The City of Broken Arrow City Council recently adopted the Aspen Landing Waterfront Vision, an ambitious exploration of riverfront development conceptualized by OU Urban Design students. The vision is based on a study by students that identified potential to improve and expand over 230 acres of park land along the riverfront in southern Broken Arrow, known as Aspen Landing. Each year, the Urban Design Studio selects a service-learning project that allows students to gain real-world experience.
Led by Shawn Schaefer, Director of the Urban Design Studio, students collaborated with Broken Arrow Special Projects Planner Farhad Daroga and a group of community stakeholders. They conducted a variety of research and community engagement efforts as well as a study to discover the development potential of property in the south Broken Arrow region. This study provided a framework for their vision, which will guide the development of property along 1.5 miles of the Arkansas River waterfront.
The goal of the project is to attract new visitors and retain existing ones who attend athletic events in the city. The student’s suggestions included a 2,500-foot multi-use pier, a large outdoor amphitheater and the expansion of youth sports programs. They also recommended a variety of attractions such as a boardwalk, a kayak launch, a nature center and a Ferris wheel. The students presented their findings to the council on June 22, and the vision was unanimously approved on August 15.
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.
