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20 students in the Gibbs College of Architecture’s American School Design+Build (ASDB) program, including 13 architecture students, 6 construction science students and 1 environmental design student, are partnering this semester with WildCare Oklahoma, and together they have been named one of five North American finalists for the Land Rover Defender Service Awards. The honor carries the opportunity for a $30,000 grant, with funding supported by Chase and other high-profile sponsors, including Disney. The winner will be determined by public vote October 3–19, 2025. You can cast your vote for WildCare Oklahoma on Land Rover’s website.
As part of the year-long design-build studio, OU Architecture and Construction Science students are working with WildCare to design and construct a Bat and Swift Rehabilitation Facility. The project is led by faculty members Ken Marold in the Division of Architecture and Bryan Bloom in the Haskell and Irene Lemon Construction Science Division. If awarded, the grant will be dedicated directly to this project, helping create specialized enclosures that improve animal care while also giving students hands-on professional experience.
Design+Build students working on-site
ASDB is a hallmark of Gibbs College’s approach to experiential education. Each year, students take on a real client, a real site, and a real community need, guiding projects from schematic design through construction. The program reflects the ethos of OU’s American School of Architecture, which emphasizes experimentation, responsiveness to place, and the inseparability of making and thinking.
Recent ASDB projects include the Urban Learning Greenhouse at John Rex Charter School in Oklahoma City, the SunHive Collective Community Space in Norman, and a series of community greenhouses supporting STEAM education across the metro. These projects demonstrate the program’s dual impact: preparing students for practice while delivering lasting facilities to schools, nonprofits, and community organizations.
WildCare, based in Noble, is one of Oklahoma’s leading wildlife rehabilitation organizations, providing treatment and care for thousands of animals each year. The new facility designed in partnership with OU will expand its capacity to care for bats and chimney swifts, two species vital to ecological balance in the region.
If you would like to learn more about WildCare and its mission, visit wildcareoklahoma.org.
You can also follow the American School Design Build’s ongoing progress and projects at americanschooldesignbuild.com or on Instagram at @ou_designbuild.
Gibbs College of Architecture is proud to recognize Petya Stefanoff, who is pursuing her doctorate in the Planning, Design & Construction (PDC) program, has been appointed the new role of Director of Community Development for the City of Shawnee, Oklahoma. She joined the city in 2024.
Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Planning, Landscape Architecture and Design and director of the Institute for Quality Communities, has received national recognition for her book Model Schools in the Model City. The book has been named a finalist for the 2026 the PROSE Awards.
Gibbs College of Architecture Regional + City Planning Professor of Practice Vanessa Morrison and Associate Professor of Architecture Deborah Richards’ Open Design Collective received top honors at the inaugural BlackSpace Urbanist Collective Studio KIN Pitch Night Competition, held last month in Brooklyn, New York City.
