Amy Leveno, Assistant Professor of Architecture, and Mark Leveno, Adjunct Faculty Member, were recently awarded an AIA Dallas Unbuilt Design Award for their firm OFFICIAL’s Granger Annex Adaptive Reuse Project. The AIA Dallas Unbuilt Design Awards are organized by the American Institute of Architects Dallas Design Awards Committee, whose purpose is to recognize outstanding work by local architects and honor the collaborative efforts of architects, clients, and consultants who achieve design excellence. The Unbuilt Design Awards showcase progressive ideas and dynamic design solutions.
OFFICIAL is an award-winning architecture, interiors, and furniture design studio. Principals Amy Wynne Leveno and Mark Leveno founded OFFICIAL in 2012. The firm has earned numerous design awards, has been featured on the AIA Dallas Tour of Homes, and has been published nationally and internationally in books, magazines, and on design websites.
The Granger Annex is located in the City of Garland’s Central Park. It was originally built in the mid-twentieth century as an army surplus building. It was functionally converted into a community building decades ago. The Granger Annex will serve its community, a low to middle income population, by providing budget rentable space for everything from karate lessons and computer classes to quinceañeras and weddings.
An interior view of the Granger Annex design.
OFFICIAL chose to maintain the building’s character while making the building relevant, carefully removing what is dated while revealing the underappreciated qualities of the structure. The main space has sturdy steel bow trusses that have been hidden for years above a drop ceiling. These trusses will be exposed to create a vaulted interior.
As well as several interior and entryway changes, a new patio will be built around the sides and back covered by a wood and steel shade structure. This exterior zone increases the venue’s usable space while extending it into the adjacent park. Along with strategically placed planters and trees, the patio provides integrated seating and cover from the elements. The city’s new hike and bike trail skirts the east side facilitating healthy access for nearby neighbors.
Associate Professors Lee Fithian, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Pober have published a chapter in the recently released New Perspectives in Indoor Air Quality, published by Elsevier. Their contribution, titled “Chapter 16 – Architecture and the Challenges of Indoor Air Quality,” examines the relationship between architecture and indoor air quality.
Dr. Ladan Mozaffarian, Assistant Professor of Regional and City Planning, has been selected to serve as Co-Chair of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Planners of Color Interest Group (POCIG) for the 2025–2027 term.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Tahsin Tabassum, a recent graduate of the college’s Master of Regional and City Planning program and current doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine, for receiving the prestigious 2024–2025 American Planning Association (APA) Outstanding Student Award.
