Date
Earlier this academic year, OU first-year Interior Design studio students showcased their understanding of design principles through an innovative mid-term project: creating a mobile. This assignment allowed students to explore and demonstrate their mastery of fundamental design principles in a dynamic and engaging way.
The project, part of the fall 2024 midterm for the first-year Interior Design studio class, was led by Associate Professor Chelsea Holcomb and Lecturers Jennifer Shirley and Julie Hornbeek. Students were tasked with designing and constructing a mobile—a type of kinetic sculpture composed of suspended, weighted objects or rods that move in response to air currents or motor power. The two-week assignment culminated in presentations to Gibbs faculty.
Students present their mobile projects.
The mobile was chosen as a medium because it inherently embodies key principles of design, such as balance, harmony, and, most importantly, movement. To emphasize this, students were required to submit a video of their mobiles in motion, demonstrating how their designs interacted with the surrounding environment.
Mobiles by first-year Interior Design students.
During their presentations, students delivered concise “elevator pitches” lasting 30 seconds to a minute, explaining their design concepts and the rationale behind their choices. They also fielded questions from instructors about how their work reflected the design principles studied throughout the semester.
Gibbs College of Architecture (GCA) alumnus Tony Wu has spent nearly two decades at Pelli Clarke & Partners, rising to Senior Associate and leading projects on an international scale. His most recent notable work, a transit-oriented development in Yibin, China, earned national recognition in the country and was featured on ArchDaily.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Tim Stephens has accepted the position of Senior Director of Development for Gibbs College, beginning April 15, 2026.
Dr. Khosrow Bozorgi, professor of Architecture at the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma, is advancing a major research project that examines how societies across time and place have organized the built environment in strikingly similar ways.
