Designing in Nichols Hills

1826 Drakestone Ave.

1826 Drakestone Ave.

Nichols Hills is one of the most architecturally distinct neighborhoods in Oklahoma City — and one of the most demanding to design in. That combination is not a coincidence.

The city operates under its own municipal code, independent of OKC, and maintains an Architectural Review Board that governs new construction and significant alterations with a level of scrutiny most jurisdictions simply don’t exercise. Setbacks, massing, material selection, fenestration ratios — all of it is subject to review, and the standards are applied with institutional memory that goes back decades.

What this means practically: a design that hasn’t been thought through before it reaches submission will get sent back. Revisions aren’t just an inconvenience — they add real time to a schedule and real cost to a project. More than that, the process rewards architects who understand not just the written code but the sensibility behind it. The neighborhood has a coherent character that the ARB is actively protecting, and submissions that read as ignorant of that context rarely go smoothly.

We’ve worked in Nichols Hills. We understand what the process expects and how to prepare for it. If you’re planning a project there — new construction, an addition, or a significant remodel — the first conversation worth having is about code and process, not finishes.