A group of students from Peru recently spent the week at the Gibbs College of Architecture as part of a collaborative project between the University of Oklahoma and the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano. The project, “Inti Wasi Sustainable and Affordable Cold Climate Housing,” received funding from the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund during the spring 2023 semester.
The project is being led by Ben Bigelow, associate professor and director of Construction Science, and Victor Maqque, the managing director of the OU Latin America Sustainability Initiative. It is also being supported by René Peralta in the Architecture department and Professor Jorge Villegas from UNAP. For the project, students were tasked with creating an implementable solution to the affordable housing shortage within the Andes.
Peruvian students presenting their final Inti Wasi design.
Last spring, the UNAP students met virtually with Peralta’s class to select and refine their design concept. The students revisited this concept and presented it for an initial review during their recent visit to Gibbs College. Utilizing these critiques, they finalized their concept and developed a presentation to share their design. This design will soon be built as a prototype in Puno, Peru.
Ben Bigelow presents certficates to the visiting students.
They also got to participate in Professor Marjorie Callahan’s fifth-year Architecture studio, where her students are currently exploring student housing options within OU’s campus. The UNAP and OU students spent two days in studio collaborating to create an exhibit that will be on display at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.
UNAP students in the fifth-year architecture studio.
To complete their travel study experience, the UNAP students got to attend a few OU events including a dinner with the Peruvian Student Association, a women’s soccer game and a campus tour. They also got to explore a variety of architectural sites in Norman and Oklahoma City.
UNAP students meet with OU faculty in Gould Hall.
They were introduced to the American School and got to visit Bruce Goff’s Ledbetter House and Herb Greene’s Prairie House. They also toured the Norman Regional Healthplex project as well as the First Americans Museum, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum and Scissortail Park.
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.
Gibbs Construction Science and Architecture students recently traveled to Dublin, Ireland, to compete in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 8 Student Competition. The team partnered with Czech Technical University and secured third place in the Design-Build category.
Gibbs College is pleased to present the exhibition Vollendorf in Oklahoma: The Architecture of Dean Bryant Vollendorf during the Spring 2026 semester. It will be on display in Gould Hall, on the OU-Norman Campus, from February 16, 2026 - March 13, 2026.
