Jon Twingi

Jon (Twingi) Sojkowski is an American architect and passionate advocate for African vernacular architecture.12 He created an online database to document and celebrate the beauty and creativity of traditional African building techniques.1 Sojkowski's interest in this field began during his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia in 1995, where he lived in a mud hut for two years.1

Sojkowski has made several trips to African countries, including Zambia, Swaziland, and Malawi, to document local architecture.12 In Malawi alone, he collected over 4,000 photographs of vernacular structures.1 His goal is to challenge negative perceptions about traditional African building methods and showcase their diversity, beauty, and practicality.1

To expand his database, Sojkowski has developed an app that allows anyone to upload photographs and descriptions of African vernacular architecture.1 He is based in South Carolina, United States, and continues to work on documenting and preserving these traditional building techniques.23