University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture dean Hans E. Butzer, Mabrey Presidential Professor and A. Blaine Imel, Jr. Professor, has been elevated to the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) College of Fellows. Only 3 percent of AIA members have been awarded this distinction.
Each year, following a rigorous review process, the AIA elevates select member-architects to its College of Fellows, an honor awarded to members who have made significant contributions to the architecture profession. The fellowship program was developed to elevate architects who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession and made a significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.
Butzer was elevated in the Design category, “Object One,” which recognizes excellence in promoting the aesthetic, scientific, and practical efficiency of the profession. An architect and urban designer, his career is centered on the goal of creating meaningful and memorable places designed with and for communities. As principal of Butzer Architects and Urbanism, he co-leads a small team dedicated to place-making in Oklahoma with his wife and design partner, Torrey Butzer.
Torrey and Hans Butzer of Butzer Architects. Image courtesy of 405 Magazine.
Among Butzer’s iconic civic projects is the Oklahoma City National Memorial. After the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building, the community came together to grieve and consider what to do next. Through a transparent, collaborative design process, Hans and Torrey Butzer helped the community achieve what they set out to do by creating a space of contemplation and serenity for those who visit, especially for survivors and family members of those killed. Architecture critic Paul Goldberger wrote in the New Yorker that, “It is the most active piece of open public space in town, and the most elegant.”
Reflecting on Butzer’s impact, 2020 AIA Gold Medal recipient Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, said, “It is impossible to think of architecture in Oklahoma without immediately thinking of Hans Butzer and his collaborative practice that directly engages community partners.” Blackwell continued, “More than a design architect, [Butzer] is a true Citizen Architect, deeply engaged in his community, both with the public and with the profession, a model for the power and potential of architecture to bring dignity to often overlooked and underserved places.”
Since relocating to Oklahoma in 1999, Butzer has dedicated his practice to developing regionally grounded designs for communities and clients across the state. A testament to this work, when Butzer was awarded the Thomas Jefferson Award for Public Architecture in 2016, the AIA wrote that: “The phenomenal transformation that has occurred in Oklahoma City in the early 21st century is a direct result of Butzer’s work.” As evidence of this transformation, Butzer ushered in the $18M redevelopment of a defunct 1970s mall into a new urban jewel, the Century Center.
Among the most notable of Butzer’s public projects is the Skydance Bridge. Butzer assembled a team of designers and engineers that would win the international design competition for a new pedestrian bridge in Oklahoma City. True to his place-inspired design approach, the form takes its cues from the Oklahoma State bird, the scissortail flycatcher.
Following completion, the soaring bridge emerged as a new icon for Oklahoma City—showing up in logos, souvenirs, and tourist brochures. It is now the official mark for the Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau.
An award-winning educator, Butzer has served as dean of Gibbs College since 2016. He joined the Architecture faculty in 2000.
Each year, fellows are selected by a seven-member Jury of Fellows.
The 2022 jury included: Steven Spurlock, FAIA, Chair, Quinn Evans Architects, Washington, DC; Rainy Hamilton Jr., FAIA, Hamilton Anderson Associates, Detroit, MI; Lisa Lamkin, FAIA, Brown Reynolds Watford Architects, Inc., Dallas, TX; Rebecca Lewis, FAIA, DSGW Architects, Duluth, MN; RK Stewart, FAIA, RK Stewart Consultants, Salt Lake City, UT; Allison Williams, FAIA, AGWms_studio, San Francisco, CA; and Anna Wu, FAIA, University of North Carolina, Durham, NC.
Featured image: Oklahoma City National Memorial. Image is cropped from a photograph by Timothy Hursley.
Robert L. Wesley, a pioneering architect and beloved mentor, has died at age 88. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Wesley joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1964 and became the firm's first Black partner in 1984. Throughout his career, he contributed to significant architectural projects while maintaining a strong commitment to civic engagement and professional mentorship.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to celebrate a series of recent accomplishments by Dr. Jim Collard, Professor of Practice in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design, whose work continues to shape conversations around Indigenous economic development nationally and internationally.
University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture Dean Hans E. [PA1.1]Butzer returned to one of his most significant works on December 15, joining survivors and past and present board members for the groundbreaking of a $15.8 million expansion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
