Christopher Loofs and Jordan Loofs, faculty in the divisions of Architecture and Interior Design, were recently selected as winners of Warming Huts v.2024: An Arts + Architecture Competition on Ice, hosted by The Forks. Supported by the Manitoba Association of Architects, this annual competition combines world-class design and art with the famous winters of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Each winter, the competition calls for warming hut designs from architects, designers, artists and Architecture students from around the world. Each submission is reviewed anonymously by a jury made up of founding members, community jurors and a student guest juror. The winning designs are selected based on their creativity, ability to provide shelter, poetics of assembly and form, integration with the landscape and ease of construction.
A rendering of Murky Waters, designed by Christopher Loofs, Jordan Loofs and Kaci Marshall.
Alongside designer Kaci Marshall, the Loofs were awarded for their design entry, Murky Waters. Built in the shape of a catfish, Murky Waters includes two long benches — one inside the hut and one outside at the end of the catfish’s “tail” — for people to sit and take a break. The presence of the catfish brought to the river surface seeks to shelter visitors from the wind while also providing a place to reflect on the ecologies humans interact with in different cultures and contexts.
This year, six winners were selected out of the 200 unique warming hut submissions from around the world. These designs will be placed along the Nestaweya River Trail located on the Assiniboine and Red rivers in Winnipeg. Learn more about Warming Huts v.2024 and see the full list of award recipients here.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Dr. Tamar Zinguer, Associate Professor of Architecture, has been selected to participate in the prestigious 2026 Summer Residency at the National Humanities Center (NHC).
Tanvin Mahtub Fariha, a first-year Master of Landscape Architecture student in the Gibbs College of Architecture and a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design, has earned recognition for her work.
A team of Construction Science and Architecture students from the Gibbs College of Architecture made their mark on the national stage this week, earning third place out of 37 universities competing at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Student Competition, held during the International Builders' Show in Orlando, February 16-18, 2026.
