Building homes and lives

Architecture program immerses students in rural surroundings

June 16, 2000
Web posted at: 12:31 p.m. EDT (1631 GMT)

NEWBERN, Alabama (CNN) -- They've built a chapel out of dirt-filled tires, converted a one-time goat shelter into a comfortable guest house, and have created many inexpensive, badly needed homes from scratch.

At Samuel Mockbee's Rural Studio architecture program in west-central Alabama, students are learning about a whole lot more than building and designing.

Sure, said Mockbee, an architecture professor at Auburn University, the students learn how much a panel of Sheetrock weighs. They also discover that "a poor family, an economically poor family, is really no different from their family."

	VIDEO
CNN's Brian Cabell introduces Samuel Mockbee, who encourages students to help the poor through architecture. QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

The program emphasizes becoming part of the community and tackling real problems. It helped earn Mockbee a $500,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation earlier this week for future endeavors.

"It is really refreshing, actually," said Bruce Lanier, who lives with fellow students in the program's headquarters, an antebellum home. "It is fun learning to work with real clients and real people."

CNN Correspondent Brian Cabell recently visited the Rural Studio.

MacArthur Foundation blesses 25 of the best and brightest with hefty checks, instant fame
June 13, 2000

Rural Studio
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.