The studio was founded in 1993 by architects Samuel Mockbee and D. K. Ruth. It is led by UK-born architect Andrew Freear. Each year the program builds several projects: a house by the third-year students, and two to three thesis projects by groups of 3 to 5 fifth-year students. The Rural Studio has built more than 80 houses and civic projects in Hale, Perry and Marengo counties. The Rural Studio is based in Newbern, a small town in Hale County. Many of its best-known projects are in the tiny community of Mason's Bend, on the banks of the Black Warrior River.

The studio has been criticized for the way its projects take advantage of the power relations inherent in gift-giving, and for mistaking elitist architectural and middle-class values, rather than the process of political emancipation and self-determination, as a way to improve the lives of the poor.^[1]

Safe House Black History Museum edit

The studio renovated, restored, and made an addition to the Safe House Black History Museum in Greensboro, Alabama, in the late 2010s.^[2] The redesign was awarded third place in American Architect's Building of the Year competition.^[2]

$20K House edit

The $20K House is an ongoing research project at the Rural Studio that seeks to address the pressing need for decent and affordable housing in Hale County, Alabama. Nearly 30% of the people in Hale County live in poverty. Due to the lack of conventional credit for people with their level of income, and insufficient knowledge about alternative sources of funding, mobile homes offer the only chance for home ownership for many. Unlike a house, which is an asset for its owner, trailers deteriorate very quickly and depreciate over time. Mobile homes are also correlated with higher cancer rates due to the use of formaldehyde in their construction.^{[citation needed]}

The $20k House project is intended to design a model home that could be reproduced on a large scale, and thereby become a viable alternative to a mobile home. The challenge is to build a house for $20,000, ten to twelve thousand of which will go towards materials and the remainder to contracted labor. Once a truly successful model has been designed, the aim is to sell the houses in conjunction with the "502 Direct Loan" provided by the Rural Housing Service. The project began in 2005, and there have been at least 16 iterations of the house.

By year. Some designers are listed.

2010–2011 edit

• Lion's Park - Phase VI (hub), Greensboro
• Safe House Black History Museum, Greensboro^[3]

2009–2010 edit

• Lion's Park - Phase V (playscape), Greensboro

2008–2009 edit

• Lion's Park - Phase IV (skateplay), Greensboro

2007–2008 edit

• 20K - Bridge Greensboro
• 20K - Loft Greensboro
• 20K - Pattern Book Greensboro
• 20K - Roundwood Greensboro
• St. Luke's Church Renovation, Cahawba, Alabama

2006–2007 edit

• Lion's Park - Phase II (toilets), Greensboro
• Lion's Park - Phase III (surfacing), Greensboro
• Akron Boys & Girls Club - II
• $20K House - Phase III - Greensboro, Alabama
• St. Luke's Episcopal Church, CahawbaLeon, John Mansour, Candace Rimes, Jamie Sartory, Fuller Sherrod, Walker Stone, Nick Wickersham

2005–2006 edit

• Lion's Park - Phase I, Greensboro
• Hale County Hospital, Greensboro
• Hale County Animal Shelter, Greensboro
• $20K House - Phase II, Greensboro
• Michelle's House, Greensboro
  • Anna Marie Bevil, Jason Blankenship, Brittany Creehan, Jacob Fyfe, Brittany Graeber, Jennifer Isenburg, Carrie Laurendine, Jonathan Mayhall, Don Mott, Brandon Rainosek, Haley Robinson, Christopher Terrell, Marcus Buckner-Perry, Justyn Chandler, Michelle Clark, Taylor Clark, Evan Dick, Lori Fine, Robert Hall, Drew Jerdan, Brett Randall Jones, Ben Krauss, Carolyn Norton, John Plaster, Dorothy Sherling, Casey Smith, Kathleen Webb, Terran Wilson

2004–2005 edit

• Perry Lakes Canopy Tower

Adrienne Brady, Natalie Butts, Paul Howard, Coley Mulcahy

• Perry County Learning Center

Dereck Aplin, Sam Currie, Amy Bell, Angela Hughey, Turnley Smith

• Christine's House, Mason's Bend, Hale County

Steven Long, Amy Bullington

• Re-sourcing

David Garner

• $20K House - Phase I, Hale County

Kellie Stokes, Laura Noguera, Phillip March Jones, Hana Loftus, Min Joo Kim

• Willie Bell House, Mason's Bend, Hale County

2003–2004 edit

• Alabama Rural Heritage Center, Thomaston[1]
  • Abby Barnett Davis, Melissa Harold, Paul Kardous, Nathan Makemeson, Robert White
• Newbern Volunteer Fire Department, Newbern
  • Will Brothers, Elizabeth Ellington, Matthew Finley, Leia Price
• Perry Lakes Park Bridge, Perry County
  • Matthew Edwards, Lynielle Houston, Charlie Jorgensen, Sara Singleton
• Sub Rosa Pantheon, Newbern
  • Carol Mockbee
• Patrick House, Newbern
• Outside In, Greensboro

2002–2003 edit

• Perry Lakes Toilets and Boardwalk, Marion
  • Sarah Dunn, Matt Foley, Brannen Park, Melissa Sullivan
• Rural Heritage Center Gift Shop
  • Emily McGlohn, Katie B. Johnston, John David Caldwell
• Sunshine School, Newbern
• Organic Farmer's Stand, Newbern
• Ola Mae Porch
• Newbern Little League Field, Newbern
  • Jason A. Hunsucker, Jermaine Washington, Julie Hay, Patrick Nelson
• Music Man House, Greensboro
• dining hall, Newbern
  • Matt Christopher, Kris Johnson, Albert Ulysses Mitchum II, Clark Todd Gollotte

2001–2002 edit

• Perry Lakes Cedar Pavilion
  • Jennifer Bonner, Mary Beth Maness, Nathan Orrison, Anthony Tindill
• Antioch Baptist Church
  • Jared Fulton, Gabe Michaud, William Nauck, Marion McElroy
• HERO Knowledge Cafe, Greensboro
  • Andrea Ray, John McCabe, Daniel Sweeney, Matt Wilson
• Great Hall at Morrisette, Newbern
• Akron Senior Center
  • Matthew Barrett, Jonathan Graves, Breanna Hinderliter, Joseph Yeager
• Shiles House
• Lucy House, Mason's Bend, Hale County
  • Keith Zawistowski, Marie Zawistowski, James Tate, Ben Cannard, Kerry Larkin, Floris Keverling Buisman
• Architectural Ambulance

2000–2001 edit

• Newbern Baseball Club, Newbern
• Corrugated Cardboard Pod, Newbern
• Chantilly House, Newbern
• Bodark Amphitheatre, Newbern
• Akron Boys & Girls Club
• Sanders/Dudley House, Greensboro
• Newbern Playground, Newbern

1999–2000 edit

• Glass Chapel, Mason's Bend, Hale County
• Thomaston Farmer's Market
• Pods at Morrisette, Newbern
• Spencer House, Newbern
• Sanders/Dudley House, Greensboro
• Mason's Bend Basketball Court

1998–1999 edit

• Seed House
• HERO Children's Center, Greensboro
• Lewis House
• Supershed & Bathhouse, Newbern
• Spencer House, Newbern
• Sanders/Dudley House, Greensboro

1997–1998 edit

• Butterfly House, Mason's Bend, Hale County
• HERO Children's Center, Greensboro
• Lewis House
• Supershed & Bathhouse, Newbern
• Spencer House, Newbern

1996–1997 edit

• Goat House, Josh Cooper and Iain Stewart
• Butterfly House, Mason's Bend, Hale County
  • William Austin, Clifford Brooks, Kristen Kepner Coleman, Joshua Daniel, Adam Gerndt, Jo Beth Gleason, Jeremy Moffet, Justin Patwin, Hunter Simmons, Elizabeth Stallworth, Samuel Watkins, William Whittaker Jr., Heather Wootten, Jeff Marteski, Timothy Sliger, Robert Sproull, Tommy Replogle, Jon Schumann, John Ritchie, Charlie Hughes, Jimmy Turner, Jeff Johnston,
• Akron Pavilion
• H.E.R.O. Playscape, Joe Alcock and Melissa Teng Greensboro

1995–1996 edit

• Wilson House, Mason's Bend, Hale County

1994–1995 edit

• Yancey Chapel, Sawyerville, Hale County (See pictures at http://architecture.myninjaplease.com/?p=321.)
• Hay Bale House, Mason's Bend, Hale County
• Wilson House, Mason's Bend, Hale County
• Supershed, Newbern

1993–1994 edit

• Smoke House, Mason's Bend, Hale County
• Hay Bale House, Mason's Bend, Hale County

• 2008 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, awarded to Andrew Freear^[4]

• Andrea Oppenheimer Dean and Timothy Hursley, (2005) "Proceed and Be Bold: Rural Studio After Samuel Mockbee". Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 1-56898-500-2
• Samuel Mockbee, David Moos and Gail Trechsel. (2003) Samuel Mockbee and the Rural Studio. Birmingham Museum of Art. ISBN 0-931394-52-X
• Andrea Oppenheimer Dean, photographer, Timothy Hursley. (2002) Rural Studio: Samuel Mockbee and an Architecture of Decency. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 1-56898-292-5

• Freear, Andrew; Barthel, Elena; Dean, Andrea Oppenheimer (2014). Rural Studio at Twenty: Designing and Building in Hale County, Alabama. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781616891534.

• official Rural Studio Website
• Rural Studio film — Rural Studio documentary website.
• NPR Speaking of Faith: "An Architecture of Decency" — public radio program about project: includes dynamic map of selected projects and audio slideshows.
• Citizen Architect - Rural Studio film — documentary about Samuel Mockbee, made by former students Jack Sanders and Sam Douglas (2010).
• Hortus (design + architecture magazine) — "L'architettura della decenza" — by Federico De Matteis (in Italian).

32°35′20″N 87°32′02″W / 32.58877°N 87.53378°W / 32.58877; -87.53378