Former Gibbs College of Architecture instructor, William Reue, RA AIA NCARB has recently completed the Devland SOWETO Education Campus in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Education Campus was designed for the non-profit, Growing Up Africa. The project is located within a densely populated Reconstruction and Development Program Zone of SOWETO, about 25 kilometers outside of Johannesburg. The project has been donated to the University of Johannesburg and will be used as a satellite campus for its educational programs that serve the Devland SOWETO community.
Several spaces within the Devland SOWETO campus.
The building is made up of multipurpose teaching spaces, flexible classrooms, open-plan work areas, a lecture hall, canteen, restrooms, storerooms, and administrative offices all anchored by a large auditorium. Outside, there is a tree-shaded amphitheater, sculpture garden, double-height porch, and water-wise garden planted with over forty native tree and plant species.
William Reue Architecture in New York City partnered with Boogertman + Partners, the largest architecture firm in Africa, on this project. An eight-year effort, all design professionals provided their services for free, and the building was constructed entirely from donated materials from over 225 corporate sponsors.
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.