Samuel Mockbee

Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee (December 23, 1944–December 30, 2001) was an American architect and a co-founder of the Auburn University Rural Studio program in Hale County, Alabama.

He was born in Meridian, Mississippi. Mockbee's architectural partnership with Coleman Coker was recognized for an ingenious and quirky brand of regionalism. A growing sense of connection with rural places and a respect for the disadvantaged people who inhabit them led Mockbee, along with D. K. Ruth, to found the Rural Studio program at Auburn University which has since been widely acclaimed for introducing students to the social responsibilities of architectural practice and for providing safe, well-constructed and inspirational buildings to the communities of West Alabama. In many cases these buildings, designed and built by students, incorporate novel materials which would otherwise be considered waste. They often combine vernacular architecture with modernist forms. In 1993 he was awarded a grant from the Graham Foundation for work towards the publication of his book "THE NURTURING OF CULTURE IN THE RURAL SOUTH: An Architectonic Documentary".

In 1998, Mockbee was diagnosed with leukemia. After a strong and near miraculous recovery, he went on to accept awards and recognition for his work including the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant, but fell to the disease three years later.

Mockbee was posthumously nominated in 2003 for the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) Gold Medal. No Gold Medal was awarded that year, but it was given to Mockbee the following year.

Mockbee's work was selected by Lawrence Rinder to be part of the Whitney Museum of Art 2002 Biennial.

David Moos curated an exhibition at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, Alabama on Mockbee which was in its planning stages when Mockbee died. The exhibition was named "Samuel Mockbee and the Rural Studio: Community Architecture." This retrospective was to be a celebration but became a memorial and tribute. ["Samuel Mockbee and the Rural Studio: Community Architecture," Samuel Mockbee, David Moos (Editor), Gail Trechsel (Editor), 2003-11-01, Birmingham Museum of Art. ISBN 093139452X]

References

External links

* [http://www.ruralstudio.com/sambobio.htm Mockbee biography] at the Rural Studio website.
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* [http://www.ruralstudiofilm.com/home.html Rural Studio Film]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_5_92/ai_n6036831 National Building Museum 2004, Washington D. C.]