OFFICIAL, an award-winning Architecture, interiors and furniture design studio owned by OU Architecture faculty Amy Leveno and Mark Leveno, was recently named as a Dallas Architecture Forum Design Recognition Awards Finalist. The firm received an award for their in-progress project “Granger Annex Adaptive Reuse” in the category of “Adaptive Re-Use, Preservation and Non-Residential Restoration” as a “Looking Forward” project.
In-progress photo from patio rennovations at the Granger Annex.
The Dallas Architecture Forum educates, enriches and connects the North Texas community by presenting programs and events, creating experiences and engaging global and local thought-leaders from all design fields. This year, the Forum celebrated its 25th anniversary with a design competition to highlight and honor projects completed in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The competition, Looking Back – Looking Forward, recognized 25 projects created within the last 25 years as well as 10 projects that are currently in progress.
The Dallas/Fort Worth built environment has seen significant changes since the 1990s: the Dallas Arts District has been finished, several new museums have been built and significant public spaces, parks and public art have opened. For the competition, an esteemed jury reviewed over 160 entries ranging from a wide variety of design categories. The finalists were selected based on design excellence, sustainability, resiliency and inclusiveness. View the full list of awards recipients.
In-progress photo of the rennovation of Granger Annex.
The Granger Annex was originally an army surplus building. OFFICIAL converted the building for use as a rentable community space by carefully removing dated elements and highlighting underappreciated qualities of the structure, such as steel bow trusses previously hidden above a drop ceiling. The rennovation also included a patio and exterior zone, as well as interior and entryway changes. Learn more about the Granger Annex on OFFICIAL's website.
Featured Image: Final design of the Granger Annex project by OFFICIAL.
Associate Professors Lee Fithian, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Pober have published a chapter in the recently released New Perspectives in Indoor Air Quality, published by Elsevier. Their contribution, titled “Chapter 16 – Architecture and the Challenges of Indoor Air Quality,” examines the relationship between architecture and indoor air quality.
Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, Assistant Professor of Regional and City Planning, has been selected to serve as Co-Chair of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Planners of Color Interest Group (POCIG) for the 2025–2027 term.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Tahsin Tabassum, a recent graduate of the college’s Master of Regional and City Planning program and current doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine, for receiving the prestigious 2024–2025 American Planning Association (APA) Outstanding Student Award.
