The University of Oklahoma
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture
Oculus Weekly Newsletter
Sept. 30 - Oct. 4, 2019

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Oculus is an e-newsletter that is distributed by the OU Gibbs College of Architecture (GCA) during the fall and spring semesters. It features news about student, faculty, staff and alumni accomplishments, as well as events that may be of interest to our community. Note that there is a weekly version of the newsletter for a local audience, and a monthly version for a broader audience. Please share your news and events by noon each Thursday to be considered for the following week's issue of Oculus.
Featured Events and Opportunities
OU Center for Peace and Development to Host "Student Reflections"

Join the OU Center for Peace and Development for reflections on service learning in Uganda during the winter of 2018 and summer of 2019! An introduction will be given by Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe (shown above), the Director of Saint Monica's Vocational School for Girls. The OU Center for Peace and Development as well as the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, Gibbs College of Architecture, College of Arts and Sciences, David L. Boren College of International Studies, and Gallogly College of Engineering are all sponsors.

When: Thursday, October 3, 2019, 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Where: Gould Hall, Buskuhl Gallery

To request more information or accommodations, email John Harris (johncharris@ou.edu).
Gibbs College Launches #IWill and #WeAre Campaigns

Gibbs College is teaming up with OU Marketing and Communications and the OU Office of Diversity and Inclusion on two campaigns that ask us to consider what it means to be a part of the OU community: #IWill & #WeAre.

Featured News
Meet the Fall 2019 Gibbs College Communication Team

Gibbs College of Architecture is home to a team of interns that supports college storytelling through our newsletters, YouTube videos, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, alumni outreach and more.  This amazing group makes sure that faculty, students, alumni and friends of Gibbs College always know what's happening.

Gibbs College  Scholarship Recipients Recognized at Annual Luncheon Ceremony

Students from throughout Gibbs College of Architecture were recently recognized for their achievements and awarded over $200,000 in scholarships! The ceremony took place at the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom in the Oklahoma Memorial Union on Sep. 27, 2019. Special thanks to our alumni and friends who provide critical support to these scholarship programs.

View event photos  here
Scissortail Park Opens in OKC After More Than 10 Years of Planning

Did you know that Scissortail Park began as the idea of Gibbs College students in a course taught by dean Hans E. Butzer more than 10 years ago?  Now, after years of saving and planning, Oklahoma City has officially opened the park in downtown! More than 28,000 people turned out to the grand opening of Scissortail Park on Friday, September 27, 2019.

Landscape Architecture Student Earns State-Wide Recognition for Research and Analysis

Niloufar Soltanimofrad, a third-year grad student working toward her master's degree in Landscape Architecture, has completed a final project entitled 'Reconnecting Communities: El-spaces as Vital Civic Infrastructures.'  The project was  recently awarded the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architect's Student Merit Award in the Research and Analysis Category."

Assistant Professor Publishes "Let's Get Along: Strengthening Academic-Nonprofit Partnerships in Research" in AAPI Nexus Journal

Regional and City Planning Assistant Professor C. Aujean Lee co-published an article entitled "Let's Get Along: Strengthening Academic-Nonprofit Partnerships in Research" in AAPI Nexus Journal, the only national Asian American and Pacific Islander policy and practice journal. The article highlights key wants for academics to work with nonprofits to promote community-based work, focusing on examples with Asian American organizations. 

Assistant Professor Publishes "Outdoor Advertising: Landmark of the Experience Economy" in The Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding

Regional + City Planning Assistant Professor Bryce Lowery recently authored the article "Outdoor Advertising: Landmark of the Experience Economy," published in The Interdisciplinary Journal of Signage and Wayfinding. It traces the history of outdoor advertising as part of the American Landscape, a landmark of entertainment centers epitomized by the bright lights of Times Square. Today, signage is adapting to the spatial reorganization of cities in ways that continue the tradition of signifying the experiences of urban life by reinforcing the location of entertainment districts and engaging consumers through new technologies.

Assistant Professor To Publish Research in Landscape Research Record

Dr. Sarah Little's co-authored article has been accepted for publication in the Landscape Research Record, the academic journal of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. Each issue of LRR is a collection of papers presented at the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture annual conference of that year. Little's article, "Advancing Design Research: Creating a New Framework from Three Approaches to Case Study Research," explores the use of the case study method in design and design adjacent fields and proposes a framework comparing the work of Robert Yin, the social science standard for case study methodology, to that of Mark Francis, Linda Groat, and Simon Swaffield.

Architecture Students Tour Texas Sites

Architecture faculty members Daniel Butko and Sam Callahan recently led the fourth-year undergraduate and second-year graduate students on a two-day visit to various locations in Texas relating to their semester project. T heir stops included The Dixon Water Foundation Josey Pavilion, Perot Museum, Texas A&M AgriLife Center, and more.

GCA-Related Events and Opportunities
Gibbs College of Architecture Invites Proposals for its Program for Research Enhancement

Faculty from the Gibbs College of Architecture are invited to submit proposals for the college's Program for Research Enhancement. The program offers grants of up to $5,000 twice per year to proposals that qualify via an external peer-review process.

FALL 2019
Proposals Due: Monday, Oct. 7, 2019 (noon)
Award Notifications: Monday, Nov. 11, 2019

SPRING 2020
Proposals Due: Monday, Feb. 10, 2020 (noon)
Award Notifications: Monday, Mar. 16, 2020

Construction Science to Host Top Golf Event Before OU/TX Weekend

Join the Haskell and Irene Lemon Division of Construction Science in The Colony, TX, for an afternoon of Top Golf on Friday, October 11, from 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., just before OU/Texas weekend.  All proceeds will benefit the Construction Science Scholarship Endowment. Tickets are $100 per person, and sponsorships that allow students to participate are appreciated.  To sign up, click  here .

To request more information or accommodations, call (405) 325-6404.
Gibbs College to Host MFA Candidate Exhibition, "Building & Training"

Designed for the Gould Hall Buskuhl Gallery, "Building & Training" is an exhibition of work by Art, Technology & Culture graduate student Daniel Giles Helm.  Helm will present a collection of synthesized images belonging to various groups of architectural interest. Through video, a virtual-reality environment, and printed works, the project is designed to consider real and virtual spaces and encourage participation across academic disciplines. Within the installation, visitors can consider architectural representation in the abstract, as well as the emergence of technologies as novel image makers, and experimental methods for sketching, rendering and designing.

Visit:  "Building & Training" will be on display in the Gould Hall Buskuhl Gallery from Oct. 14-18, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 

Artist Talk:  Helm will offer an artist talk during the Brown Bag luncheon, also in the gallery, at 12:00 p.m. on Thurs., Oct. 17.

GCA Student Journal Announces Call for Submissions, Hosts Workshop

GCA's award-winning student journal Telesis has announced its 2019 call for submissions. Telesis invites contributors to consider the meaning and future of architecture through this year's topic: "Metamedia." Submissions are due Monday, October 14th, 2019.

Join us for the 2019-2020 Gibbs College of Architecture Brown Bag Research Seminar Series + FREE LUNCH!

Join faculty, staff and students from the Gibbs College of Architecture and across campus for free lunch and interesting presentations about their latest research, creative activity, community engagement and more. 

Save These Dates for Upcoming Brown Bags, to be held in the Gould Hall Buskuhl Gallery:

  • Thurs., Oct. 17, 2019 - 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Weds., Nov. 13, 2019 -  12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Weds., Feb. 12, 2020 - 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Thurs., Mar. 12, 2020 - 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Weds., Apr. 22, 2020 - 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
For more information or to request accommodations, please contact Angela Person (a@ou.edu).
Academic Interoperability Coalition Invites Papers for Spring 2020 Conference to be Held at Gibbs College of Architecture

The Academic Interoperability Coalition (AiC) will hold its annual Academic BIM Symposium on Monday, April 6, and Tuesday, April 7, at the Gibbs College of Architecture. AiC invites papers and posters that further academic models and generate dialogue about how we conduct research and educate students to support BIM use in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Owner Operator (AECOO) industries. Symposium topics will focus on opportunities BIM is creating to improve productivity, data collection and long term-planning for resilience in the built environment.

Call for Papers and Posters
View the call for papers hereInterested paper authors and poster presenters are invited to submit an abstract (300 words) by October 18, 2019, to the organizing committee at: https://architecture.ou.edu/aic-2020/ .

For more information, contact Tammy McCuen (tammymccuen@ou.edu).
Construction Student Association Releases Fall 2019 Tailgate Schedule

Join the Construction Student Association (CSA) for food, drinks and games two hours before kickoff on the following game days: 
  • 10/19, Oklahoma vs. West Virginia
  • 11/9, Oklahoma vs. Iowa State
  • 11/23, Oklahoma vs. Texas Christian University

The CSA will be set up near the intersection of Jenkins and Brooks, north of Heisman Park. To view kickoff times, click here


To request more information or accommodations, call (405) 325-6404.
GCA Library Hosts Hispanic Heritage Month Art Showcase

The Library at Gibbs College is hosting the Hispanic Heritage Month Art Showcase, presented by the Center for Social Justice and Sigma Lambda Beta. The exhibition will be featured in the library until Oct. 20th. Sigma Lambda Beta started hosting the Hispanic Heritage Month Art Showcase as a space to raise awareness for the talented individuals in Oklahoma.

Center for Middle Eastern Architecture and Culture to Host Fall Film Series

The  Center for Middle Eastern Architecture and Culture is hosting a film series that features prominent Middle Eastern architecture. These films will be shown in Gould Hall, room 150, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the following dates:
Additional Events + Opportunities
Save these Dates! Provost's Advisory Committee on Women's Issues to Host Happy Hour Series

The Provost's Advisory Committee on Women's Issues ( PACWI) cordially invites faculty and staff to attend its happy hour series during the 2019-2020 academic year!

Save these dates for upcoming PACWI Happy Hours at the  Crawford University Club:
  • Friday, October 4, 2019  
  • Friday, November 1, 2019
  • Friday, December 6, 2019
  • Friday, February 7, 2020
  • Friday, March 6, 2020 - Hosted by GCA's Dean Hans E. Butzer
  • Friday, April 3, 2020
  • Friday, May 1, 2020
You're Invited!  Pro-Pipe LLC in the Iron Horse Industrial Park Groundbreaking

Join the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and Iron Horse Industrial Park as they celebrate the groundbreaking of Pro-Pipe LLC on Friday, October 18, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. Special thanks to Regional + City Planning professor of practice Jim Collard for sharing this event with us.

RSVP to Courtney Palmer at (405) 275-3121.
Keep Oklahoma Beautiful Invites Submissions to Film Contest

Keep Oklahoma Beautiful encourages young people to take action in the fight against litter and illegal dumping in Oklahoma. They're challenging contestants to tackle this issue in a 25-45 second video clip that conveys to all citizens of Oklahoma that littering is "costly, deplorable, illegal and just downright wrong." The winning video clips will appear on the KOB website and social media platforms. Monetary prizes are available!
  • Register by November 15, 2019
  • Submit your video by December 31, 2019
Attend the Diversity Ally "Unlearning" Workshop Series and Earn Your Diversity Ally Certificate! 

Diversity Ally workshops are now open for faculty and staff enrollment! Attend "Unlearning Sexism," "Unlearning Racism," "Unlearning Ableism," and "Unlearning Classism" for an opportunity to earn the Diversity Ally certificate.

Get Featured!
Get Featured on GCA's Social Media Channels!

Send your work to the GCA Communications Team! This is your chance to show the world your work! Fill out the Oculus submission form and mark your submission as an image for social media. Please include images, a description of your work, your social media handles, and a link to your online portfolio if you have one. We can't wait to celebrate all you've been up to.

To submit your work, click here.
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Share your news and events with us!
Whether you are an OU Gibbs College of Architecture alumnus, student, faculty or staff member, we want to know about your news and events!

To share your news for the next issue of  Oculus, the OU Gibbs College of Architecture newsletter, or to request publicity support for an upcoming event, please complete the form found  here. This form may also be used to submit website update requests.

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