Telesis, a journal produced by students and faculty in the University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, has earned first-place with the 2025 Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals for its sixth volume, “The Essence.” This is the third time Telesis has received this award.
The Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals is organized by the Center for Architecture, a leading cultural venue for architecture and the built environment in New York City. The award was founded to encourage student journalism on architecture, planning, and related subjects, and to foster regard for intelligent criticism among future professionals.
A spread from “The Essence"
The sixth volume of Telesis embarks on a profound journey to rediscover “The Essence” within our roles as designers, a return to fundamentals in an era often characterized by superficiality and digital distractions. “The Essence” poses a central question: In an era increasingly shaped by digital saturation, algorithmic aesthetics, and globalized design culture, what remains essential in architecture? What grounds our practice? What is worth preserving?
“The Essence” explores these questions not as a search for universal truth, but as an invitation to rediscover what truly moves and centers us as designers. In a time marked by climate crisis, post-pandemic disorientation, and AI-generated imagery, the journal calls for a re-centering of architectural thinking. Contributors reflect on the value of material honesty, presence, and human connection. “The Essence” proposes that architecture is not merely about producing objects, but about creating forms and spaces that resonate, relate, and endure.
A spread from “The Essence”
Telesis was first published at the University of Oklahoma in the 1970s and was discontinued after several years of publication. It was revived during the 2018-2019 academic year. Telesis previously received the Douglass Haskell Award in 2019 for “Design Against,” and in 2022 for “Isolation.”
The principal editor for Telesis “The Essence” is Felipe Flores, Ph.D. Candidate at OU Gibbs College of Architecture, and additional student editors include Trey London and Yousef Haghighi. The faculty advisor is Dr. Angela Person.
“The Essence” features student-authored essays, visual explorations, and interviews with thought leaders including Marlon Blackwell, who calls for embracing the “messy vitality” at the heart of design, and theorist Albena Yaneva, who understands architecture as a dynamic and distributed process. Additional Gibbs College student contributors to Telesis “The Essence” include:
To read Telesis “The Essence,” view the digital edition below or visit the Telesis webpage.
Follow Telesis on Instagram at @telesisou.
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.
