 |
|
|
Photo courtesy Jeff Eldridge |
|
Before there was a Rural Studio, there was an architect named
Sambo. He grew up in the heady milieu of Mississippi, a place
redolent of earth and growing things, of social disparity,
and great literature. Coming of age during the contentious
1960s, Sambo absorbed the world surrounding Meridian, Mississippi,
played football, attended Auburn University, and joined the
army. Then his worldview shifted.
After a stint working in Georgia, he returned to Mississippi,
where, in conjunction with a series of partners, he began
to make architecture suited to the geography and culture of
the nation’s poorest state. Using the simplest materials
and familiar forms, he wrested newness from a people struggling
to emerge from a rich but historically oppressive past. Great
writers from William Faulkner to Walker Percy had succeeded
in moving on; uniquely, Sambo took architecture to a new Southern
frontier.
While early projects smacked of Postmodernism, very quickly
a bevy of buildings, from houses to simple chapels, proclaimed
a refreshed, empathetic sensibility. Soon Sambo & Company
were redefining what it meant to live and work in the South.
Publications took notice, as did the universities.
Ultimately, he found his full voice through other people,
particularly at Auburn’s Rural Studio, where he and collaborator
D.K. Ruth cofounded a residential architectural program that
offered a total immersion in the art of building, engaging
all of the arts in the service of a specific community. That
work continues to flourish to this day.
In naming Mockbee as the 2004 Gold Medalist, the American
Institute of Architects not only recognized his gifts, but
also espoused Sambo’s values, which fiercely and unsentimentally
addressed basic human needs. –Robert
Ivy, FAIA
Continue with our feature
on Samuel Mockbee.
2004
Honor Awards index | Architecture
Awards | Interiors
Awards
Urban Design
| 25 Year Award
| Firm Award
| Gold Medal Award
|
print
this page
e-mail
this page
