The University of Oklahoma (OU) Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Irene Hwang, University of Michigan assistant chair of architecture, has been appointed as a Fall 2020 Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture. Chicago-based art collective Luftwerk, will also serve as Goff Chairs.
As Goff Chair, Irene offered a free public lecture via Zoom entitled “A Building Is Not Architecture: On Stewardship and Agency in the Built Environment” on Thursday, October 29th, at 3:00 p.m.
What is the impact of architectural thinking and making upon society? For nearly twenty years, Irene has been examining and learning to understand the power of the architectural mindset in shaping the world around us. From editorial structuring and writing, exhibition programming and execution, to the design and delivery of buildings, teaching and research, curricular development and advancement, and business development and strategic planning in professional practice, she has worked to experiment and innovate in a wide variety of contexts (Deborah Berke Partners, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Rafael Moneo Arquitecto, Actar Publishers, MIT, Northeastern, graphic and editorial consultancy, among others) to grow and advance the discipline of architecture.
Currently, Irene serves as the assistant chair of architecture at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, where she was also the Willard A. Oberdick Fellow in 2010 to 2011. She is also finishing a book: Get Practiced: Turn Your Architectural Education into a Career (Routledge, 2021). The book is the one she wishes she had read as a student: through over twenty-five case-studies and creative, career-galvanizing exercises, readers can better understand not only the value of an architectural education, but also why getting one is absolutely worth it.
The Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture is an endowment that was created to honor Goff’s pedagogical legacy at OU. Among past Goff Chairs are Deborah Berke, Odile Decq, Lebbeus Woods, and Rick Lowe.
For more information or to request accommodations, contact Marjorie Callahan (mcallahan@ou.edu).
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture announces John Harris as Associate Dean for Research ad interim, effective Aug. 25, 2026, until the permanent position is filled.
Gibbs College is pleased to announce the 2026 Gibbs College Faculty & Staff Awards recipients. These individuals were recognized by Dean Butzer during the Gibbs College Back to School Meeting and will be honored during the Celebration Banquet in October. They were nominated by their colleagues via an open nomination process.
Telesis, the Gibbs College of Architecture’s student journal, has been awarded a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts to support its next two issues, “Pause” (Volume IX) and “React” (Volume X).
