Oscar Concessao, an alumnus of the OU Master of Urban Design program, and his wife Ponni Concessao recently designed the Telangana State Secretariat, the largest state capitol in India. Their firm, OCI Architects, won a national competition held by the Telangana government and was chosen out of a large pool of accomplished firms, also making Ponni the first woman architect in India to design a State Secretariat.
Oscar and Ponni Concessao.
The Concessaos founded OCI Architects in 1996, shortly after completing school in the United States and returning to their hometown of Chennai, India. Their firm has received widespread recognition for its innovative designs, and has won over 150 international, national and state awards. They have designed a large variety of projects at universities, hospitals, government state buildings and now, the largest state capitol in India.
Their firm completed the State Secretariat in just two years, despite the struggles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. They utilized local materials and a blend of Eastern and Western cultures to reflect the heritage and traditions of the local Telanagana people in their design. The 1.2 million-square-foot building received a Green Gold rating from the Indian Green Building Council, which recognizes the project’s national excellence.
Featured Image: Exterior view of the Telangana State Secretariat.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates Thinh "Henry" Duong, a master's student in the Division of Interior Design, for earning first place in the 2026 Robert Bruce Thompson Annual Student Light Fixture Design Competition.
Gibbs College of Architecture Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) Director and Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture, and Design (PLAD) faculty member Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., recently published a new book, Collective Yearning: Black Women Artists from the Zimmerli Art Museum.
In May, students from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture's Architecture, Environmental Design, and Interior Design programs participated in an intensive five-day Studio in Residence at Taliesin West, the iconic winter home and desert laboratory of Frank Lloyd Wright.
