The Gibbs Design Activism Awards (GDAA) is a new grant initiative that was created to support student-led design and research projects that critically engage topics of community, social, and economic concern within the built environment – at Gibbs College, on the OU Campus, and across Oklahoma.
The GDAA Committee unanimously selected projects by students Azra Fific and Ryan Godfrey, to receive inaugural Gibbs Design Activism Awards.
Azra Fific, a Master of Interior Design student in the post professional program, won a grant for her project titled, “Forced Immigrants and Placemaking: Influence of Vernacular Design of Afghan Refugee Homes on Integration in the Host Community During Resettlement Process.” Azra’s faculty sponsor is Dr. Suchismita Bhattacharjee, an Associate Professor in the Division of Interior Design. Azra’s project focuses on the spaces of Afghan refugees resettling in Oklahoma.
"Since the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021, more than 1,800 Afghan refugees have been resettled in Oklahoma. Along with the physical and psychological trauma the war has inflicted on them, huge cultural differences between their home country and US society creates challenges for their resettlement. One important area of acculturation is the transformation of their allocated residence into a new home. Azra’s project will investigate the impact of placemaking through interior design on the success rates of Afghan refugees becoming integrated in their host communities. Partnering with a non-governmental agency and cultural liaison, the project uses a range of ethnographic methods, including surveys, focus groups, and photovoice to collect information from refugees resettling in Norman and Oklahoma City. Findings from this study will be disseminated in a research article and/or a guide for Oklahoma refugee agencies."
From Fific’s project proposal
Bachelor of Architecture student Ryan Godfrey, whose project is mentored by Herb Greene Teaching Fellow Marco Piscitelli, was awarded a GDAA for “Queer Homes.” Ryan’s project will explore the history of queer architecture:
"Queer architecture has been defined as made, inhabited, or adapted by queer individuals, or even any building that is ‘odd’ or ‘different’. The queer paradox is characterized by freedom and restriction, and by the closet itself. Ryan’s project aims to showcase queer homes of the mid-20th century, thereby identifying a new residential typology. These houses subverted or adapted typical home layouts—for example, where stairs are placed, sizes of bedrooms—and architectural styles—modernist views of design and domestic hierarchy—in order to protect its inhabitants from public and governmental surveillance and control. Drawing on a queer architectural literature of buildings such as Harwell Hamilton Harris’s Weston Havens House and Philip Johnson’s Glass House, this project will illuminate a history of queer, single-family housing. By augmenting the traditional architectural history, the project aims to show how far the LGBTQ community has come, pay respects to those that paved the way, celebrate queer existence and love, and help students visualize themselves in this field and develop the confidence to exist in these spaces."
From Godfrey’s project proposal
Gibbs College congratulates Azra and Ryan and wishes them luck in their research! Their project results will be shared with the Gibbs community and wider public through future events and web posts.
The GDAA is made possible by support from The Institute for Community and Society Transformation and the Institute for Quality Communities. It is organized by Architecture assistant professor Wanda Katja Liebermann.
Learn more about the GDAA.
A team of Construction Science and Architecture students from the Gibbs College of Architecture made their mark on the national stage this week, earning third place out of 37 universities competing at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Student Competition, held during the International Builders' Show in Orlando, February 16-18, 2026.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has elevated Gary Armbruster, FAIA, ALEP to its prestigious College of Fellows—AIA’s highest membership honor—for his exceptional work and sustained contributions to architecture and society. Fellowship recognizes architects who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession and made a significant impact at a national level. Members elevated to this distinction carry the FAIA designation after their name.
Students from the Spring 2026 Graduate 4 Architecture Design Studio, led by Professor Amy Leveno, exhibited their work at the School of Visual Arts. The exhibition, titled Reimagining the OU School of Visual Arts, featured drawings, models, and animations developed throughout the semester's studio project. The show was hosted in The Spotlight, a creative gallery space located on the first floor of the Fred Jones Art Center, and ran from January 20–30, 2026.
