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 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 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.
External links
- Mockbee biography at the Rural Studio website.
- Samuel Mockbee at the Open Directory Project
Categories
1944 births | 2001 deaths | Leukemia deaths | American architects | MacArthur Fellows | Auburn University professors