The Summer 2019 travel study experience of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, led by Interior Design faculty Mia Kile and Natalie Ellis, was recently featured on the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation website in an article entitled “University of Oklahoma Students Explore Rich History of Design at Taliesin West.”
The article provides an overview of the experience, as well as photographs and interviews of the faculty and Gibbs College architecture student Casey Meyer. Read on for an excerpt or access the full article.
“This course really broadened my horizon in many ways,” Casey Meyer, University of Oklahoma architecture student said. “My outlook on how architecture and interior design should be approached has changed for the better. Understanding, or experiencing the time, effort and thought that was put into each foot of each building really left me astonished. That is the type of thoughtful design I want to pursue. Not cutting corners and using the land to your advantage. Overall, this course was truly inspiring and such unique experience.”
The students also lived like apprentices not only by living in the student shelters, but also by experiencing School of Architecture at Taliesin traditions like preparing meals for one another and cleaning up after the meals. While they were in Scottsdale the students also visited several other sites of architectural significance including the David and Gladys Wright House, the David Dodge estate, and Arcosanti.
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.
