KEEPING IT MODEST

Current resident Matthew Steele creates work that reflects the relationship between infrastructure and human beings, with a particular focus on the ways in which the former establishes and maintains human connection. Using this perspective, he will prompt UNCC Architecture students to create modest dwellings with an aesthetic appeal to benefit the homeless community in Charlotte, as well as villages in Kenya, where he originally found inspiration for his community outreach project at McColl Center for Visual Art.

Under the direction of a non-profit organization, Steele journeyed to Kenya to help build homes for underprivileged families. He describes them as “cinderblock houses with a tin roof and an area limited to 120 square feet. They had very little natural light and no accommodating features.” While this style is common among Kenyan homes, Steele was surprised by the cost of construction; each home was allotted $700 in building materials, which, in Kenyan schillings, he claims “can do quite a bit.”

While in residence at McColl Center for Visual Art, Steele is working with students from UNC Charlotte’s architecture program to encourage the use of found objects and industrial waste to construct models for future dwellings. With the resulting projects, Steele plans to organize a space and help curate an exhibition of the student’s designs.

Raising awareness of affordable housing in our community as well as on a global level, Steele remarks, “not only does this allow the students an opportunity to present their work to the public, but it will expose the project to the public and possibly make some impact in the community.”

>> Meet Matthew Steele during Open Studio Saturday on February 11 or 25 from 11 AM to 6 PM.



Image: Matthew Steele at work in his studio at the Center