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Six interior design majors from the Cleveland Institute of Art turned 1,000 canned goods into a sculptural form and a message about social responsibility when they participated in Canstruction: One Can Make a Difference, a national effort by design and construction professionals to support hunger centers around the country.

The CIA team was one of six to install displays made of canned goods at the Beachwood (Ohio) Mall on March 25. They created a giant sketchbook and pencil, the tools of their trade, and called their display “Scribble out Hunger.” The team won the "Best Use of Labels" award for their work. Shown working on the project are, left to right, Hannabeth Lagerlof (partially obscured), Jeff Poole, and Yeon Woo Kim. Also on the team were Julianne Rodriguez, Natalie Benos, and team captain MacKenzie Marinelli.

The CIA students are all sophomores in their first year of the interior design major. Their instructor, adjunct faculty member Sherri Appleton, said the students were eager to participate in Canstruction, even though it was in addition to their regular studio assignments.

“I’ve talked with the students about the value of using their design skills to give back to the community and they were very responsive; Canstruction was a way to introduce them to that. They were very enthusiastic and ambitious about creating this project,” she said.

The other teams included architectural firms, interior design firms, construction companies, and the Virginia Marti College of Art and Design. The installations will remain on view through April 4, when each will be disassembled and the canned goods donated to the Cleveland Food Bank in conjunction with the annual Harvest for Hunger campaign.

The CIA team was sponsored by Herschman Architects and the Giant Eagle supermarket chain. Herschman hosted the CIA students in its Cleveland office where they used specialized software to create a three-dimensional design for their project. Giant Eagle donated the canned goods.

Photo Credit: Julianne Rodriguez ’13