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On April 22, the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture celebrated the annual Gibbs Design Activism Awards (GDAA). 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.
At the event, the 2023-2024 GDAA grant recipients presented their projects. Additionally, the 2024-2025 grant recipients were announced. Read on to learn more about the award-winning projects.
Giselle Walker, fourth-year Bachelor of Environmental Design and first-year Master of Landscape Architecture student, presented her project funded by the 2023-2024 GDAA grant.
This project serves as a tool and searchable database for incorporated All-Black Oklahoman townships established between 1865 and 1920. Locations outlined using ArcGIS Story Maps highlight historical points of significance before state interventions and 1960 urban blight removal efforts. The stories portray a contrast of the built environment between past and present by identifying events and locations of significance through documented and oral histories. This tool paints the picture of history and the potential for future branding efforts. Highlighted assets or spaces can be used externally as opportunities to recover and reclaim history, or to increase cultural tourism and awareness.
Giselle Walker presenting at the 2024 GDAA Reception.
Salma Akter, second-year Ph.D. student with a focus in Interior Design, presented her project funded by the 2023-2024 GDAA grant.
This study investigated refugee children’s well-being through the built environment lens, analyzing how different scales impact their daily lives. Focused on Tulsa, a major resettlement city for people of the “Zomi” ethnic group, refugees of the Burmese diaspora, this research carried out semi-structured interviews and photovoice sessions with refugee mothers, alongside creative design workshops with children. The goal was to uncover environmental factors affecting their psycho-physical and social well-being, aiming to contribute to humanitarian efforts, particularly aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goal 11. Through this exploration, the study seeks to shed light on the challenges and opportunities within refugee housing environments, informing strategies for more inclusive and supportive communities.
Salma Akter presenting at the 2024 GDAA Reception.
Materials from Akter's research, including refugee children’s artwork depicting their "Dream Neighborhood."
Emma Eitzen, Accelerated Master of Architecture, fourth year.
Jordan Hughes, Accelerated Master of Architecture, fourth year.
Gracie Kimbrell, Master of Architecture, first year.
Faculty Mentor: Ron Frantz, FAIA, Director, Environmental Design Program.
Hishaam Ramoly, Accelerated Master of Architecture, fourth year.
Matthew Hopkins, Accelerated Master of Architecture, fourth year.
Faculty Mentors: John Harris, Director, Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design, and Christopher Loofs, Robert L. Wesley Teaching Fellow.
The 2024-2025 GDAA grant recipients with Architecture Professor Wanda Katja Liebermann.
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.
