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 designed by Gibbs College of Architecture faculty member Austin Lightle has been selected for BuildFest 2026, a national art and architecture festival held at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in New York, on the historic grounds of the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival.
Two Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture alumni are helping shape recommendations that could influence affordable housing design and construction across Oklahoma.
The University of Oklahoma Libraries recently welcomed Carl Siegel as an Architecture Librarian and Archivist and Assistant Professor. In his role, Siegel supports students, faculty and staff across the Gibbs College of Architecture while also serving as archivist for the American School of Architecture Archives.
