School of Architecture alumni Eddie Winn and Samantha McPadden won third place in a competition sponsored by the Nka Foundation. The competition called for the design of a small artist-in-residence center in a rural arts village in Ghana, Africa.
Nka Foundation was established in 2008 as a network of arts villages and arts-based community projects in Africa and other industrially developing parts of the world. In 2009, it was incorporated as a nonprofit-seeking company under the laws of the Republic of Ghana to support community arts practice and infrastructure to enhance the social, cultural and economic vitality of rural communities in the Anglophone, Lusophone and Francophone African settings.
One requirement of the recent competition was that the construction method be an earth building technique. For their project “WEFT,” Winn and McPadden chose rammed earth and wattle and daub techniques. The design was inspired by the art of weaving, a vibrant craft practice in Ghana. Weft and warp are terms that refer to threads that make up loomed or woven fabric.
The prize allows Winn and McPadden to travel to Ghana to build their structure. They are scheduled to begin the project in June 2017; they hope to form a build team that includes UNC Charlotte architecture students.
Winn and McPadden both work in Los Angeles.