Telesis, the Gibbs College of Architecture’s award-winning student journal, is releasing its fourth edition in Fall 2022. This edition, “Habitation,” questions how we may ensure all things, living and non-living, may continue to inhabit our planet. “Habitation” continues the overarching theme explored in “Isolation”: “How can design aid people’s sense of belonging?”
The contents of “Habitation” involve developing new strategies for housing, food systems, education, consumerism, and more. Topics such as urbanism, migration, and border spaces are explored by a variety of authors in “Habitation.”
A spread from Telesis "Habitation."
According to the publication, “One’s sense of belonging is akin to perceiving one’s habitat. By understanding the general area that contains all the resources a given species needs to survive, species will stay put to leverage prospects and refuge. This relationship can become so solidified, a species may thrive in its habitat to the point of directly altering its surroundings. This process involves not only identifying, or perceiving, that habitat, but also strengthening a bond with it: carving and shaping it to intensify the species’ state of refuge. When does this alteration go too far? When does altering the landscape to increase one’s sense of belonging become so immense, that the act folds back on itself, yielding nothing but destruction and isolation?”
A spread from Telesis "Habitation."
This issue was coordinated by Ben DeCuyper (Adjunct at OU Gibbs College of Architecture), Angela Person, Ph.D. (Director of Research Initiatives and Strategic Planning + Assistant Professor at OU Gibbs College of Architecture), and Luis Felipe Flores Garzon (PhD Student at OU Gibbs College of Architecture).
Produced by students, Telesis has been recognized by national awards and grants for its exceptional quality. During its first year, the journal was awarded the Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals. Telesis was also awarded a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Art which assisted with the publication “Habitation” and will assist with “Adaptive Practice,” a future issue. Telesis’s most recent issue “Isolation” was awarded the 2022 Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals.
Contributing Authors in Telesis “Habitation”:
View the PDF of Habitation below, or visit the Telesis page to view additional issues.
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.
