The United States Postal Service recently announced that the Skydance Bridge in Oklahoma City will be featured on first-class mail stamps in 2023! The stamps will be available for purchase on August 24, 2023. The Skydance Bridge, which was completed in 2012, has become an iconic landmark for Oklahoma City. Architects Hans E. and Torrey Butzer conceived of the bridge as being inspired by the mating dance of the scissor-tailed flycatcher, Oklahoma’s state bird; Hans Butzer is Dean of Gibbs College. Other team members included (in alphabetical order) Stan Carroll, Ken Fitzsimmons, Jeremy Gardner, Bret Johnston, Laurent Massenat, Chris Ramseyer (Professor Emeritus, Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, OU Gallogly College of Engineering), and David Wanzer, in collaboration with MKEC Inc.
Inspired by Oklahoma’s wind and state bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher, the Skydance Bridge connects upper and lower Scissortail Park by passing over Interstate 40. Durable construction materials, including recycled material content, were used to construct the bridge to ensure sustainability and efficiency, while high performance LED lighting illuminate the pedestrian bridge at night. The bridge’s ‘wings’ create a striking silhouette that has become a commonly used symbol for the growing city. Its likeness has been used for the OKC Convention Center logo, in countless souvenirs, in airport art installations, and more.
To learn more about the design concept and structural engineering, check out “Reaching for the Sky” in STRUCTURE Magazine, written by Ramseyer (the sole structural engineer on the project) and Butzer, and available online here.
Top Left: Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown, CT; Top Right: Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge in Omaha, NE; Bottom Left: Skydance Bridge in Oklahoma City; Bottom Right: Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge in Bettendorf, IA, and Moline, IL.
The Skydance Bridge was chosen along with three other bridges in the United States to be featured on Presorted First-Class Mail stamps. The bridges chosen are all considered important landmarks in their communities. The stamps were designed by art director Ethel Kessler using existing photographs.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
