For Auburn University architecture students, Rural Studio offers hands-on experience and a way to give back to their community. During their time at the program, students work in teams alongside professors and experts to choose their projects, create designs, figure out budgets, and build homes and community centers.
Located in Hale County, Rural Studio is an Auburn University off-campus program in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture that has existed for over 30 years. There, students reinforce lessons from the classroom through real-world experience while teaching students the importance of serving overlooked communities. According to Emily McGlohn, an associate professor of architecture and third-year curriculum coordinator at Rural Studio, the program focuses on working in underserved rural areas.
“We do work in a high needs part of the state,” McGlohn said. “There’s a lot of individuals and organizations that can use our help and our students’ energy, the energy that they have to learn to put buildings together. Those buildings can become really useful to folks over here.”
One such project focuses on third-year students building a house for one of the Studio’s neighbors, Mark Carlisle. The goal is to design a house in a disaster-prone area that is resilient, affordable and energy-efficient. The project meets FORTIFIED Gold standards in order to keep the home safe and includes a FEMA-compliant safe room amongst other features. According to McGlohn, the project received one of the largest Creed grants from the Auburn Alumni Association to pay for upgrades to the home.
Fifth-year students, who commit to the program for a whole year instead of one semester, work together in small groups on more community-focused projects.
“They just started designing a new visitor center for the First Congregational Church, which was built by formerly enslaved people right from the lumber of the land,” McGlohn said. “It will be a meeting space and interpretive center.”
Students also work on infrastructure-based projects on Rural Studio’s campus, including a new dining hall and a bathhouse.
Rural Studio students’ work, especially in housing affordability, extends far beyond Hale County and Auburn University. The Front Porch Initiative, Rural Studio’s research and development arm, takes student projects to the regional level, according to McGlohn. With the help of the Initiative, housing organizations across the Southeast use Rural Studio designs to build new homes.
In the end, McGlohn believes in “the power of architecture.” To her, Auburn University has a strong connection to helping its community, and Rural Studio embodies this commitment to their community. Most of all, McGlohn wants Alabamians to be proud of the students and to remember that while professors and consultants guide them, Rural Studio’s projects are student-driven.
“They do it all. They do all the construction documents; they coordinate the contractors; they get the materials when they need it. It’s a really fully immersive program. We really trust our students, and they always live up to the standard. They’re really amazing," McGlohn said.
Students interested in applying to Rural Studio must be in the undergraduate architecture program, with more spots open in their third year. Fifth-year students must submit a portfolio, answer questions and go through an interview process before moving out to the Studio for their last year.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
