Monthly Archives: May 2014

May 27, 2014 · 9:01 pm

What Lies Ahead

IMG_0179

There are several things on the table for the OCU School of Law project and several things brewing for the Blog. A number of things seem to want to command center stage for being the most important and at the top of the list, not surprisingly, is money. Things brewing are more in line with things like meeting new Blog guests, exploring local beta and uncovering more of the historic legacy of the building.

Money Talks

The financial viability of the project was a part of the big “go-no go” analysis of the existing building.

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Filed under Background, Guests, Historic Preservation

May 20, 2014 · 7:21 am

A New Outfit – trying it on for size

Central HIgh School

As we begin the due diligence effort for the OCU School of Law to investigate the feasibility of placing the law school within the old Bell building, now American Farmers and Ranchers Insurance Building (AFR), we engaged in the process of program validation to explore changes to the space needs that may have surfaced in the time span since the last quest to try a building on for size. Academic programs evolve and change over time and we needed to understand where things stood with the last version of the space needs.

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Filed under Background, Design, Interior

May 12, 2014 · 11:30 pm

Divergent View 2

Canopy

The Forgotten Competition

I was recently driving down Lindsay Street in Norman when I my eyes landed upon a structure that invoked a déjà vu moment. I thought to myself “could this be the product of a distant design competition?”

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Filed under Design, Guests

May 6, 2014 · 12:55 pm

Assessing the Fabric

Turrits The building we are looking at for a test fit for the OCU School of Law is currently occupied by the American Farmers and Ranchers Mutual Insurance Company (AFR). They are the latest in of a string of occupants going back to the original use as a high school for Oklahoma City when it was first occupied in 1910. This wasn’t the first time this building was being given consideration for the School of Law. The AFR building was a runner-up to the Fred Jones Manufacturing Plant when it was being considered for a downtown home.

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Filed under Background, Design