By: Casey Bucher
Samuel Mockbee was an architect and
teacher in the deep south at Auburn University.
After graduating and becoming licensed, Mockbee chose to remain in the
rural area instead of migrating to the large cities with the large projects and
bigger paychecks. He felt that his
hometown is what needed him the most, so he remained in the poorest areas of
Alabama to create a better community. It
is stated in the article that Mockbee won numerous awards for his work, most
notably the MacArthur Fellow and the AIA Gold Medal, yet his projects were far
from the urban architectural elite. The
true reason he became one of the greatest leaders in the architecture world is
by sticking to his own personal beliefs.
According to Robert K. Greenleaf’s ten
traits characteristic of servant-leaders, Samuel Mockbee has the potential of
being identified with every single one.
After reading the article about his life’s work, I do not doubt that
there isn’t a trait that he didn’t possess. However, there are a few that
definitely define his work more than others.
“Empathy to accept and recognize people for their special and unique
spirit.” This is a characteristic that
is the basis of why Mockbee is who he is.
He sees the need in his community and is drawn to help, no matter what
that person’s circumstances may be.
“Awareness - especially about values and ethics.” Mockbee knows the limitations of the poor
communities and is receptive to the decisions that need to be made to improve
the areas. “Foresight to understand the
lessons of the past, the realities of the present, and the consequences of a
future decision.” By creating his classroom, known as the Rural Studio, he
addresses the housing and community needs of the poor and can teach his
students the best kind of decisions for the problems at hand. Most architecture students are given studio projects
located in the big cities with unlimited budgets, but through his studio a
student can see the opposite end of the spectrum and really work through the
problems of rural areas. “Stewardship to
hold something in trust for another - a commitment to serve the needs of
others.” Again, Mockbee’s beliefs were that everyone is deserving. This meant
that no matter what the poor could provide, he would find a way and make it
work. He was a leader of the people and
his community, serving their needs to his fullest potential.
When reading this article on Samuel
Mockbee, one Building Block of Building the Architecture of Trust really stood
out. “Creating new value: Limitations
Power the Creation of Original Solutions.”
In the article it says, “when people throw their hands up and say ‘it
can’t be done!’ they deny themselves the most exciting experience of engaging
their own creativity.” I feel that this couldn’t explain Mockbee’s work any
better. He chose to stay in one of the most challenging areas for architecture. He chose to serve his community’s needs no
matter what the personal risk may be. It
is hard to building buildings and homes in an area that has no money, yet he
did it and excelled at it. In this
process, he also showed his students that it is most definitely possible and
CAN BE DONE!
In
the end, with Mockbee’s Rural Studio, he has created a lasting program for
teaching the importance of community needs, creativity, and carrying out his
beliefs on social welfare. His views on architecture being incorporated
everywhere, no matter how big or small the community is, is a quality every
architect should believe in. Many
architects get caught up in the bigger picture and leaving their stamp, when
Mockbee is just trying to create a design out of the materials he was
given. His views on architecture and how
it is important everywhere are something that really hit home for me. I’m from a very small community and this
article just proves that anything in architecture is possible and creativity is
key. Samuel Mockbee’s leadership
qualities and beliefs are characteristics that I will strive to achieve when I
am one day working in the field of architecture.
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