Hennebery Eddy and David Evans & Associates teamed up for this year’s CANstruction Portland competition, creating a massive Bigfoot structure to bring attention to a cause even larger than the myth itself: Hunger. The event supports the Oregon Food Bank, raising awareness about the 1 in 8 Oregonians facing food insecurity.
Our team wanted to celebrate the spirit of the Pacific Northwest while addressing an issue close to home. After brainstorming several playful ideas, we decided to depict Sasquatch enjoying a meal from a Yeti cooler — a nod to both the region’s culture and the importance of access to food. Bigfoot’s massive scale also symbolizes the enormity of hunger across rural, suburban, and urban communities — a powerful message about the hunger crisis in Oregon.
From Plush Bigfoot to CANstructure
CANstruction is a blend of creative concept and technical design. Using the Grasshopper plugin for modeling software Rhino, our team modeled the structure, even 3D scanning a plush Bigfoot to help with the design and drawing additional inspiration from the film “Missing Link” by local animation studio Laika. Architect Jeff Xu explained that using Rhino allowed the team to modify individual cans for color and shape refinement, helping narrow in on the exact number and type of cans to realize the design vision.
The two firms contributed food, materials, and time, including the purchase of more than 3,500 cans of food and dry goods — baked beans, green beans, corn, and tuna — to build Bigfoot’s body, head, arms, and legs. Green split peas and dried pasta were used to create the environment surrounding the structure.
Big Challenges, Bigfoot Solutions
Three practice builds helped the team troubleshoot, perfect the structural support system, and fine-tune details like Bigfoot’s face, feet, and the Yeti cooler. One of the toughest challenges was how to support the weight of Sasquatch’s arm reaching toward the cooler — the forearm alone, made up of 24 cans of beans, weighed nearly 25 pounds! The nearly 8-foot-tall build required strong reinforcement, with plywood and chipboard and continual tweaks to the design details.
Bringing Bigfoot to the Public
On the day of the official build at Pioneer Place Mall in downtown Portland, a team of 10 builders took five hours to bring our colossal Bigfoot creation to life. The structures remained on display until Sept. 22, allowing the public to admire the designs and vote for their favorite. Our structure received three of the six available awards: Best Meal, Structural Ingenuity, and the People’s Choice.
At the end of the event, all the food used in the displays is donated to the Oregon Food Bank, helping to feed those in need — proving that when creativity meets compassion, even Bigfoot can make a real difference. You can also support our team and the Oregon Food Bank by making a donation.
“This was my first time participating in a community project like this, and it’s great to contribute to the Oregon Food Bank. It’s been fun to apply our professional skills while collaborating with another firm toward a common goal. I especially enjoyed the camaraderie during the practice builds and the problem-solving we achieved as a team. The whole experience has been incredibly impactful for me.”
— Sergio Casado, Design Staff