An interdisciplinary team of University of Oklahoma faculty and staff from the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture, University Libraries and the Office of Digital Learning recently launched an interactive database on the American School of Architecture with the assistance of an $20,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“The American School of Architecture: An Interactive Database presents an interactive illustration of the history of the American School of Architecture developed at OU in the 1950s and ’60s under the leadership of Bruce Goff, Herb Greene and others,” said Angela M. Person, director of research initiatives and strategic planning in the College of Architecture and a member of the team that created the database. Other team members on the grant were Stephanie Pilat, director of the Division of Architecture, and John Stewart, assistant director, Office of Digital Learning.
By opening the database to the general public, anyone who is interested in architecture or design will be able to access it freely to learn more about the American School. Conversely, anyone can share biographies, drawings and/or archival images to the database.
The American School of Architecture was described by architect Donald MacDonald as “A new school, probably the only indigenous one to the United States.” During the 1950s and ’60s, the American School was developed and the traditional curriculum inspired by either the French Beaux-Arts or German Bauhaus schools was put to the side as pioneers of the American School – including Goff, Greene, Elizabeth Bauer Mock and other OU faculty – paved the way for the American architects of today.
