On April 16th, AIA Las Vegas partnered with The Society for Design and Administration (SDA) for the 2009 CANstruction design competition. This year there were a total of 11 structures using over 18,000 cans of food. All materials were donated to Three Square Food Bank with approximately an additional 2,500 cans collected by retailers and shoppers at Fashion Show Mall.

YWS designed and constructed three cacti for our entry, coming away with the award for Structural Ingenuity.

Our Mission Statement:

The fight for survival of the cacti of our native Las Vegas desert is analogous to the battle against hunger our community’s homeless face each and every day.

Both the cactus and those dealing with homelessness fight to survive on only a minimal amount of resources when faced with the overwhelming odds of survival in this arid climate and brutal economy. We have created three desert cacti, acting not only as a symbol of the local region, but also as a tribute to the organization of ‘3 Square’ who’s aim is to eliminate hunger in Las Vegas.