Az W at the Camillo Sitte School: Just build it!

Opening Programme

Welcome speech: Jakob Khayat, Director of Camillo Sitte LA
Introduction to the Az W as well as an outline of the cooperation: Dietmar Steiner, Director of the Az W
Guided tour of the exhibition: Katharina Ritter, Curator
To be followed by a brief description of student projects at Johannesburg University of Technology: Peter Fattinger, Vienna University of Technology

Founded by Samuel Mockbee (1944–2001) and Dennis K. Ruth, The Rural Studio has been planning and building simple but innovative houses and community centres for underprivileged inhabitants of Hale County, Alabama, for almost 13 years. By using recycled and donated materials, in this period architecture students at Aubern University have completed around 30 buildings. Beyond the ‘gems’ by star architects celebrated by the media, in the no-man’s-land of Alabama a form of architecture has been realised with sustainable social and ecological implications. The projects of The Rural Studio combine community work with the reworking of the architecture curriculum to include real architectural practise.

“It’s still an educational programme,” stresses Mockbee, “we aren’t a construction company, we aren’t architectural or philanthropic do-gooders. The aim here is to give students first-hand experience of the practical and artistic facets of architecture.” The exhibition documents the Rural Studio phenomenon using photographs, models and filmed interviews. The complete scope of their work is shown in a presentation of the interaction between innovative uses of found materials combined with social commitment and architectural practise.

Main Auditorium of the Camillo Sitte Lehranstalt
3rd District HTL, Leberstrasse 4C, 1030 Vienna, Austria