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The cofounder and director of the Rural Studio reflects on the singular legacy of Samuel Mockbee.
By D.K. Ruth
April 2002
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In 1992 Mockbee (sitting in front of GB's general store in Newbern,
above) cofounded the Rural Studio (below) in Hale County, Alabama, where
he worked with Auburn University architecture students to build homes
and public facilities for some of the area's poorest residents.
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The group used cheap, donated, and salvaged materials to create noble
buildings like the Harris, or "Butterfly," House (1997;
above), with its winglike roof that channels breezes to cool the
interior.
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The Mason's Bend Community Center (2000; above right), which
doubles as a chapel, was constructed from sheet metal, rammed earth, and
junked car windshields on land donated by Anderson Harris (owner of the
Butterfly House). The new backstop for the Newbern Baseball Field (2001;
above left) is designed to trap foul balls and roll them toward the
sidelines. Unlike the old fence it replaced, it has no horizontal lines
blocking views from the stands.
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A Hale County judge donated the surplus license plates used on this
Rural Studio student cottage (above).
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Time spent with Sam Mockbee during the past ten years was time spent talking,
planning, and dreaming. Remembering Sambo is remembering the man, not the
architecture. His humanism, humor, and humility enabled him to touch the
spirit of the people of west Alabama. I remember his words vividly: "Architecture
is about shelter for the spirit." "His feet were stuck in the
Mississippi mud." "The Rural Studio is real in itself."
These were the constant measures for the work we did. His wit was laced
with fortitude--the fortitude to right wrongs of the rural South and to
serve a community that had been bypassed by all the "safety nets"
that America has established to provide decent shelter for all its citizens.
That same Mississippi mud seeped up through his soul and sustained him after
being stricken with leukemia. It rewarded him with three intense and productive
years after his body-wrenching treatments. At that point in his life he
understood that his last day was fixed and his time left brief. His
bravery was multiplied tenfold. It was as if he had visited Hades and returned,
as did Odysseus, to continue his journey with purpose and determination.
Sambo was a maker of community, and he endowed it with a shelter of spirit.
He was the turtle that Shepard Bryant, resident of the Hay Bale House,
admired on the Black Warrior River. Deliberate and constant, Sambo's talent
was the shell into which he retreated when skeptics approached. His simple
building block of community was to give and expect nothing in return. "I
don't believe I want one of those today" was Anderson Harris's response
to Sambo's offer to build him a house in Mason's Bend. So he built the Butterfly
House for Anderson's wife, Ora Lee, expecting nothing in return. The reward
was land donated to the community by the Harrises for the inspirational
center of Mason's Bend. Constructed of mud and window glass from Caprice
Classic automobiles, the Ora Lee Harris Chapel stands as a testament to
their gratitude.
Perhaps Mockbee's spirituality is most powerfully felt in the numerous handicap
ramps, warm and dry rooms, and reroofed houses he challenged his students
to perform as "neck-down" work. Of these he was proud, for they
provided accessibility, saved lives, and reunited mothers and children.
He believed and honored the thought that architecture should serve the commonplace,
expressing its spirit and enabling its culture.
Sambo admonished his students to leave the comfort and safety of the Auburn
University campus and the familiarity of their mostly suburban upbringings
and join him in the Black Belt of Alabama. Here they learned that it is
culturally rich and pregnant with the possibility of creative thinking.
He challenged them to think critically and to express creatively--to build
community by expressing the silent character of a region and its people.
In this real environment the students were challenged by its past, fortified
by its strength, and inspired by its character. They extended their reach
because Sambo wouldn't let them fail. Reality gave them fresh eyes.
Much has been said and written about Mockbee's legacy, but somewhere during
the construction of Bryant's house he ceased being an architect and became
a teacher. His legacy--the Rural Studio; his passion--the students whose
eyes he opened; and his deeds--the community he enabled.
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Two members of Rural Studio speak at Metropolis's Teaching Green conference.
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Rural Studio Projects
Auburn University
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1. |
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Akron Pavilion |
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2. |
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Akron Boys and Girls Club |
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3. |
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Lewis House |
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4. |
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Butterfly House |
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5. |
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Mason's Bend Community Center |
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6. |
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Manor Bryant House |
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7. |
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Hay Bale House |
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8. |
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Sanders-Dudley House |
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9. |
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HERO Children's Center and Playground |
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10. |
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Dorothy Wilson House |
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11. |
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Newbern Baseball Field |
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12. |
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Rural Studio Wood Shop |
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13. |
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Thesis Studio |
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14. |
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Newbern Amphitheater |
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15. |
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Chantilly House |
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16. |
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Spencer House |
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17. |
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Supershed |
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18. |
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Morrisette House |
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19. |
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Bailey Museum |
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20. |
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Thomaston Farmer's Market |
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