MVE & Partners Says "iCan" Aid in the Fight Against Hunger

MVE & Partners reinterpreted the iconic Apple iPod to encourage the end of hunger in Southern California at the CanstructionLA 2007 event held in October. The architecture, planning and interiors firm created a 7.5-foot-tall iPod dubbed "iPod, iCan". MVE's structure was built using nearly 1,500 cans of Stagg Chili, Le Seur Sweet Peas, Swanson's Chicken Broth and Hunts Tomatoes that were all donated to the LA Foodbank.

"For the cost of the average iPod - around $350 - you could potentially provide 1,750 meals to hungry children, seniors and families," said Rick Emsiek, AIA, partner and president at MVE & Partners. With a long history of contributing to community causes for positive change, Emsiek encouraged a team of architects, designers other staff members at MVE to participate in Canstruction.

Canstruction is a national event, held in several major cities, that engages teams of architects, engineers and builders to create and build sculptural exhibits out of canned food to raise awareness for hunger. The build for CanstructionLA 2007 was held on October 5th at Westfield Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks, CA.

The MVE build team of Austin Short, Pieter Berger, Jontel Carter, Erik Chrestensen, Tiffany Godsen, Vickie Leong, Nancy Su and Megan Turner constructed the 7.5 foot tall iPod replica over the course of four hours, competing against ten other architectural firms. In total, over 30,000 cans of food were donated to the LA Food Bank through this charity competition just in time for the Thanksgiving Holiday.