ORIS
Prvi puta smo se susreli s radom Rural Studija tijekom Arhitektonskog bijenala u Sao Paulu, u Brazilu 2005. godine. Hrabrost američkog odabira nacionalnog predstavnika, među svjetski etabliranim arhitektonskim praksama, ostavila nas je bez riječi. Vjerujete li da u današnje vrijeme društveno angažirana arhitektura uspijeva prodrijeti u arhitektonski mainstream?

JASON COOMES
Mislim da to želi. Postoje mnogi arhitekti koji uistinu govore o najvišim težnjama, o onome što bi napravili ili što bi mogli napraviti, no svatko treba zarađivati za život. Jedinstvenost Rural Studija leži u činjenici da je njegov osnivač Sambo Mockbee bio zaista angažiran i riskirao da postigne ono u što je vjerovao. I to se isplatilo; njegova je romantična ideja očito osvojila srca i imaginaciju ljudi, ne samo u Americi već i diljem svijeta. Da, mislim da uistinu obuhvaća najviše ideale arhitekture u Americi; barem na način na koji se prakticira na Jugu s kojega potječem.

ORIS
Samuel Mockbee bio je karizmatičan pojedinac i vođa, neka vrsta arhit ktonskog "odmetnika" koji je utjelovio i označio postojanje Rural Studija u njegovim počecima.

JASON COOMES
Zbog mnogih razloga Rural Studio postoji jednostavno zato jer je Sambo bio čovjek koji je znao razgovarati ne samo s arhitektima već i s običnim ljudima, običnim građanima okruga Hale u Alabami i na neki ih način ujediniti. Odrastao je na Jugu i vrlo je dobro poznavao i bijelo i crno stanovništvo. Njegov je nadimak bio Sambo, što je tipičan derogativni nadimak koji se daje crnoj djeci na Jugu. Zvali su ga Sambo Mockbee i on se osjećao vrlo dobro s tim imenom. Bio je opušten sa svakim koga je sreo. Zapravo, rekao bih da Sambo zaista nikada nije sreo stranca. Razoružao bi vas u nekoliko trenutaka. Kada sam prvi puta posjetio Rural Studio, otišao sam sa Sambom u maleni lokalni restoran. Jedući, iznenada je uzeo komad pržene piletine i pitao: "Hoćeš kušati?" Ispred mene je sjedio veliki debeli čovjek koji me pokušavao nahraniti. Nije imao nikakvih inhibicija. Mislim da je Sambo shvatio da studenti žele ići u svijet kako bi nešto napravili. Arhitekti žele da njihov rad nešto znači. Tu želju svi dijelimo, bez obzira na to jesmo li arhitekti ili ne. U početku je njegov rad bio manjeg obima, subverzivan i protiv pravila. Ono što je na koncu za Rural Studio važno je činjenica da se uopće nije trebao ni dogoditi. Sveučilišta ne cijene takve stvari. Zbog mnogo razloga samo postojanje Rural Studija je vrsta odmetništva. Bilo koji dan nas mogu uhititi, no to je ono što ga na neki način čini izuzetnim.
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ORIS
The first time we came across the work of the Rural Studio was at the Săo Paul Biennial of Architecture in Brazil in 2005. The boldness of the American choice of national representative, among the world’s well established architectural practices, left us speechless. Do you believe that today’s socially aware architecture is breaking through mainstream thinking?

JASON COOMES
I think that it wants to. The thing is that you get a lot of architects who really speak deeply to the highest aspirations of what they would do or what they could do, but everyone has to make a living. The unique thing about the Rural Studio is that Sambo Mockbee, its founder, was someone who actually put himself out there, took the chance to stand up for what he believed in. And it has paid off; the romantic idea has obviously captured the hearts and imaginations of people, not just in America but also across the world. Yes, I think that it does capture the highest aspirations of architecture in America; at least in the way it is practiced in the South, where I’m from.

ORIS
Samuel Mockbee was a charismatic individual and leader, a kind of architectural ‘outlaw’ who personalized and marked Rural Studio’s existence in the beginning years.

JASON COOMES
In many ways the Rural Studio exists simply because Sambo was the kind of guy who could not talk just to architects but could talk to regular folks, regular citizens in Hale County and bring those groups together in a way. He grew up in the South and he was very familiar with both the white and the black populations. His nickname was ‘Sambo’, which is typically a derogatory nickname given to black children in the South. He was called Sambo Mockbee and he felt very comfortable with it. He was at ease with anyone he met. In fact, I would say that Sambo never really met a stranger. He would disarm you in a few moments. When I first visited the Rural Studio with Sambo, we went to a small local restaurant. We were sitting, eating, and all of a sudden he took this fried chicken and said, ‘Here, you wanna try it?’ Here was this big, fat man trying to feed me. He had no inhibitions about those kinds of things. I think he realized this was something that was right, he knew that the kids and students want to go out and do something. There’s a desire among architects to have their work count for something. This is something all of us have in common, whether we’re architects or not. I think he was able to put those things together. Initially, it was actually very small, subversive and against the rules. The thing at the end of the day about the Rural Studio was that it was not supposed to happen. The universities are not happy about things like that. In many ways the very existence of the Rural Studio is kind of an outlaw. Any day we might be arrested, but that’s what makes it beautiful in a sense as well.
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