A team of Gibbs students recently traveled to Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic, for the 2022 Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region-8 Student Competition. The group was paired with three other students from Birmingham City University (BCU) in the United Kingdom for the international event.
The team consisted of three students from each university, including Architecture student Alexa Rietz and Construction Science students Ethan Watson and Logan Young. The group was also joined by Construction Science student Ella Bevins, an alternate for the competition, and was advised by Construction Science Professor Tammy McCuen. The group was tasked with designing a brand-new retirement home for senior citizens in place of an already existing site in Písek, Czech Republic.
Tammy McCuen, Ella Bevins, Alexa Rietz, Logan Young, and Ethan Watson in Prague.
The Design-Build challenge was to create comfortable and affordable living quarters with at least 60 rooms and a designated parking area, in addition to amenities such as an outdoor relaxing garden and sporting equipment. The team also had to consider factors within the surrounding environment including vegetation, road infrastructure, fencing, and radiation protection.
According to Dr. McCuen, the 5-person judging panel consisted of construction professionals, a design engineer, a design architect, and a scheduler, representing both the design and construction side of the industry. Instead of focusing heavily on cost, the judges spent more time evaluating the quality of the team, their experience, and their design and construction solutions.
The awards ceremony at the competition.
The team received the project deliverables about a week before the competition and worked diligently to complete their design. Their project, “Linden Manor,” received fourth place.
Congratulations to our students for this accomplishment!
Gibbs College is pleased to present the exhibition Vollendorf in Oklahoma: The Architecture of Dean Bryant Vollendorf during the Spring 2025 semester. It will be on display in Gould Hall, on the OU-Norman Campus, from February 16, 2026 - March 13, 2026.
On November 21, 2025, the Mainsite Contemporary Art gallery was transformed into a showcase of innovation and craftsmanship for the University of Oklahoma’s furniture design build studio exhibition, “Purpose in Form.”
Associate Professors Lee Fithian, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Pober have published a chapter in the recently released New Perspectives in Indoor Air Quality, published by Elsevier. Their contribution, titled “Chapter 16 – Architecture and the Challenges of Indoor Air Quality,” examines the relationship between architecture and indoor air quality.
