A team of Gibbs students recently traveled to Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic, for the 2022 Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region-8 Student Competition. The group was paired with three other students from Birmingham City University (BCU) in the United Kingdom for the international event.
The team consisted of three students from each university, including Architecture student Alexa Rietz and Construction Science students Ethan Watson and Logan Young. The group was also joined by Construction Science student Ella Bevins, an alternate for the competition, and was advised by Construction Science Professor Tammy McCuen. The group was tasked with designing a brand-new retirement home for senior citizens in place of an already existing site in Písek, Czech Republic.
Tammy McCuen, Ella Bevins, Alexa Rietz, Logan Young, and Ethan Watson in Prague.
The Design-Build challenge was to create comfortable and affordable living quarters with at least 60 rooms and a designated parking area, in addition to amenities such as an outdoor relaxing garden and sporting equipment. The team also had to consider factors within the surrounding environment including vegetation, road infrastructure, fencing, and radiation protection.
According to Dr. McCuen, the 5-person judging panel consisted of construction professionals, a design engineer, a design architect, and a scheduler, representing both the design and construction side of the industry. Instead of focusing heavily on cost, the judges spent more time evaluating the quality of the team, their experience, and their design and construction solutions.
The awards ceremony at the competition.
The team received the project deliverables about a week before the competition and worked diligently to complete their design. Their project, “Linden Manor,” received fourth place.
Congratulations to our students for this accomplishment!
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.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Camille Germany, Chief of Staff, has been named the 2026 recipient of the university-wide Jennifer L. Wise Good Stewardship Award.
