Zach Maggia and Clay Dobbins, both 2019 Gibbs College graduates now working full-time at TAP Architecture, have partnered with AIA Oklahoma, Bishop McGuinness STEM students, Positive Tomorrows and TAP Architecture to provide Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) Oklahoma first responders with ear savers to wear with their protective masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
3D printed ear saver. Image credit: Zach Magia
The idea, which originally came from Ian and Hailey McDermid, owners of The Pump and The Bunker Club in Oklahoma City, was to create ear savers for EMSA Oklahoma first responders to wear during the pandemic. Maggia and Dobbins got involved with the project when their boss at TAP, Anthony McDermid, mentioned that his son, Ian, knew someone at EMSA that needed ear savers and asked if they could help.
EMSA Facebook post. Image credit: Zach Magia
The ear savers move the point of contact for medical masks from behind the ear to the back of the head, so instead of the elastic resting behind the ear, it has hooks that transfer the strain and make masks more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time. The team has completed approximately 250 ear savers for EMSA so far, with a goal of providing 600.
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.
