Off the Grid

Rural Studio’s lecture, The Challenges of Sustainable Rural Living, organized by the Architectural League of New York and originally hosted by the Cooper Union, finally took place on Wednesday after being postponed for two years and forced back online at the last minute.

“We take our work seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously,”said Andrew Freear, director of Rural Studio, between presenting a photograph of students donning costumes as porta potties at a final review, and a slate of recent works. Since its founding in 1993, Rural Studio, a program within Auburn University, has completed over 200 projects serving its home base Hale County, Alabama and its neighboring regions; many were constructed by the students themselves. Freear and Associate Director RUSTY SMITH, presented numerous works that included Newbern Town Hall, Perry Lakes Park Birding Tower, public restrooms, bridges, ball parks, community parks, Akron Boys and Girls Center, farmers markets, and much more. The majority are timber construction and many occupy dilapidated buildings that have been…