Three Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture students spent part of their summer building a playhouse to be sold at the Dallas CASA Parade of Playhouses competition.
The competition raises funds for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving abused and neglected children in the area.
“The reason I enrolled in the CASA playhouse course is because it is for a good cause,” said Skye Reid, one of the students in the class. “Also, this was the perfect opportunity for something I really believe is helping me learn in a more hands on environment.”
In just a few weeks, the students designed and built the playhouse, entitled “The Tower of Shadows,” to capture a childlike perspective and sense of wonder. The playhouse uses stacking layers cut to create unique interior spaces.
“This course is a good experience for students who want to gain a better understanding of how things are built in real life,” said Reid.
“Most of our time in the studio is designing in a 3D program, but this class gives you the opportunity to work with different materials and connections to make something come into life at full scale.”
The project is offered as a course at the end of the spring semester, and was taught by Francesco Cianfarani and Garrett Stowe this year. The course name is ARCH 4970: CASA Playhouse Parade 2019 Design and Build Course.
The Gibbs Design in Action Awards (GDAA) program, led by Dr. Wanda Liebermann, has announced its 2026–2027 funded student projects. The initiative supports design and research work that addresses social, cultural, and economic issues in the built environment through collaboration with faculty and community partners.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) 2024 collaboration with the Historic Threatt Filling Station has been recognized in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's newly released Byways Report: The Scenic Route to Rural Prosperity – a story-driven publication exploring how road trip culture and place-based tourism can fuel economic growth in rural communities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Camille Germany, Chief of Staff, has been named the 2026 recipient of the university-wide Jennifer L. Wise Good Stewardship Award.
