3/28 Meeting- working on Can Opener Idea

Hey Everyone,



We met at chili's too on UTSA's Main Campus to discuss the advancement of the goals assigned at the previous meeting.



Our goals were:

1) create a rhino model of the structure

2) develop a map of San Antonio to label were we will get the cans

3) work on the fundraising letter

4) talk about the blog( this) and about comments



Audra, Albert & Samantha worked on the Rhino Model. Our idea has progressed from our three generic variatios of a Can opener to having the Can Opener roping a can. It would have a more texas theme with roping the can and squeezing it- causing it to spill out cans.



We began to dicuss color schemes in more depth and decided

can opener- white

muscles- bags or small cans

can opener would have a belt- brown/black

belt buckle- UTSA orange or blue

can being caught- design- use a combination or red, yellow, and green cans

ground- random cans from second canned food drive & maybe brown/black bags of beans



For Food we want to do a Texas meal. The various food items that we want to use are:



Chili

Beans

Corn

Carrots

Rice

Fritos/tortito bags

rotel salsa

jerky for the rope

tamato sauce

Iced tea

green beans

coffee

cornbred mixture



This gives a more narrow view of cans that we will ask for. We are also looking to into finding a common can size as well. Our estimates are around 3000 cans for the Can Opener (7 ft. high), and 500 cans for the big can (5.5ft high).



For structure of the design we are more looking into using possibly 3/8in. cardboard. For this we are looking into talking to Mission City. Our alternative is going to Alamo hardwoods about using plywood.



Next Stephanie found a good map of San Antonio and put it into a 2' by2' size so we can later use it for placing where we get the cans. Our idea behind the map is to show how the community of San Antonio is interconnected to itself and UTSA.

Finally we looked over the letter I made for fundraising- some grammatical errors, but we need to add pics and have a good ending

Now Me and Stephanie are off to Walmart for can research

The Beginning Ideas

When our group first convened we began to look at the various designs we saw at Canstruction 2009 and listing what we wanted to accomplish.

Our goals:

represent UTSA in some way ( orange & blue cans?)

create a catchy theme that would show our creativity

make a design that is not structurally impossible

maybe represent San Antonio

We kept simple goals and had broad ideas. Some of our ideas were:

• bridge spanning into San Antonio (create a skyline of SA) from UTSA.
• create a globe showing a expanded view of San Antonio, and UTSA
• have rowdy kicking a football with a field goal ( UTSA kickin hunger to a goal)
• have a football helmet bashing against a can labeled "Hunger"

The one we decided to explore more was "UTSA sinks Hunger"

We would have an iceberg (blue cans) labeled with UTSA (orange cans) and have a ship (hunger) in the process of sinking. We created three different variations and assigned teams to handle each variation.

First variation:
Titanic ( red, white, black, and yellow cans) is about to crash into the iceberg: represented by UTSA( blue cans & orange writing).

Second Variation:
Titanic( red, white, black, and yellow cans) is broken in half, maybe at the bottom of the sea or at the surface and breaking in half. If its at the surface there would be an iceberg in the middle with UTSA writing( blue cans & orange cans). If its at the bottom of the sea the bottom of the iceberg could be used or have a large rock with UTSA writing.


Third Variation:
Titanic (red, white, black, and yellow cans) is in the classic pose of one side sinking with the iceberg beside it. Again the iceberg will have UTSA on it. Still thinking about how to show the sea. Saw a previous one that had a fish and the sea was water bottles & frosted flakes (see right picture).

Our Goals for Next Meeting:

• Develop the three variations ( sinking- Sam Singel, In Half- Audra, Crashing into Iceberg- Albert
  
• explore other ideas- Stephanie, Harrison
• Look at basic can sizes and support materials- John Michael, Harrison
• Determine a set meeting time for Spring Semester
  

Thats all for now

Common Building Methods for cans

One of the things that we immediately looked at was the methods used in building the cans. The most common method that we saw was using layers of thick cardboard or plywood to create both a boundary form and to support the cans.

Most support layers were used either every row or every other row. The Bustier shown used plywood cut-outs to define the shape of the structure and fully support the cantilevers. This allowed a faster build time and ensured accuracy

throughout the build.

Another problem that is seen is how to fully secure the cans. They cannot be glued as it would cause problems with disassembling. Solutions that have appeared have varied from using wires, to ceramic wrap, to rubber bands

. Each has their strengths and weaknesses.

Wires: Strengths- strong, stiff, very good for long cantilevers, flexible,

Weaknesses- can only be bent so far, weak aesthetically ( really need to be covered), has to be at least a few inche

s to be effective, not good for individual wrappings of cans.

Ceramic Wrap: strengths- can easily wrap tightly around individual and groups of cans, transparent, great for short open spans of cans

Weaknesses- can really only be used once, limits in width and length of wrap, not as good as rubber bands and wires in supporting cans

Rubber Bands: strengths- very strong, good for supporting individual and small groups of cans, flexible, various sizes of rubber bands

Weaknesses- limits in how long rubber bands can stretch, can snap easily if pressed, doesn't look that great aesthetically

Canstruction 2009- research

Alright, so we've been working on the theme and design since around November of last year.

When we met for the first time it was more getting to understand what we wanted to

achieve and what we wanted to do. Immediately we wanted to represent UTSA and show its connection to San Antonio with doing this project. (I have since wanted to show the connections between the UTSA, its students and alumni, and the community.)

Our earliest thoughts started with looking at some of the designs shown at Canstruction 2009. Our favorites we're the "Unmask Hunger" and the cowboy boots. Each creatively interpreted the theme they created and effectively described their theme while creating general awareness for the San Antonio Food Bank. Walking through the mall we saw some great designs and some decent ones, but our biggest revelation was it cou

ld be done. We were originally afraid that this was a project that couldn't be accomplished in the time limit we had with no prior knowledge or experience. Going to Canstrcution 2009 showed us common building methods and also general ideas on the limits of the structure.

Our ideas we're immediately thinking with ideas like "UTSA kicking Hunger"( Have Rowdy, mascot, kicking a football labeled hunger) and "UTSA bridging the gap towards ending hunger."( have UTSA being a bridge between a pile of cans to a shantytown).

We walked away confident that this project could be accomplished with a good team and the right amount of planning.

Welcome

Well...I'm starting this Blog to showcase and develop ideas for our Canstruction project.

First I should talk a little about what Canstruction is and why we are doing this project:

Canstruction is a Nationwide Competition put on by the National Food Bank in which teams design a structure composed of mostly cans and other non-perishable goods. Teams must come up with a theme to their structure and design their structure. Teams must also raise all the goods and cans needed for the competition. The designs are judged the day after build day. The designs are then showcased for 2 weeks and then all the designs are dismantled and the food is donated

Specifically we are participating in the Competition that will take place in North Star Mall, San Antonio, TX on the 2nd weekend of September. Last year over 20 teams competed and over 25 tons of food were donated to the San Antonio Food Bank. This year will be our first year participating in Canstruction and we are excited about showing what UTSA can accomplish.

Our Team for the project is:

Harrison Pierce- Sophomore Construction Science & Management major

Audra Biediger - Sophomore Architecture major

Albert Franco- Sophomore Architecture major

Stephanie Estrada- Sophomore Architecture major

John Michael Storey- Sophomore Construction Science & Management major

Sam Singel- Sophomore Interior Design major

Kevin McClellan- Lecturer 1 College of Architecture

I'll be shortly putting some of our earlier ideas and designs. I'll also put up some of our research pictures.

Until then,

Harrison