).  The boxes will either be taken to a designated storage site in the mall, where they will be picked up by HACAP, or loaded directly onto the HACAP truck. We kindly request your assistance in loading cans if you are dismantling while the truck is there.

BACK TO TOP

6.  SIGNAGE

All build teams should create just one 24" x 36" "professional looking" sign. Why only one? We're all about being green and saving money!

The sign should have any information pertinent to your build that will help draw the jurors’ and publics’ eye to your display as described above under submission of a description.  This sign should also contain information on weight and cost of your build.

It CAN identify your organization/company and sponsors, but this information must be covered and invisible during judging. You should bring a piece of card stock or thick paper large enough to cover the identifying information. Keep this in mind when designing your signage.

A second option - a two-part sign. Past teams have created one sign with no identifying information, then attached a second part after the judging to identify their group. The white rectangle at the top of the sign pictured below was added after judging was complete.

Example of Two-Part Sign

BACK TO TOP

7.  JUDGING

Awards for the Professional teams (architecture/engineering firms) will be given in the following categories:

  • Juror's Favorite
  • Best Meal
  • Best Use of Labels
  • Structural Ingenuity
  • People's Choice Award
  • Honorable Mention

Each student/community group will receive an award. These will be announced before the event, but may include:

  • Best in Show
  • Best Use of Labels
  • Best Meal
  • Most Imaginative
  • Honorable Mention
  • People's Choice Award

When your build is completely finished, send a representative to notify the registration table attendant of your completion.

Judging will be based on design, overall conception, imagination, and creativity within compliance of the rules, as well as fine detail, craft and patience. 

2009 Rule Change: Entries will also be judged based on practicality of the foods used. What do we mean by practical? That means a build using more protein-rich foods and less Kool-Aid would do better than one made completely out of Doritos. Our goal here is to feed the hungry well--remember that when selecting building materials.

A People's Choice Award will also be given, and the audience at the build will place their votes for their favorites. Those votes will be tallied and counted.

The student/community groups will have their own judges, and the professional groups will have a separate group of judges.

Judging will begin at 11:00 a.m. and will end at approximately 12:00 noon. At that time, the winners will be announced and awards presented, including the People's Choice awards.

BACK TO TOP