Architecture faculty members Daniel Butko and Sam Callahan recently led the fourth-year undergraduate and second-year graduate students on a two-day visit to various locations in Texas relating to their semester project.
Their stops included The Dixon Water Foundation Josey Pavilion with Lake | Flato architect Tenna Florian and owners Melissa and Tom Bookhout, the Perot Museum with focus on exterior circulation and landscaping, Texas A&M AgriLife Center, and Plano Environmental Education Center. While in the Dallas Arts District, the group also visited the recently completed audio and video recording studio within Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in which associate professor Butko was the architect, in collaboration with Russ Berger Design Group.
Students documented their experiences in photos and sketches which were assembled into visual and text based precedent project story boards for both Studio and Methods courses.
The Gibbs College of Architecture celebrates fifth-year architecture student Haley Praytor, who has been recognized at the national level for her design work. In early March, Haley received a Graduate Division Award of Merit for her submission to the 2025 Metal Building Manufacturers Association student design competition.
The Gibbs Design in Action Awards (GDAA) program, led by Dr. Wanda Liebermann, has announced its 2026–2027 funded student projects. The initiative supports design and research work that addresses social, cultural, and economic issues in the built environment through collaboration with faculty and community partners.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) 2024 collaboration with the Historic Threatt Filling Station has been recognized in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's newly released Byways Report: The Scenic Route to Rural Prosperity – a story-driven publication exploring how road trip culture and place-based tourism can fuel economic growth in rural communities.
