American School team members Angela Person and Stephanie Pilat recently had the opportunity to tour Bruce Goff’s Sam and Ruth Van Sickle Ford House in Aurora, Illinois.
Completed in 1950, the Ford House is owned by Sidney K. Robinson, who graciously hosted Person and Pilat. It was first introduced to the American public in a 1951 Life magazine article entitled “The Round House,” which included six pages of color photographs.
Angela Person with Sidney Robinson, the owner of the Ford House.
In 2023, the house became a National Historic Landmark because of its unique architecture, which features Quonset hut ribs arranged in the shape of dome. Most of the dome is covered with shingles, but the southeast side is left open to create outdoor rooms. There are two smaller domes attached to the south and northeast sides of the main dome, which are used for bedrooms. Intricate rope patterns cover portions of the ceiling.
The interior of the Ford house.
According to Person, “The home is a stunning example of Goff’s resourcefulness, repurposing everyday objects to create a magical set of spaces unlike anything seen before.” She continued, “The way Goff blurs inside and outside, particularly with the plantings and the visible structure, is masterful.”
Robinson has lived in the Ford house since 1986. He is an author, architect, and emeritus educator at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Taliesin. His articles and books include Architecture of Alden B. Dow, Life Imitates Architecture: Taliesin and Alden Dow’s Studio, and Inquiry into the Picturesque.
The Gibbs Design in Action Awards (GDAA) program, led by Dr. Wanda Liebermann, has announced its 2026–2027 funded student projects. The initiative supports design and research work that addresses social, cultural, and economic issues in the built environment through collaboration with faculty and community partners.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) 2024 collaboration with the Historic Threatt Filling Station has been recognized in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's newly released Byways Report: The Scenic Route to Rural Prosperity – a story-driven publication exploring how road trip culture and place-based tourism can fuel economic growth in rural communities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Camille Germany, Chief of Staff, has been named the 2026 recipient of the university-wide Jennifer L. Wise Good Stewardship Award.
