SoA Alums Win Third Place in International Competition

School of Architecture alumni Eddie Winn and Samantha McPadden have 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 non-profit 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 is inspired by the art of weaving, a vibrant craft practice in Ghana.

The prize allows Winn and McPadden to travel to Ghana to build their structure. They are scheduled to begin the project in June 2017 and hope to form a build team that includes SoA students.

Winn and McPadden both work in Los Angeles. To contact them about the project, please email.

Rendering of WEFT by Eddie Winn and Samantha McPadden