February 1, 2002

7:35 PM

MacArthur "genius" grant winner Samuel "Sambo" Mockbee didn't make it to 2002. His Rural Studio built beautiful, amazing houses for poor people.
posted by theora55 (8 comments total)

To clarify: He died at 57.

Thanks for the link, Theora... would've never remembered this guy from his fast-company writeup. Please link more clearly in your FPP, though!
posted by SpecialK at 7:43 PM on February 1, 2002

The Smithsonian magazine did a story on the Rural Studio last year. Those houses blew me away. So creative.
posted by diddlegnome at 7:50 PM on February 1, 2002

Aw, damn. I didn't know he'd died. I really love his work.

Thanks for the link.
posted by blissbat at 8:27 PM on February 1, 2002

ok, so if one small studio was able to do so much for the poor, what excuse does the rest of them have?

haha. specialk said FPP. :P
posted by jcterminal at 10:19 PM on February 1, 2002

This is the link to The Rural Studio's main page. They have great pictures of all of their projects and more about Sambo. They reran a great Nightline special about him after he died. What a loss.

His philospohy was to build only for the very poor and the very rich. The rich funded the poor. A subversive after my own heart.
posted by colt45 at 10:32 PM on February 1, 2002 [1 favorite]

He got a great write-up in the Oxford American, if you can find a copy at a newsstand near you.

A friend hipped me to an article from Architectural Record about him.
posted by allaboutgeorge at 11:22 PM on February 1, 2002

Oh, d'oh! I didn't see the ArchRecord link up top. Well, try this ABC News feature instead.
posted by allaboutgeorge at 11:28 PM on February 1, 2002

i remember reading this salon interview with him last year. really inspiring! but like i guess with any great archichitect he leaves behind a lasting legacy :)

What are you doing with the MacArthur grant?

We're underwriting what's called the Subrosa Pantheon. In the last couple of years, several younger members of our [Auburn University] faculty have passed away, and this is a memorial to them. It looks almost like a little tornado shelter, but with roses growing on top and a fountain outside. Other than that, I'm just sort of holding my money, but I hope that perhaps next year I'll be able to take a sabbatical for some serious painting. It would really recharge my batteries.

posted by kliuless at 7:05 AM on February 2, 2002