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Jeffrey Mansfield, principal at the Model of Architecture Serving Society (MASS) Design Group and director of MASS’s Deaf Space and Disability Justice Design Lab (DSDJ), assisted OU Architecture faculty in leading a five-day design charrette. Mansfield joined the D6 and D10 studios and the M6 class led by Wanda Liebermann, Amber Sarmiento, Marco Piscitelli, Amy Leveno and Francesco Cianfarani to explore DeafSpace design principles in their projects.
MASS is an architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts that provides innovative design solutions to communities around the world. The DSDJ strives to empower Deaf and Disabled communities and reclaim their typical spatial narratives.
The DeafSpace Guidelines, developed at Gallaudet University, emerged from a study of the visual and other sensorial experiences of Deaf and hard of hearing communities. These guidelines shift the focus to designing for light, movement, reverberation, materiality, and sensory reach. The pin-up on Wednesday, February 22 featured a lively discussion of students’ innovative interpretations.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
