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In collaboration with the Institute for Quality Communities, OU Interior Design and Environmental Design students are working on an adaptive reuse project in Taft, Oklahoma. Taft is a small town located in Muskogee County and is one of Oklahoma’s thirteen remaining Black townships. In 2023, the community reached out to the IQC for assistance in revitalizing the town’s community spaces.
The IQC perennially invites communities across Oklahoma to collaborate on urban planning and design projects, employing the knowledge and skills of students and faculty at Gibbs College to deliver recommendations. The IQC has completed more than 50 community projects in 28 Oklahoma counties, including the Westville project which recently received a Built Environment Grant from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.
The Taft project has two main areas of focus: the Moton School, a historic schoolhouse near Taft’s City Hall and Community Resource Center, and the Panther Health and Fitness Trail, a multi-use paved trail that runs alongside an abandoned rail line. Notably, the Moton School is two blocks away from the Panther Health and Fitness Trail.
Taft stakeholders give a tour of the Panther Health and Fitness Trail.
Throughout the spring 2024 semester, students will work with community leaders and subject matter experts to reimagine the rail line and school. They will then explore how Taft can revitalize the community and improve the town’s overall quality of life.
Taft stakeholders speak to OU students inside City Hall.
Led by Mia Kile and Marco Piscitelli, the Interior Design students are working on design solutions for the adaptive reuse of the Moton School. This one-story, 8,000 square-foot structure is located in a mixed-use, low-density neighborhood. The students are challenged to work with the existing shell of the building to create an impactful new space that is connected to the community’s needs.
Taft City Hall.
In Vanessa Morrison’s Environmental Design Practicum, students are working on design and programming concepts to enhance the Panther Health and Fitness Trail. The goal is to rebuild an ecosystem of active public spaces to improve and support Taft’s quality of life, cultural visibility and community revitalization efforts.
Taft stakeholders speak to OU students.
In early February, the students travelled to Taft and toured the school and walking trail. Led by Kim Lee, a resident of Taft and alumna of the Moton School, the students evaluated the sites to inform their potential design concepts. They also engaged with local community members and learned about the town’s deep legacy connected to education, entrepreneurship, innovation and resiliency.
In April, the students will hear from Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of the Atlanta Beltline, Inc. The Atlanta Beltline is one of the largest redevelopment projects in the nation, providing a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor in Atlanta, Georgia. Higgs will speak to students about how green space supports culture, economic development, mobility and community revitalization. The event will be open to all of Gibbs College for shared learning and inspiration.
At the end of the semester, the students will share their design solutions with Taft city officials. Their work will provide the community with the necessary ideas and information to seek funding and support future renovations.
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.
