The American School - Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture

The American School

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THE AMERICAN SCHOOL

The American School refers to the school of design and practice that developed under the guidance of Bruce Goff, Herb Greene and others at the University of Oklahoma in the 1950s and ’60s. The architects of the American School have long been characterized as renegades, iconoclasts and apostates. Learn more

Featured Exhibition: Renegades

What role did University of Oklahoma faculty like Bruce Goff and Herb Greene play in revolutionizing how architects are educated to this day? The exhibition Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture tells this story of dramatic change. Learn more

Exhibitions

Explore recent American School exhibitions.

EXHIBITION

Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture

EXHIBITION

Renegades at Bizzell: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture

EXHIBITION

“Do Not Try to Remember”: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture

Inside the American School

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the American School with Q&As, videos, tours, and more.

ARCHIVE

Learn how American School student work is being preserved by OU Libraries in a new archive.

TOUR

View a stunning digital recreation of Bruce Goff’s Bavinger House (1950) created by Skyline Ink.

READ

Learn why preserving the American School legacy is more important now than ever before.

READ

Architecture student Kimberly Huff shares what it’s like to attend the American School of Architecture.

WATCH

American School architects share what it was like to learn from and work with the legendary iconoclast Bruce Goff.

WATCH

View presentations by leading design educators filmed during the “Schools of Thought” conference.

Read the Book

Read the history of this distinctively American movement born on the Oklahoma prairie

Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture

Luca Guido, Stephanie Pilat and Angela Person, OU Press (2020)

Paperback, 272 pages

*Finalist for the College Art Association’s 2021 Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award

Explore the Archive

Explore stunning drawings and photographs from the American School Archive

The American School of Architecture: An Online Interactive Database

Featuring hundreds of photographs, drawings and more from the American School Archive

Launched April 2021

*Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts

The American School in the News

See coverage of the American School in major media outlets.

Special Thanks

The American School project would not be possible without the support of the following individuals and organizations.

The American School Team: OU Faculty and Staff Contributors

Stephanie Pilat (Project Director, Gibbs College of Architecture)
Luca Guido (Project Co-Lead, GCA)
Angela Person (Project Co-Lead, GCA)
Hans Butzer, FAIA (Dean, GCA)
Erik Baker (GCA)
Samuel Callahan (GCA)
Anthony Cricchio (GCA)
Camille Germany (GCA)
Michael Hoffner (GCA)
Kristina Luce Leach (GCA)
Ken Marold (GCA)
Elizabeth Pober (GCA)
Tiziana Proietti (GCA)
Jerry Puckett (GCA)
Rick Skaggs (GCA)
Stephanie Soash (GCA)
Garrett Stowe (GCA)
Scott Williams (GCA/ILLI)
Tom Woodfin (GCA)
Katarina Andjelkovic (GCA, Visiting)
Mark White (Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art)
Rick Luce (Dean Emeritus, OU Libraries)
Carl Grant (Dean, OU Libraries)
Bridget Burke (Associate Dean, OU Libraries)
David Davis (OU Libraries)
James Burnes (OU Libraries)
Matt Stock (OU Libraries)
Jared Nixon (OU Libraries)
Sarah Robbins (OU Libraries)
Twila Camp (OU Libraries)
Chelsea Julian (OU Libraries)
Matt Cook (OU Libraries)
Barbara Laufersweiler (OU Libraries)
Rick Schultz (OU Libraries)
Lina Ortega (OU Libraries)
Kristina Southwell

The American School Team: Student Contributors

Jillane Tatarian
Kelsee Smith
Avery Smith
Magdalena Schaffernicht
Alex Quinn
Cody Poage
Behrooz Dehghan Parchini
John B. Decuyper
Jamie Leake
Tayana Ghosh
Daniel Kleypas
Farzan Mahmoudzadeh
Corbin Taggart
Kyle Berger
Eqrar Mansoor
Vivek Vijay
Carl Siegel
Samira Ghobadian
Sara Hajirezaie
Klint Schor
Garrett Slezak
Lorenzo Perez
Billy Dana
Nickolas Harm
Daniel Kleypas
Evan Sack
Kyle Berger
Kira Collins
Clay Dobbins
Zach Hicks
Sonia Ramirez

Renegades Supporters

The Renegades: Bruce Goff and the American School of Architecture Exhibition Curation and Research efforts were led by Luca Guido with: Erik Baker, Bridget Burke, Hans Butzer, Sam Callahan, Anthony Cricchio, Angela Person, Stephanie Pilat, Elizabeth Pober, Lynne Rostochil, Carl Siegel, and Matt Stock. The Exhibition Design and Fabrication team was led by Michael Hoffner with: Paul Bagley, Bryan Bloom, Jordan Brauser, Torrey Butzer, Jacob Cullum, John Grunewald, Kimberly Huff, Ken Marold, Joe McFall, John King, Lorenzo Perez, Evan Sack, Bristol Souders, Allyson Stumpf, and Reilly Tuer. Virtual Reality models were created and generously donated by Skyline Ink of Oklahoma City. Physical models were created by OU architecture students including: Jordan Brauser, Ben Decuyper, Emily Hays, Farzan Mahmoudzadeh, and Evan Sack. The team at OU Printing Services, especially Greg Scott, provided amazing support. Special thanks to Somik Ghosh, Avery Hightower, Angela Person and Haley Sandell for preparing this online interactive version of the exhibition.

Support from the OU Libraries staff was critical to the creation of the American School Archive. Special thanks to Bridget Burke, Carl Grant, Kristina Grimsley, Barb Laufersweiller, Rick Luce, and Rick Schultz. We’re grateful for tremendous support from the OU Press, especially Stephanie Evans, Adam Kane, and Tony Roberts. The project would not have been possible without the tireless support from GCA staff and faculty, especially Camille Germany, Leehu Loon, Ginger Murray, Jerry Puckett, and Garrett Stowe. Countless more students, faculty, staff and volunteers have donated their time to these efforts since 2016. A strong partnership between the Gibbs College of Architecture and the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art was critical to bringing this exhibition to fruition.

Thank you to our generous donors:

Joe Buskuhl

Hans and Torrey Butzer

Vince Mancini

William Newton Jr.

The Bryan Professorship

The Office of the Provost

Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture

Bruce Goff Chair of Creative Architecture

The Office of the Vice President for Research

Generous Supporters

Ross Group Charitable Foundation of Tulsa, Oklahoma
The OU Office of the Provost
Skyline Ink
The University of Oklahoma Libraries
The OU Office of the Vice President of Research
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Hornbeek Blatt Architects
W Design
Home Creations
OU Libraries Digitization Lab
The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
The Division of Architecture Professional Advisory Board
Donald MacDonald
Fred and Kathleen Schmidt
David and Brenda Hornbeek
Herb Greene
Ted and Lindsay Reeds
Jaqueline Rose
Eddie Jones
Roger Fincher

Additional Supporters

Christian Dagg
Christopher Mead
Aaron Betsky
Robert McCarter

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