The other day I happened upon the online design portfolio of Brandon Specketer. Brandon is a fellow alum of both P.C. North and the University of Oklahoma. He graduated two years ahead of me and I always knew him to be a stand-up guy and an incredibly fast runner. While at OU, he studied under Hans Butzer - the award-winning designer of the Oklahoma City National Memorial - and has also previously worked as an intern for Elliot + Associates here in Oklahoma City. Unfortunately, Brandon is currently living in New York, continuing his architecture career with Cook+Fox. Hopefully he will make it back to OKC soon so that we can experience his design work firsthand, but in the meantime he has given me permission to highlight some of his work.


OKLAHOMA CITY METRO STATION

These designs for an old class project exploring the possibility of commuter rail in Oklahoma City caught my eye immediately. As a huge proponent of improving and expanding our transportation options (a position becoming increasingly popular these days), it is interesting to consider this straight-forward design that utilizes the existing rail infrastructure.

THE FLATIRON

Another project from his days at OU focuses on 131 Harrison, the building referred to as ‘The Flatiron’. Many of you know that this property is currently being developed by The Humphreys Company, where my older brother Grant serves as CEO and father Kirk as Chairman. Jim Hasenbeck and the gang at Studio Architecture have put together an absolutely terrific design that - in my somewhat slash completely biased opinion - will be the exemplar urban mixed-use development in Oklahoma City (you can check out some renderings at OKC Central). That said, it is always fun to see another person’s vision for the city and what Specketer offers is pretty cool.

Conceptual sketch of circulation and conceptual model of structural system.

INTERIOR DESIGN

Brandon had the opportunity to show off his interior design capabilities when HGTV.com showcased his NYC ‘bachelors’ pad‘. His apartment is cool, but what I really like are the designs for the London offices of Ackerman McQueen, an Oklahoma City based advertising firm. Brandon contributed to the project as an intern alongside Jay Yowell and the firm’s principle Rand Elliot. The project won an AIA 2005 Interiors Honors Award and a Merit Award in Interior Architecture in a competition of the Central States Region of the American Institute of Architects. They say that it is “The illusion and abstraction of London fog carries the project” and you can certainly see what they mean:

All photos of Ackerman McQueen © Robert Shimer/Hedrich Blessing

SKETCHES

Finally, check out these sketches. I am envious of anybody that can create such beauty with only pencil and paper.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, Brandon Specketer is a great talent. I wish him the best with everything, even if life doesn’t lead him back our way. But my guess is that at some point Brandon will move back to OKC, because I believe that the paradigm has shifted, that the tremendous renaissance currently being experienced by our City has caught the attention of Brandon and many others like him. As the quality of life in our city improves and the opportunities for creative professionals increase, Oklahoma City is likely to experience a rush of talent like it hasn’t seen since 1889. Because all else being equal - the familiar places, friendly people, and absolutely beautiful sunsets are hard to pass up!

If you would like to see more of Brandon Specketer’s work you can check out his portfolio at ryecroft.net!