Post by Nka on Aug 1, 2017 9:57:31 GMT -6
REINVENTING THE AFRICAN MUD HOUSE
Design-Build Challenge in Rural Ghana or Gambia
THE CHALLENGE: Create a self-sufficient mud house type that generates its electricity for rural Africa.
Nka Foundation is issuing a challenge to designers, architects, engineers and innovators to use their creativity to come up with modern mud types for construction in rural Africa. This is a live project! No prizes to be won as in the conventional design competition. Our goal is to immerse the building workshop team in a challenging environment to put your design knowledge and building skills to the test. Your challenge is to design and build a sample component of a vocational school of arts and design that generates its electricity by use of renewable energy technologies such as wind, solar photovoltaic, geothermal heat, water, biomass or another type. Here is the design-build process: (1) submit preliminary sketches of your concept for one of the following: student dormitory, classroom, school cafeteria or dwelling type for the local teachers; and (2) based on site in Ghana or Gambia, you will conduct site analysis, complete the design process and build your project in the frame of an international architecture workshop.
We will select 12 project teams per a site to realize their projects between June 2018 to December 2019. Nka Foundation will partner with each design team to organize an international building workshop to, onsite, design and build a unit of a vocational skills center. You have 3 months to immerse in the local community, conduct site analysis, and with some international volunteers, build your design by use of local earth and other materials. The project may start in any month of after May 2018, but must be completed by December 2019. Keep in mind that you are designing for a student population of about 200 people. Three local youths will be available to serve as your trainee to provide you with manual labor and access to local resources.
Is your design buildable? Why not take the design-build challenge and find out! To Nka Foundation, designing is not the whole thing. If you are an emerging designer, this is a unique opportunity to learn-by-doing to gain knowledge about sustainable design, earth construction and project management. Nka Foundation has come to know that by immersing the young designer in the full circle of designing and building own design, at the completion of the design-build process, the emerging practitioner will learn to design what is buildable to make a well-rounded graduate. For the professionals, you will find the hands-on design and construction experience a pause from your office work stress to rediscover the rudiments of architecture and nuances that can refresh your practice. Through an open call for volunteers, each project will bring together volunteers from different countries to help you build your design.
OUR PROJECT SITES: (Choose One):
1. Abetenim Arts Village, Ejisu-Juaben District, Ashanti Region, Ghana -See site photos: yadi.sk/d/v6PMqNCU3BiwP4
2. Sang Village, Sang, Mion District, Northern Region, Ghana -See site photos: yadi.sk/d/VLso1Kyb3CZgtt
3. Singida Arts Village, Singida Municipal, Singida Region, Tanzania -See site photos: yadi.sk/d/Fy9s1Isj3GZ2Be
4. Diakounda Arts Village, Bounkiling, Sediou Region, Casamance, Senegal -See site photos: yadi.sk/d/FxOq93Wj3GabcZ
5. Kantora Arts Village, Karsi Kunda, Upper River Region, Gambia -See site photos: yadi.sk/d/Fy9s1Isj3GZ2Be
And we encourage each design team to come with the flag of their country. If you are successful, mount the flag to fly over the unit to celebrate your victory. Hey! You can write a book to document your design-build journey from start to finish. Interested? Email the preliminary sketches of your planned project, portfolio and CV to us at info@nkafoundation.org / www.nkafoundation.org before December 12, 2017.