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Join Gibbs College for the “Outré West Symposium” on October 17 and architectural tours on October 18, 2024. Featuring gallery tours of the Outré West exhibition, presentations on mid-century architecture, a reception and architectural tours, these events offer an opportunity to learn more about the American School of Architecture, which was born in Oklahoma and thrived in California! Please reserve a ticket for each portion you plan to attend.
The “Outré West Symposium” features guided tours with the exhibition curators and a lecture on midcentury modern architecture by Alan Hess, a California-based architect and historian. Hess, who has written many books on midcentury modern architecture and urbanism in the mid-twentieth century, will provide an overview of Organic architecture on the West Coast. Following Hess’s lecture, the Outré West curators, including Angela Person, Stephanie Pilat, Marco Piscitelli, Hans Baldauf, Rachel Engler, Christopher Loofs, and Amber Brown, will share highlights from each section of the exhibition. A reception with light refreshments will follow.
Architect and historian Alan Hess has written nineteen books on Modern architecture and urbanism in the mid-twentieth century, including “Forgotten Modern: California Houses, 1940-1970.” He has written monographs on architects Oscar Niemeyer, Frank Lloyd Wright, and John Lautner, as well as architectural histories of Las Vegas and Palm Springs. He is currently researching the architecture of Irvine, California, one of the United States’ largest master-planned communities of the 1960s and 1970s.
Forgotten Modern: California Houses, 1940-1970 by Alan Hess and Alan Weintraub.
October 18 features special tours of a selection of local American School architectural sites in Norman, Oklahoma, including Bruce Goff’s Ledbetter House and Herb Greene’s Prairie House from 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Tour space is limited, and attendees should provide their own transportation. The tour itinerary will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.
These events are made possible with support from the Division of Architecture Professional Advisory Board, the Vice President for Research and Partnerships’ Initiative for the Humanities and Arts in Society, the Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture, and the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center.
If you have any questions about event programming, please contact spilat@ou.edu. For box office support, please contact boxoffice@okcontemp.org.
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.
