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Deborah Richards

Deborah Richards

Associate Professor

Deborah Richards.

  • PhD, Columbia University
  • MA, Master of Architecture, Columbia University
  • BS, Architecture, University of Michigan

Deborah is an architect and urbanist whose work centers on developing digital design platforms that invite community members and contextual data into the design process. At the University of Oklahoma, she collaborates with faculty and local partners to create digital placemaking projects that reflect the stories and needs of specific communities.

She is also the principal of Script Architecture, a design practice based in New York City and Oklahoma City. The firm’s portfolio spans a wide range of scales, from furniture to health centers. At Script, the design process is rooted in narrative, using generative code and computational techniques to organize complex data and produce context-driven solutions.

Deborah sees teaching and practice as mutually reinforcing. Her professional work fuels her creativity in the classroom, while her students’ ideas challenge and expand her own thinking. At OU, she teaches core and advanced design studios as well as seminars in computational design and fabrication, helping students connect conceptual exploration with real-world implementation.


  • Architect, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. (August 31, 2018- Present).
  • Architect, Oklahoma. (May 7, 2015- Present).
  • Architect, New York State. (August 21, 2014- Present).
  • Member, The American Institute of Architects. (January 2015- Present).
  • Member, National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. (January 1, 2014- Present).

  • OU Humanities Forum Fellow 2018-2019: “Surfaces”
  • Young Professional Achievement Honor Award, AIA OKlahoma. (July 1, 2016).
  • William Kinne Fellows Memorial Traveling Prize, Columbia University, GSAPP. (May 1, 2009).

  • “NE OKC Storytelling Project” a collaboration between BlackSpace Oklahoma and the OU College of Architecture (2018)
  • “Digital Placemaking” (On-Going). (October 10, 2016- Present).

  • Richards, D., (PI, 50% credit), Marold, K., (Other Key Participant, 50% credit), “Humanities Forum, “Surfaces”: Forum Grant Recipients,” Sponsored by University of Oklahoma, The University of Oklahoma, $5,000. (August 15, 2018 – Present).
  • Richards, D., (Co-PI), Sponsored by Oklahoma Humanities, State, $8,500. (January 2018 – Present).