On April 22, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture celebrated the annual Gibbs Design Activism Awards. The GDAA is a grant initiative that supports student-led design and research projects that engage topics of community, social and economic concerns across Oklahoma.
An interdisciplinary group of OU scholars led a tour of Route 66 in Oklahoma, one of eight competitively selected sites for the National Humanities Center’s first “Being Human” festival. The festival consists of events designed to "highlight the incredible breadth of the humanities and demonstrate how they add depth and meaning to our lives, help us understand ourselves and one another, and provide context for the complex world around us.”
In collaboration with OU Landscape Services, first-year Environmental Design student Justin Jones is designing new planting beds on the east side of Gould Hall. This project ties into Jones’s Field Work course with Ron Frantz, director of the EnD Division.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities recently hosted a Route 66 Placemaking Retreat in collaboration with the OU Arts and Humanities Forum. The retreat was funded by an Oklahoma Humanities “Community Discussions” grant that an interdisciplinary OU team received in November. This retreat built upon the team’s site visits and community discussions in several historic towns along Route 66.
Five full-time OU Architecture faculty were recognized at the 2023 AIA Honor Awards Celebration, held Sept. 15 at the First National Center in Oklahoma City. The AIA Oklahoma Honor Awards Program recognizes exceptional members for their distinguished leadership and commitment to the quality of life in Oklahoma.
Ronald Frantz Jr, associate professor of Architecture, was recently recognized at the 2023 AIA Honor Awards Celebration. Frantz received the AIA Oklahoma Award for Lifetime Achievement, which recognizes a lifetime of distinguished leadership and dedication in Architecture and the community. This award is AIA Oklahoma’s highest honor.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce the creation of the new Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design.
On March 20th, hundreds of planning and design professionals, civic leaders, and students gathered at the University of Oklahoma for the 5th biennial Institute for Quality Communities’ Placemaking Conference. The all-day event featured speakers working in a variety of fields, all of which contribute to community placemaking.
A team of Gibbs students was recently selected as a finalist for the 2023 Solar Decathlon Design Challenge. The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition that has inspired thousands of students worldwide to enter the clean energy workforce since its inception in 2002. This competition challenges student teams to create innovative building designs that address real-world issues, including climate change, environmental justice, and affordability.
The Center for Spatial Analysis recently hosted OU’s 2022 GIS Day, on November 16 in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, featuring a student poster competition with cash prizes giving attendees the opportunity to network with GIS professionals. Two of the undergraduate winners, Daniela Kosnacova and Luke Kerr, were advised by Gibbs College faculty members.
Ron Frantz, Associate Professor and Director of Small Town Studios with the Institute for Quality Communities, recently presented the keynote address at the 2022 Iowa Downtown Conference.
The 2022 Fall Semester marks the 35th Anniversary of Associate Professor Ron Frantz’s being involved with the Historic Preservation course at the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture.
The National Brownfields Training Conference was held in Oklahoma City from August 16th through the 19th. The local and national planning committees for the annual conference began work on the meeting in March of 2020. Ron Frantz, Director of the Environmental Design Program, served on the Local Planning Committee’s Mobile Workshops, Socials, and Evening Receptions Committee.
