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Since 2019, the OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC), part of Gibbs College, has been helping to bring a very special event to Oklahoma City. All of this work is paying off, as the 2022 Congress on New Urbanism will take place in OKC from March 23-26, 2022.
According to IQC director Shane Hampton, “Each IQC staffer has been involved in some way in planning and hosting the Congress for the New Urbanism.”
Hampton continued, “This all started back in 2019, when I was part of a group that successfully pitched OKC to the CNU board as the next host city. After years of COVID delays, the conference is finally here next week, Tuesday through Saturday! We are anticipating nearly 1,000 attendees from all over the country.”
Hampton serves as the Programs Co-Chair for the Local Host Committee, which means that he is involved in every aspect of the week. Among his tasks include overseeing all tour programming, assisting with venues and logistical preparation, and reviewing session proposals. The conference will have 24 incredible tours of urban development in OKC and the region departing on foot, bikes, canal boats, streetcars, and buses!
Ron Frantz, IQC’s director of small town studios, is a speaker on the tour, “Resiliency: Impact of the OKC Bombing on Redevelopment of Midtown.” Frantz also provided access for all OU Environmental Design Capstone students to attend the conference for free.
Vanessa Morrison, IQC’s associate director, will also be a tour speaker. Through her work with Open Design Collective and IQC, Morrison has been a local leader in coordinating a Congress Legacy Project focused on the Jewel Theater, a historic landmark on Northeast 4th Street in OKC.
Grad student members of the IQC team will also attend the Congress.
Learn more at: https://www.cnu.org/
Robert L. Wesley, a pioneering architect and beloved mentor, has died at age 88. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Wesley joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) in 1964 and became the firm's first Black partner in 1984. Throughout his career, he contributed to significant architectural projects while maintaining a strong commitment to civic engagement and professional mentorship.
The Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to celebrate a series of recent accomplishments by Dr. Jim Collard, Professor of Practice in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design, whose work continues to shape conversations around Indigenous economic development nationally and internationally.
University of Oklahoma Gibbs College of Architecture Dean Hans E. [PA1.1]Butzer returned to one of his most significant works on December 15, joining survivors and past and present board members for the groundbreaking of a $15.8 million expansion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
