Rural Studio
Samuel Mockbee’s reading about the Rural Studio was such a refreshing perspective on how our field should be. I personally believe that we should stop putting so much emphasis on “starchitects” and give more praise to those who are concerned with the good effects of architecture. Oftentimes, smaller, simpler projects have more impacts than larger ones. Even though they seem to get overlooked, smaller projects can have bigger impacts on communities and we don’t always need to design the biggest and most innovative designs. A park or fixing homes in a community has a longer lasting impact on a community because it’s addressing those urgent needs, even if they are more personal needs. This also allows us to connect with the people we design for more by doing smaller scale projects and it benefits the community as a whole rather than harming it.
I think the most gratifying experience in our profession, is seeing how the "smaller" projects really make an impact. Seeing people using the spaces we design and even finding ways we had not imagined it to be used is an amazing sight. I hope that we all get to experience that, and know that even if we aren't "starchitects" we are the one's that make a difference.
ReplyDeleteHey Brittany, I completely agree with you about the rural studio reading. Some of Mockbee's quotes themselves made me feel excited about seeing architecture as less so financial means, but more about creating change in peoples lives for the better. I think that this low budget, high impact way of thinking is extremely important.
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