On our laps, we had to go down each corridor toward the exit doors. As we turned down those hallways, you could feel the heat and humidity which got higher the closer we got to the exits. At some of the exits, we could look out and see the rain. Also, as the day wore on, the mall became more and more crowded. I felt like we were Dodge 'em cars as we wove our way through the maze of people.
We enjoyed window shopping and the exhibits! Until September 22, you can see the result of a design/build competition called "CANstruction" which is taking place inside the mall. Local businesses compete to build the best/cleverest/cutest can sculptures. As in cans of food. The sculptures are judged and, when the competition is over, all the cans of food are donated to the San Antonio Food Bank to help end hunger.
This is the 13th annual competition which raises funds and awareness for the San Antonio Food Bank. Ten teams representing the San Antonio chapters of The American Institute of Architects and the Society for Design Administration are taking part. On Sunday, September 9, the teams were given 12 hours to build their structures using approximately 30,000 cans of food.
What do the teams "win?" Awards for most original design, the best use of labels, structural ingenuity of the sculpture, and for the number of cans used. But the prize most teams want to win is Best Original Design. Best Original Design earns a blue ribbon for the team, AND their CANstruction can be re-built in the lobby of the San Antonio Food Bank for all to see.
You will see in the photos below that the builders carefully chose the cans of food with the right colors on the labels. By rotating the cans, they could expose different colors. Some even removed the labels completely to expose the silver color of the cans to make the San Antonio Spurs logo.
The first entry we saw was called, "Walk Around CAN Antonio." It won a blue ribbon and it was easy to see why. The firms who created this clever masterpiece are Marmon Mok Architecture, Metro, Jones/Carter, and Datum Engineering. A total of 5,389 cans of food were used. You can view this sculpture from three different angles and see a different part of San Antonio on each side. There were footprints stuck on the ground on each side to show you where to put your feet for optimum viewing. Take a look.
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| Side 1: "300" for San Antonio's Tricentennial. |
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| Side 2: San Antonio Spurs logo. |
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| Side 3: The Alamo |
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| "Pinata de Cumpleanos" (900 cans) |
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| "The Ban of Hunger" (back) |
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| "The Ban of Hunger" (front) |
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| "El Luchador Mask...It's Rumbling Time." (5,003 cans) |
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| "Ate-Bit" (Donkey Kong) |
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| "CAN-Bridge the Hunger Gap." |
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| "Scary Cans" (Monsters, Inc.) (3,100 cans) |
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| Slinky dog |
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| Click on the photo to enlarge it. |
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| "Food Fight" featuring The Hunger Fighter, mascot of the Food Bank. |
The Shoe Palace in the photo below, has a fun-house-type mirror at the entrance. I took my photo in front of it and came out upside-down and wavy looking.
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| Entrance to Shoe Palace. |
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| Adorable alpaca adorning the stage by the Andean pan pipe player. |
We finished our walk and headed to Salata for lunch. Salata is a salad buffet restaurant. You pick the size of your bowl when you walk in and the servers behind the counter fill your bowl with the type of lettuce/kale/spinach combo you want. From there you follow your server on the opposite side of the glass and tell them everything you'd like on your salad. Over 100 ingredients are available, most are included. However, if you want avocado, salmon, chicken, or other meaty protein there is an up-charge. You choose your salad dressing and they mix it into your salad. One roll or pita chips are included. Soup and wraps are available too.
I was so happy Bob walked with me today. Thanks, sweetie.
GREAT pictures. Really enjoyed your comments!
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