Rural Studio: The example of scarcity

While trying to understand what a space really means we first have to accept there is no right answer. As a social product creates space can be defined as a just city through democracy, equity, diversity and scarcity. I’d like to discuss scarcity.

Scarcity uses alternative material(s) to approach a problem. A fine example of this is Samuel Mockbee with Rural Studio. Mockbee believed so firmly that architecture has an ethical response to help improve living conditions for the poor. He believed in a moral sense of service to the community—a thing that we can all agree is lacking in many firms.

Instead of using expensive, popular, flashy materials Rural Studio utilizes recycled, salvaged, donated materials to create striking structures that are shaped and built by the architecture students. Rural Studio serves clients who can’t afford architecture in the one of the poorest parts of our country creating. This just goes to show space doesn’t have to be anything extraordinary to serve a purpose and make a real difference in the world around us. To these people the roof over their head regardless of the lack of square footage, skylights and storage means more than the aesthetics or what it’s made of.