Gibbs College Interior Design professors, Dr. Suchi Bhattacharjee and Dr. Yeji Yi, as well as PhD. Student Abrar Talal Alhamadi, have been awarded the 2025 Irene Winifred Eno Grant from the American Society of Interior Design (ASID) Foundation. The grant will support their project “Artificial Intelligence (AI) Assisted Design for Independent Living.”
The project aims to develop and test an Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted interior design platform that promotes independent living among individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Interior design is a vital discipline that can promote autonomy, safety, and well-being, and design strategies have been extensively researched and documented to assist independent living. However, applying these strategies through the traditional design processes often requires significant time and effort to explore and assess multiple iterations for each unique case.
Advances in AI offer an opportunity to transform these design processes into an efficient, user-driven approach. The proposed intelligent agent seeks to automatically analyze spatial environments and generate design iterations that maximize both physical and cognitive accessibility. Technologies such as Large Language Models (LLMs) and Deep Q-Network (DQN) algorithms will be employed to interpret user input and produce adaptive, personalized design solutions.
This innovative platform will serve not only individuals and caregivers seeking safe and supportive environments for people with disabilities but also equip interior designers with intelligent tools capable of addressing the functional and cognitive needs of clients with varying neurodevelopmental conditions. Additionally, the platform can be integrated into interior design curricula, enabling students to apply emerging technologies in creating human-centered environments.
A project by University of Oklahoma Architecture lecturer René Peralta, developed through Generica Architecture with co-director Monica Fragoso and collaborators Andrew Stone and Ty Brown-Field, is now on view in Gould Hall as a focused installation drawn from the recent exhibition Is Housing Still Housing? Houston’s Single-Family House.
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.
