Rural Studio

It teaches students about the social responsibilities of the profession of architecture and provides good houses and buildings for poor communities in rural west Alabama, US, part of what is called the "Black Belt".

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] The studio renovated, restored, and made an addition to the Safe House Black History Museum in Greensboro, Alabama, in the late 2010s.

Adrienne Brady, Natalie Butts, Paul Howard, Coley Mulcahy Dereck Aplin, Sam Currie, Amy Bell, Angela Hughey, Turnley Smith Steven Long, Amy Bullington David Garner Kellie Stokes, Laura Noguera, Phillip March Jones, Hana Loftus, Min Joo Kim