Rural Studio
November 6th, 2006
Everybody wants the same thing, rich or poor… not only a warm, dry room, but a shelter for the soul.
Something extraordinary is happening at Auburn University. Architecture students live in and become part of a rural community for one semester, meanwhile designing and building houses for impoverished residents.
Created by Sambo Mockbee and his colleague in 1993, this program not only provides students with an opportunity to build what they design, it connects them with the people that make these places meaningful. While marvelling at the vivid and warm photographs in a book showcasing the work acheived by the Rural Studio, I realized that the homes, while imaginatively designed, would not be nearly as beautiful if the people were excluded from the pictures. People are the most important part of places.
