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Edible architecture is focus of competition
By LOGAN D. MABE
© St. Petersburg Times, CITRUS PARK -- The students in Eric Milan's three-dimensional design class had just about everything worked out. For bricks, they decided to use packages of Ramen noodles. The lamp post would be built out of cans of black beans. And spaghetti would make a great door handle. But what to do about the arch. How could they construct a convincing window arch out of packaged foodstuffs? That's when 11th-grader Andrea Gutgesell struck on the Cup Noodles solution. "I'm the arch expert now," said Gutgesell, who found a way to fashion an arch out of a starch. "They brought a couple of bags of food to see what would work," Gutgesell said. "The Cup Noodles are sort of trapezoidal shaped, so having them turned a certain way was the solution to the problem." The Sickles art students are working with Randy Rubin, a project manager for Collman & Karsky Associates architects, to design and build a giant work of art out of non-perishable foods. It's part of the annual CANSTRUCTION competition, which fosters interest in design education while generating donations for local food banks. Other Hillsborough schools participating this year are Alonso and Jefferson high schools, and Ben Hill and Walker middle schools. Students will begin erecting their structures at the Citrus Park Town Center mall beginning Saturday morning. A similar effort will take place at Brandon Town Center featuring schools from Tampa and east Hillsborough. The Sickles kids chose an Ybor City street corner as their project. "We had a whole long list and we thought about it long and hard and decided it was definitely unique, not at all the norm," Gutgesell said. "We basically tried to pick architectural details," Rubin said. "Ybor bricks-slash-Ramen noodles are sort of a stretch, but they work well." All the food was donated or provided by local sponsors and will be turned over to the Divine Providence Food Bank when the exhibit comes down in about three weeks. "This is our third year participating and the kids really enjoy it," Milan said. "It's for a good cause and it teaches them collaboration skills and teamwork." And it teaches them the value of a value-pack of noodles. - Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 813-226-3464 or at mabe@sptimes.com.
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