Dr. Francesco Cianfarani, assistant professor of architecture at the OU Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, is part of the 2025 cohort for the Academy for Public Scholarship on the Built Environment. The theme of this year’s cohort is housing equity. The program offers participants coaching on how to extend their scholarship beyond academics and influence both conversation and policies in housing.
Dr. Cianfarani’s research encompasses elements of architecture and urban design, with an emphasis on housing. He has investigated housing through field research, mapping, design proposals, and critical studies. His research include infill initiatives in Oklahoma City and the development of a housing database to identify gaps in affordable housing, produced for the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency.
For more information about the program, view the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture press release.
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.