University of Oklahoma NOMAS Chapter

By Hishaam Ramoly            As shapers of the built environment, we bear a moral duty to act in favor of the greater good. However, I find myself grappling with a recurring dilemma regarding the balance between reactivity and proactivity in architecture.      During my travels, I've observed that this dilemma often relates to political ideologies and market conditions in different regions. In a binary and extreme sense, a reactive approach to design leans towards laissez-faire, merely responding to demand without considering broader societal implications. This approach is more prevalent in the US and emerging economies influenced by post-colonial legacies. The unchecked reign of free-market economics undermines sustainable architecture, reducing it to a mere commodity. This is reflected in public critiques of modern architecture as cold, inhumane, and lacking aesthetic appeal. We hold a special reverence for buildings that stand the tes...

By Grace Hill  Background: The Oklahoma Land Run, a defining moment in the state's history, marked the mass settlement of unassigned lands in 1889, driven by the ideology of "Manifest Destiny." This led to many white settlers claiming land, often displacing Indigenous communities from their ancestral territories (Hoig, Stan). In Oklahoma City, the Centennial Memorial by Paul Moore was erected in 1989 to commemorate this event. However, the monument has faced criticism for glorifying the Land Run and overlooking the trauma experienced by Indigenous peoples. An intervention is necessary to reframe the narrative and promote a more inclusive understanding of Oklahoma's history. A survey by Brenda S. Golden, a member of SPIRIT (Society to Protect Indigenous Rights and Treaties) revealed that many felt the monument glorified genocide and the invasion of white settlers, expressing the need for acknowledgment of Indigenous trauma and resilience ( Brenda S. Golden, et al ). De...

By Jordan Hughes   Nature in Modernism:      In order to understand the role of impaired monuments in our built environment we must first understand the human concept of nature and the human concept of impairment within the designed landscape. Modernism led to the emergence of cities, infrastructure, and zoning, shaping urban environments where nature was crafted through the creation of parks and landscapes. The introduction of "nature" into urban environments by society presents a paradoxical notion. We may view the introduction of green spaces in our cities as natural; however, it is important to note how these verdant spaces are merely created and constructed by modern societies, produced aesthetically for visual representations. The concept of such processes introduces ideas of human subjecti vity and its role in disability politics. Historically, impairments have been viewed as issues that seek solutions. Progressive technologies have sought to resolve these “is...

by Hiroki Mishima NOMAS at the University of Oklahoma has traditionally participated in the Barbara G. Laurie NOMA Student Design Competition, a competition that marks one of the highlights at the annual NOMA conference. The competition encourages students to come together to contemplate and reimagine areas that have been affected by systemic injustice across the country. This year’s challenge, located in Portland, Oregon, called for a proposal for the Williams & Russell Project, a restorative justice project that addresses injustices against Portland’s Black community on land condemned by the City of Portland in the early 1970s for a hospital expansion. This journal records and highlights the development of the competition leading to the conference.  June 2023 Learning from past years’ experience, a design team was called to begin on the competition early Summer. With many of the team unavailable in person, meetings were conducted digitally on Zoom utilizing Miro as a collab...

 By Terry Chishimba      The story goes that when the acclaimed architect Frank Loyed Wright visited The University of Oklahoma in 1954 and saw the Bizzell Library he turned to the Oklahoman rebel architect Bruce Goff chuckled and asked, "What is this Cherokee gothic?”. Referring to the unique style of collegiate gothic that the building portrayed. The legitimacy of this story is unknown, but from it, we get what might seem like the most bizarre combination of words in Architecture “Cherokee-Gothic”. The words almost seem to repel each other as Cherokee represents unique artistic attributes of the Native American culture, very traditional, on the other hand, gothic, a foreign urban architectural style from the 12th to 16th-century European world. Maybe the style can be best understood as a fusion of cultures that would otherwise have clashed with each other. Blindly progressive the University of Oklahoma chose to celebrate the Cherokee culture rather than dismiss and...

Written by: Hishaam Ramoly, writing polished using AI            Brief Humans inherently derive enjoyment from denser living conditions, whether they be pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods or communal settings. Such environments facilitate the cross-pollination of daily activities, as they bring together Henri Lefebvre's concepts of first space (home), second space (work/school), and, most crucially, third spaces (social spaces) in close proximity. In the context of the United States, this amalgamation of spaces is often experienced during what many refer to as "the best years of one's life," a term commonly associated with one's time in college since the 20th century. This designation stems partly from the density of life experienced during this period, something that unfortunately, many Americans do not have the opportunity to encounter. American culture has historically linked the symbol of freedom with the automobile—a machine that liberates indi...