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Architecture with HeartIn pockets of Hale County, Ala., visitors are often surprised by what they see. Among the shacks with sagging porches that scar the landscape are a house that resembles a butterfly, a chapel with a glass roof made from car windows, and a home whose supporting pillars are constructed of stacked carpet remnants.
The structures seem so out-of-place, with dramatic lines and sloping roofs, that passersby might wonder if they were transported here from somewhere else.
In a way, they were.
These buildings - a few new ones are added each year - were constructed by the Rural Studio, an experimental education/outreach program of Auburn University that was co-founded by D.K. Ruth and the late architect Samuel Mockbee. Mr. Mockbee, who grew up in Mississippi, believed architecture should uplift people, sheltering the body while making the spirit soar. Beautiful homes are especially needed by the poor, he felt, and who better to do the building than students, who need hands-on building experience, not just "paper architecture."
The result, over the past 12 years, has been a changed landscape: bold, modern structures that delight locals and draw visitors from around the world.
Yet this fall, as three new houses go up, the Rural Studio will be framing its own future, as well. Three years after "Sambo" Mockbee's death, the studi
more: www.csmonitor.com/2004/1110/p11s0... (288)
November 10, 2004 | Viewed 24,705 time(s)
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