Butzer Architects and Urbanism, an award-winning firm led by Hans E. Butzer, dean of Gibbs College, and his partner Torrey Butzer, was recently recognized at the 2023 AIA Honor Awards Celebration. The AIA Oklahoma Honor Awards Program recognizes exceptional members for their distinguished leadership and commitment to the quality of life in Oklahoma.
BAU won two Merit Awards, which recognize projects that clearly demonstrate a level of design that exemplifies superior achievements. The firm also received three Citation Awards, which are given to projects of notable accomplishment with excellent design qualities. Read on to learn more about the award-winning projects.
The National Native American Veterans Memorial, designed by BAU.
The National Native American Veterans Memorial honors Native American veterans at the site of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Selected through an international competition, the memorial design is organized around Oklahoma artist Harvey Pratt’s “Warrior’s Circle of Honor,” an elevated stainless-steel circle that symbolizes cycles of life, death and unity among Native veterans.
According to the AIA, the jury appreciated the simplicity and modesty of this thoughtful design. Integrated into a lush, quiet landscape created in the midst of the hustle and bustle, it is both celebratory and intimate, a calming presence in harmony with nature, a fitting monument to the veterans it honors.
“Each material choice and every detail is imbued with rich symbolism that is subtle and sophisticated, yet easily recognizable. The jury specifically commended the design team for finding many opportunities in this small project to incorporate sustainable principles, further aligning the design with the Native cultures it memorializes.”
Dolese Support Services Center, designed by BAU.
Dolese Support Services Center is a ready-mix concrete supplier in Oklahoma City. According to the AIA, This project exudes ‘quarriness.’ In a design that is simultaneously massive and delicate, somber and playful, the building beckons one in like a rock formation that is at once tantalizing and foreboding.
“While architectural metaphors can be tricky to pull off, the jurors agreed that this one works both as a metaphor and a successful design in its own right. Stairs as ‘chutes,’ central conference and collaboration spaces nestled in the ‘gem,’ and the main axis through the building, the ‘fissure,’ are elegantly arranged and detailed, in contrasting refined and industrial fashion.”
Scissortail Park Café, designed by BAU.
Scissortail Park Cafè is located in Oklahoma City and is inspired by the natural frames and covers used in Native Tribes’ shelters. These serve as a form of acknowledgment that this park is built on lands of the Comanche, Kickapoo, Kiowa, Osage and Wichita tribes. According to the jury, “This structure embodies a creative reimagining of historical context and indigenous structures while respecting its positioning in a larger park setting with careful consideration for retaining views and transparency.”
La Niña, designed by BAU.
La Niña is a multi-generational family home in Kingston, Oklahoma. The project was named after Christopher Columbus’s three-masted ship whose 50’ deck helped connect continents and frame views of distant shores. According to the jury, “Fracturing the three buildings, but uniting by materials and other connecting elements, creates a cohesiveness that still respects the individual uses of each element, and the greater site integration.”
Congratulations to Butzer Architects and Urbanism for receiving these awards!
Featured Image: Left to right: Hans Butzer, BAU Director and Partner; Torrey Butzer, BAU Director and Partner; and Evan Sack, BAU Architect.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.
Gibbs Construction Science and Architecture students recently traveled to Dublin, Ireland, to compete in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 8 Student Competition. The team partnered with Czech Technical University and secured third place in the Design-Build category.
Gibbs College is pleased to present the exhibition Vollendorf in Oklahoma: The Architecture of Dean Bryant Vollendorf during the Spring 2026 semester. It will be on display in Gould Hall, on the OU-Norman Campus, from February 16, 2026 - March 13, 2026.
