Samuel Mockbee
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| Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 23, 1944 Meridian, Mississippi |
| Died | December 30, 2001 (aged 57) |
| Cause of death | Complications from leukemia |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse(s) | Jackie |
| Children | Margaret, Sarah Ann, Carol, and Julius |
Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee (23 December 1944–30 December 2001) was an American architect and a co-founder of the Auburn University Rural Studio program in Hale County, Alabama.
Mockbee's architectural partnership with Coleman Coker was recognized for an ingenious and quirky brand of regionalism.
[edit] Biography
Mockbee was born in Meridian, Mississippi. He served two years in the U.S. Army as an artillery officer at Fort Benning, Georgia. He enrolled at Auburn University and graduated from the School of Architecture in 1974. Mockbee interned in Columbus, Georgia before returning to Mississippi in 1977 where he formed a partnership with classmate and friend Thomas Goodman.
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.[1]
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.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Samuel ‘Sambo’ Mockbee Awarded 2004 AIA Gold Medal Posthumously', The American Institute of Architects, December 2003
- ^ 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
[edit] External links
- Mockbee biography at the Rural Studio website.
- Samuel Mockbee at the Open Directory Project
- Rural Studio Film
- National Building Museum 2004, Washington D. C.
- http://www.colemancoker.com/
