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University of Oklahoma Architecture Takes D.C. Museum by Storm

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The words "Capital Brutalism" in a blocky white font on a navy blue wall as you enter the Capital Brutalism exhibit.

University of Oklahoma Architecture Takes D.C. Museum by Storm

Washington D.C.’s National Building Museum features two exhibitions with OU ties.


By

Date

July 9, 2024

Media Contact

Bonnie Rucker
brucker@ou.edu


NORMAN, OKLA. The National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. is full of Sooner Nation talent. Two of the museum’s main gallery spaces currently feature exhibits displaying University of Oklahoma architectural expertise.

Angela Person, Ph.D., associate professor of architecture at the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, and architectural photographer Ty Cole have co-curated a new exhibition titled "Capital Brutalism." The showing, which runs through February 17 of next year, is the largest-ever survey of Brutalist architecture in the U.S. capital.

And adjoining Person’s exhibit, Gibbs College alumnus Bryan Eyerman provided the realistic animated films used in an exhibit titled “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania.” Eyerman’s company, Skyline Ink Animators + Illustrators, created, for the first time, a virtual exploration of five unrealized Wright projects for southwestern Pennsylvania, which includes nine animated projections and three 3-D printed models.

“Capital Brutalism would not have been possible without the support of dozens of architecture and preservation-focused partners,” said Person. “Ty Cole and I are particularly grateful to the professional firms, archivists, historic preservation advocates, and university collaborators from across the U.S., including the University of Oklahoma, who generously shared their precious time, resources, and knowledge.”

Skyline Ink Animators + Illustrators specializes in digital illustrations, animations and renderings for a wide variety of architectural, manufacturing, real estate, and landscaping design clients. Eyerman, who founded the company 20 years ago, describes how learning computer graphics in architecture at OU in the ‘90s was exciting as the technology was just emerging.

"Back in the early days of computer graphics in architecture, we owed a great deal to the patience, enthusiasm and flexibility of the faculty and professors in the OU architecture school,” said Eyerman. “Digital renderings were generally uncharted territory when I was working on my degree. Nearly 30 years later, I have yet to shake the bug of pushing hardware and software to the limits."

The two installations with OU ties are the headlining exhibits at the nation’s museum about the built world. The vision of the National Building Museum is to educate, entertain and engage audiences on the built environment and to challenge them to advocate for a sustainable and equitable future. Both “Capital Brutalism” and “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania” are excellent examples of this mission.

Read more about these two exhibitions and others at the National Building Museum.

About the University of Oklahoma

Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. OU was named the state’s highest-ranking university in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent Best Colleges list. For more information about the university, visit ou.edu.


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