Twelve Gibbs students recently traveled to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona for a travel study course led by Interior Design Professor Mia Kile. Taliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and studio in the desert and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Landmark.
Kile organized the course with members of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, including Fred Prozzillo, vice president of preservation and collections, Jennifer Gray, vice president and director of the Taliesin Institute, Kelly Kubicki, Taliesin Institute coordinator and Indira Berndtson, administrator of historic studies, collections and exhibitions.
Students exploring shelters on the estate.
From May 22-26, the students explored the various designs, materials and building methods of 50 dwelling units located within the 500-acre estate. This intensive five-day program provided students with an in-depth, studio-based experience, including tours and individual exploration of the house, educational lectures and discussions, and studio exercises crafted to deepen their understanding of Wright’s design.
Students at a shelter on the estate.
Students got the opportunity to live and work in the same housing and studio space in which the original fellows worked alongside Wright. As part of a service-learning component, the students documented the current conditions of two different shelters: Tree House and Japanese House. According to Kile, these dwellings have historic significance but are deteriorating due to the extreme conditions of the desert.
The students' final presentations.
Working in teams, the students identified major challenges with each site and developed solutions to address the uniqueness of the sites, their natural surroundings and their building constraints. The students documented these issues using as-built drawings, annotated digital photographs and sketches for proposed design solutions. Students also had access to the library and special collections to include in their research. At the end of the trip, this work was provided to the Taliesin West Preservation Department for their use.
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.
