René Peralta, a lecturer in Architecture at OU and alumnus of the Master of Science in Planning, Design and Construction program (Dec. 2022 graduate), was recently awarded the 2022-2023 Architectural Research Centers Consortium’s (ARCC) King Medal.
One student from every ARCC member college is awarded this medal each year to recognize their innovation, integrity and dedication to architectural and environmental design research. Peralta was recognized for his master’s thesis, “Design and Construction Technology in Mexican Social Housing at the End of the 20th Century.”
In his thesis, Peralta examines the Mexican government’s attempts to provide housing for working class citizens. Specifically, he explores the role of construction systems and their sociocultural impact on the region’s urban development. According to Peralta, Mexico’s 20th century housing policies produced thousands of housing units that materialized into low-income neighborhoods during the global economic crisis of the period.
Peralta served as the inaugural OU Herb Greene Teaching Fellow from 2019-2021.
Congratulations to Rene Peralta for receiving this well-deserved recognition!
The University of Oklahoma College of Architecture is proud to announce that Model Schools in the Model City, authored by Director of the Institute for Quality Communities, Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., has been named one of ten finalists for the 2026 ASALH Book Prize for Best New Book in African American History and Culture.
This semester, students in the LA 5535 Studio: Ecological Planning and Design, led by Prof. Afsana Sharmin, took on an ambitious hypothetical project to redesign key parts of the OU campus. Their mission: to tackle the critical real-world challenge of stormwater management through innovative green design.
Petya Stefanoff, Chair of the Educational Committee with the American Planning Association, Oklahoma Chapter (APA-OK) and Gibbs College PhD candidate, has developed a new training program for local government officials. The program, focused on land use, zoning principles, and land development, recently certified its first graduates with Certified Citizen Planner status.
