Rand Elliott Architects

06/11/2026

“The Most Exciting Architecture in America
Isn’t Happening in New York Anymore”

Architect magazine’s grabber of a headline continues “about the excellence unfolding
far from the coasts.”

It’s about “OUT THERE: New Architecture Across America,” a new 500-page book by industry leaders and editors that put Oklahoma in a very good light.

And Rand Elliott Architects is right IN THERE, along with 49 other firms. Other authoritative media echo the praise: Architectural Record, Interior Design, Fast Company, Dallas Morning News and Merrell Publishers (London) other authoritative voices all echo the news, led by Robert Ivy (longtime editor of Architecture Magazine (and president of the national AIA for a decade saw a void so glaring and projects so compelling that he decided to prove what he has seen. He chose the writers and went about selecting 50 architectural firms far from the national limelight.

Three memorable projects from Rand Elliott Architects – Glass Ranch in Logan County, Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center and Kirkpatrick Oil in Hennessey – are featured.

We hope you’ll pick up your copy at Oklahoma Contemporary’s Shop (with a special bookmark!) and booksellers worldwide.

From Merrell Publishers in London.

05/13/2026

PLICO at the Flatiron…

This distinctive blond brick Flatiron (triangular) building wedged between what is now Automobile Alley and the Innovation District began life in 1924 as the Como Hotel.

The neighborhood’s triangular plan was drawn in1903as streetcars made satellite neighborhoods viable. The diagonal Harrison Avenue led from Broadway east to the Stiles Circle “roundabout” to route the streetcar back downtown. (The circular park is now home to the Beacon of Hope.)

There were once nine Flatiron buildings here. Most were lost with construction of I-235. The first of two surviving Flatiron restorations was the red brick Heierding Meat Market (1914-1960). Although it had burned, the masonry and cast stone structure still stood. In 1995, it became Rand Elliott Architects’ studio, placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For decades after the Como closed, it sat empty, boarded up, but held its place in the city’s story. For Rand Elliott Architects, it was never just an abandoned building. It was one of a pair of surviving Flatiron “jewels” on Harrison Avenue, standing “nose to nose” with the architects’ own offices.

Today, this restored building lives on as offices for the healthcare services firm, PLICO. Its historic brick and form remain, now carefully layered with a modern, third-floor addition including a deck with spectacular downtown views) and reimagined interior spaces. At night, it’s a glowing marker at the edge of downtown.

It’s a reminder that some buildings don’t need to be replaced. They just need to be rescued.

04/30/2026

Some buildings don’t need to be replaced. They need to be reimagined.

Engineering South at Oklahoma State University began in 1938. Today, it’s a light-filled, collaborative space for the next generation of engineers and designers. This transformation recently earned a First-Place National Award from Retrofit magazine, recognizing what’s possible when history is preserved and pushed forward at the same time.

View more about this project at: https://randelliottarchitects.com/at-ok-state-a-first-place-national-award-for-architecture-from-retrofit-magazine/

04/20/2026

The 60th Annual Festival of the Arts begins this Thursday through Sunday, in Downtown OKC.

Festival of the Arts has long been recognized nationally as a premier annual event, beloved by artists, visitors, and generations of Oklahoma City residents.

Needed was new life and grandeur for the festival’s original setting, the public park space bookended by two remarkable WPA-era landmarks: Civic Center Music Hall and City Hall.

Rand Elliott Architects, alongside Planning Design Group, designed Bicentennial Park to tie the two structures together and create a setting worthy of the city’s soaring spirit.

As part of Project 180, the space was transformed with sweeping lines that echo the Civic Center’s elegant Art Deco curves, guiding visitors along pathways to shaded places to pause amid the rhythm of downtown life.

Sculptural North and South Pavilions, a water feature that converts to a stage, an events marquee, extensive landscaping, and dramatic night lighting complete what is now a world-class civic venue.

Let the Festival begin!

04/02/2026

Window shopping after church and lunch at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel was a fond ritual for Rand Elliott, often with his mother, Doris, always dressed to the nines. That simple experience of strolling, looking, and discovering stayed with him.

Years later, that memory helped shape Classen Curve. Conceived by Aubrey McClendon and designed by Rand, the center was imagined as an internal “main street,” where corners open up, windows hint at what’s inside, and curiosity invites you to wander.

It wasn’t built for big boxes. It was built for discovery, a place for locally owned shops and restaurants, and a more walkable, thoughtful kind of experience for Oklahoma City.

03/26/2026

The Flatiron District has always been a place of movement and transition.

With the Berry-Rock Building, the intent was to create architecture that feels right for its site: bold, contextual, and connected to the life of the street. Its presence helps anchor a long-overlooked edge of downtown while pointing toward what this district is becoming.

A quiet, confident addition to Oklahoma City.

03/25/2026

03/20/2026

Happy birthday Dean McGee! On this day, we remember the Oklahoma City leader who believed deeply in the future of downtown and the role architecture plays in shaping it. His vision helped bring the 30-story Kerr-McGee Tower to life in 1972, designed by world-class architect Pietro Belluschi, at a time when downtown was searching for its next chapter.

Years later, Rand Elliott was honored to receive the award that bears Dean McGee’s name, Downtown OKC’s highest recognition for those helping shape the city’s future.
A legacy worth remembering.

01/25/2026

Join our team! We are now hiring for a Level I Architect with Sketch Up skills. We ask applicants to have a degree from an accredited university, experience in Oklahoma, and enjoy working independently and as part of a team.

More qualification details on our website: https://randelliottarchitects.com/

Please send cover letter and resume to [email protected].

09/10/2024

Modern Flatiron Architecture to Bridge OKC Downtown “Gap”

A recent Oklahoman headline announced that the “gap” between OKC’s Innovation District and downtown is slated to be filled with an homage to the area’s historic triangular “Flatiron” buildings (named after the early clothes-ironing implement).

The diagonal Harrison Avenue was created in 1903 with the tracks for OKC’s first trolley. It cut from the railroad bridge just east of NW 4th and Broadway to the roundabout at Stiles Park, creating nine triangular buildings. Two that remain: PLICO (once the 1924 Como Hotel) and Rand Elliott Architects’ offices (the 1914 Heierding Brothers’ Meat Market).

The Berry-Rock design, by Rand Elliott Architects, was approved by the Urban Renewal Authority. The ODOT-owned site has the visibility and striking triangular form to establish a new gateway into downtown Oklahoma City.