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About 8,000 members of the metal construction industry will come to the Tampa Convention Center this week for their annual meeting, Metalcon International. And though the trade show isn't open to the public, the attendees will leave a few things behind for the community.
Stud University, a three-day workshop that precedes the convention, teaches contractors, builders and framers who pay the $750 tuition the basics of steel framing. Students will build a steel structure on the trade floor that will be donated to The Spring of Tampa Bay, a local domestic violence shelter, for use as a home. At past conventions, the structures have been reassembled on site by local contractors.
Later in the week, three teams of architecture, engineering and vocational students will be challenged to design a sculpture out of a different kind of metal: canned foods. In the past, contestants have created giant Spam cans, bowling pins and TV sets in Canstruction competitions.
Participating in Tampa will be students from the University of South Florida's schools of engineering and architecture-community design as well as students from Tampa's Erwin Technical Center. Professionals from ROJO Architecture, RBK Architects and ArchitecturePlus International, all of Tampa, will work with the students.
After the winners have been announced and the metal workers have gone home, the Canstruction displays will be dismantled and the cans donated to Tampa area food pantries.