Another year in the books and time for the annual DEMX field trip. This year, we traveled to Oklahoma City during the month of June. As Tim told the team after traveling to Arizona, “It shouldn’t be too hot.” The trip was not only a refresher from a busy summer, but it also gave us time to work together and bond over great architecture.

 With Tim driving his truck and Seth driving a suburban (quite the size upgrade from his own vehicle), the team was headed to the big city of Arcadia, Oklahoma, and a small gas station restaurant, POPS, designed by Rand Elliott. Even though the joint itself is small, their collection of soda was rather large with over 700 different types, with flavors that ranged from grape to ranch dressing.

With lunch put away, we headed to the boathouse district of Oklahoma City, where most buildings on site being designed by Rand Elliott, we were lucky to get a tour of the CHK Central Boathouse. After a bit of peeking into other buildings and obsessing over architecture, we let loose with a ropes course and white-water rafting. Luckily for our office, no injuries were sustained.

After freshening up at the hotel, the team went to eat at the RePUBLic Gastropub located in Classen Curve retail center (also designed by Elliott + Associates Architects). With full stomachs, everyone had a good night’s rest before the next busy day. 

Considering breakfast is the most important meal of the day, everyone woke up early and devoured a delicious and filling meal at Kitchen 324. Our day was packed full of adventures starting with a somber experience at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. The museum exhibition and memorial design by Butzer Architects and Urbanism left a lasting impact on each of us.

Lunch was held at Vast in the top of Devon Tower. We saw alligator leather plates, ate world class crème brûlée, and observed Oklahoma City from above. Again, the team was lucky enough to receive a particularly special building tour. Not open to the immediate public, the Chicken Prairie House designed by Bruce Goff and located in Norman, Oklahoma was open exclusively for us. Dressed in our office best, we took a group picture and I think Tim even found a souvenir.

Our day wasn’t over yet. Accompanied by Tim’s friend, Ben Butler from Rand Elliott’s office, we hit the town exploring different Elliott + Associate projects, ending with a reception at Elliott’s office. But the architecture didn’t stop here. The team did a drive through tour of SoSA, which is known for its contemporary, residential architecture. After disappointing news that the Dust Bowl bowling alley was booked for the night, the team had liters of fun at Fassler Hall, grabbing some great food and playing rounds of baggo, foosball and Jenga.

                Our last day in Oklahoma City was greeted by breakfast at Hatch. (Side note: you can’t buy alcohol before 10:00 A.M. in Oklahoma.) The team spent most of the morning checking out multiple exhibits at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art including Dale Chihuly’s glass pieces. But we had no time to waste, the team was off to Bartlesville, Oklahoma to see the world-famous Price Tower, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The hour-long tour was packed with jaw dropping views of Bartlesville and lasting inspiration for the deMx Team. One last meal at the top of Price Tower put a cap to the trip and to the office budget but not before everyone had their favorite Frank Lloyd Wright inspired beverage, such as Fallingwater, Wake Up Wright, and Organically Structured. Now the team was ready to be back in Fayetteville… until next time.