Planning, Design + Construction Ph.D. student Salma Akter Surma and Interior Design faculty Dr. Suchismita Bhattacharjee were recently awarded funding as a part of Gibb’s College of Architecture’s Program for Research Enhancement. This merit-based program grants Gibb’s faculty members funds to increase their research and creative activities.
Akter and Bhattacharjee received this grant to pursue research on refugee children’s well-being in a public library context. The research will broadly explore how libraries can improve their facilities by offering human and socio-economic resources that encourage acculturation and thinking beyond the book.
Public libraries are a primary source of human capital, knowledge-sharing programs, and many other important resources that are vital for literacy enhancement. However, most of these resources are not catered to the needs of refugees and immigrant groups, resulting in socio-economic isolation. According to Akter and Bhattacharjee, public libraries need to scale up their services to meet the growing needs of these minority groups.
Akter and Bhattacharjee will investigate current library environments and their impact on children’s spatial, physical, cultural, and skill development. The goal of this research is to develop a design framework that focuses on safe play and culture-respective learning spaces that encourage, empower and advance refugee children’s learning habits and enthusiasm.
A project designed by Gibbs College of Architecture faculty member Austin Lightle has been selected for BuildFest 2026, a national art and architecture festival held at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in New York, on the historic grounds of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival.
Two Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture alumni are helping shape recommendations that could influence affordable housing design and construction across Oklahoma.
The University of Oklahoma Libraries recently welcomed Carl Siegel as an Architecture Librarian and Archivist and Assistant Professor. In his role, Siegel supports students, faculty and staff across the Gibbs College of Architecture while also serving as archivist for the American School of Architecture Archives.
