2016 RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship awarded to UWA architecture student

An architecture student from the University of Western Australia has been awarded the 2016 RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship, a biennial programme that funds international research for one student on a topic and in a location of their choice.

A 22-year-old student from the University of Western Australia’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts, Abel Feleke was awarded the prestigious scholarship for his proposal titled ‘Weaving the Urban Fabric: Examining the Significance of Community’. The student from Sinagra is studying in the Master of Architecture program at UWA.

For his proposal, Feleke researched the social networks of high density urban communities (informal settlements) to understand the social connections in these communities and how they might inform future architectural developments. His £6,000 (A$11,500) travelling scholarship will take him to China, India, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Mexico and Brazil.

Image: Abel Feleke