Recently, PLAD instructor LaTasha Timberlake led 16 students enrolled in the Environmental Design Practicum course, providing them with an opportunity to connect classroom learning with practical application. The course is designed to help students apply their skills and theories to community projects, including work with grassroots organizations in northeast Oklahoma City, an area experiencing urban changes.
Students participated in research, community collaboration, and fieldwork, while also documenting their findings through artistic and written methods. This approach aims to prepare students to address challenges in planning and design with thoughtful and collaborative strategies.
Rendering of the full Garden Oaks Community Center property. Photo courtesy of the Alpha Community Foundation of Oklahoma.
This semester’s project focused on the Garden Oaks Community Center and its surrounding neighborhoods, Garden Days and Garden Oaks. The practicum is part of a collaboration with the Alpha Community Foundation, a nonprofit affiliate of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. The foundation purchased the former Garden Oaks Elementary School—a 27,500-square-foot structure built in 1954 and left vacant after its closure in 2002—and has been renovating it into a community hub since 2021. The center has been partially open to the community following a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this year.
Students explored questions about protecting and maximizing assets in underserved communities while challenging traditional planning and design methods. Their work also addressed topics such as cultural preservation, environmental sustainability, and economic development.
The former Garden Oaks Elementary School. Photo courtesy of Chris Landsberger.
During the semester, students worked with key stakeholders and community members to guide their research and develop recommendations. A primary objective was to explore reuse models for the Garden Oaks Community Center, aiming to ensure that the site serves as an equitable and functional space for the community. Through this engagement, students gained insights into the social, cultural, and economic dynamics of the area.
“What I enjoy most about this course is the ability for students to “Reimagine” spaces without being limited and confined to traditional norms. They are given the freedom to use stakeholder feedback and personal perspective to create spaces for the future while honoring the spirit of the past," said Timberlake.
The Environmental Design Practicum demonstrates how education can extend beyond the classroom to engage with pressing societal issues. By participating in projects like the Garden Oaks Community Center, students develop a deeper understanding of how they can contribute to the revitalization of underserved neighborhoods.
Robert L. Wesley, a pioneering architect and beloved mentor, has died at age 88. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Wesley joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1964 and became the firm's first Black partner in 1984. Throughout his career, he contributed to significant architectural projects while maintaining a strong commitment to civic engagement and professional mentorship.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to celebrate a series of recent accomplishments by Dr. Jim Collard, Professor of Practice in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design, whose work continues to shape conversations around Indigenous economic development nationally and internationally.
University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture Dean Hans E. [PA1.1]Butzer returned to one of his most significant works on December 15, joining survivors and past and present board members for the groundbreaking of a $15.8 million expansion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
