After recently completing their Experiential Frameworks projects, second-year students in the Design IV studio course, taught by Profs. Ken Marold, Francesco Cianfarani and Anthony Cricchio, have placed these projects on display on the main floor of Gibbs College of Architecture.
The students re-imagined a vacant alleyway on campus. The assignment asked them to develop this alleyway as a “dynamic, interactive space with relationships between objects and structure through compositional analyses and tectonic modeling.”
The students were asked to consider the use of iconic imagery, wind, light, and circulation paths in their designs.
“The most difficult aspect of this project was developing a structural framework that could incorporate the programmatic needs of the project,” said Dean White, a student in the class.
“This lesson taught me that every aspect of a structure is interdependent. Misplacing one structural piece would cause the entire structure to become unstable, both structurally and visually.”
Check out the projects located in the Gould Hall living room’s glass cases.
Featured photo: Rendering by Colin Bost.
Student Works: Hannah Reed (top), Dean White (bottom)
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.
