Two teams of five students from the Gibbs College of Architecture competed in the ULI Hines Student Urban Design and Development Competition this past January. Two of the students from GCA to participate included Sara Overturff, who is working on her Master’s in Construction Management, and Kimberly Huff, a 5th-year Architecture student.
The competition brings together groups of upper-level students from at least three different disciplines to challenge themselves in an exercise in responsible land use. Each team has two weeks to come up with a development plan for a real, large-scale North American city. With their final product, teams are required to supply graphic boards and narratives of their proposed plans, including designs and market-feasible financial information.
Diagram from Kimberly Huff’s group’s project.
“Competing in the ULI Student Competition illustrated for me the intersection of urban design, architecture, and construction,” said Overturff. “Being a part of an interdisciplinary team within the College of Architecture was an amazing experience to not only interact with students from different degree programs but also combine our areas of expertise to create a space that enhances the overall Miami community. Overall, I am grateful for the opportunity to have a better understanding of my peers and how they work.”
Although the competition is completely idea-based, the winning team receives $50,000 and the finalist teams each receive $10,000. For the competition, Overturff created the pro forma financial statement, and the design and financial narratives for her team. Huff helped create her team’s graphic logo, and diagram and renderings of their project, which was called “Wynwood Portrait District.”
Logo from Kimberly Huff’s group’s project.
“The ULI Hines competition was a steep learning curve,” said Huff. “The time constraint required extreme efficiency of design practice. Each of us constantly had to question our ideas, representation, and then streamline our solution to be as clear as possible. It was a way of design completely different from anything we had done before, and I think we all thrived in the process.”
The ULI Hines Student Competition is part of the Urban Land Institute’s effort to raise interest among younger generations in creating better communities. Learn more about the compeition.
Feature image credit: Kimberly Huff, rendering of “Wynwood Portrait District” project
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.
