A More Invested System
“Architecture won’t begin to alleviate all of these social woes. But what is necessary is a willingness to seek solutions to poverty in its own context, not around it.”
“The main purpose of the Rural Studio is to enable each student to step across the threshold of misconceived opinions and to design/build with a ‘moral sense’ of service to a community.”
- Samuel Mockbee
One of the most noble things to
do is to help someone in need that you know may never help you in return. Plenty
of organizations do this, but I believe architects can do this often throughout
their career.
The need for housing in the
current day is incredible, one that will be hard to solve. Organizations exist
that help those in need in the housing industry, one of the most notarized
being Habitat for Humanity. They help build new homes for those who struggle to
afford much while also engaging the community to assist to create better and
closer relationships.
What makes the Rural Studio at Auburn
so special and in a way more effective is the investment they make into the
single project; the inhabitant, the location, and the material. We go to school
to learn how to positively impact a community and the Rural Studio serves as a
great example on how to do that. They have the ability to immediately and positively
impact the lives of people by engaging affordable and efficient techniques to
create unique outcomes for the inhabitants.
I grew up going to Salkahatchie every summer as a high school student and I think that while I never had an interest in building the house, I so enjoyed watching the revitalization of space and client occur before my eyes. This 1:1 transformation helped me understand on a fundamental level what architecture can do for people and the Rural Studio reminds me of how thankful I am for those nasty and hot summers.
ReplyDeleteI'm genuinely jealous that I don't get to do those cool design build projects. They seem much more organized than the one I did in charleston sadly. The impact we made was positive none the less and I couldn't agree more on how important it is. Organization and connections are vital.
ReplyDeleteI think the rural special because it teaches scarcity as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. I also think the work is powerful because it of its high quality and beauty despite its low costs. The humble structures call architecture back to its higher purpose: focus on social, civic, and environmental engagement.
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