David Boeck, an associate professor in the Gibbs College of Architecture, was recently featured in The Oklahoman [subscription required]. The article, titled “Can aging-in-place, universal design go mainstream? This Oklahoma homebuilder is betting on it,” features Boeck’s recent work with Ideal Homes and Neighborhoods, incorporating aging-in-place and universal home design into Ideal Homes’ new construction in Norman, Moore, and Stillwater.
Universal home design emphasizes adding features to homes to make them more accessible to both aging homeowners as well as any homeowners that desire more ease of use in their home. Homes may include solid-surface flooring, door levers instead of knobs, raised outlets, a lack of steps, etc. In the case of Ideal Homes, homeowners choose what features they want included in their home.
Boeck, a certified Aging in Place Specialist, has been advocating for homebuilders to offer more accessible features in their builds but has not found much success until speaking with Vernon McKown of Ideal Homes and Neighborhoods.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
