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		October 1 - October 11 The Rural Studio began designing and building houses in the fall of 1993. Conceived as a method of improving the living conditions in rural Alabama and including hands-on experience as part of architectural pedagogy, students of Auburn University work with residents of Hale County to design highly personalized dwellings made of innovative and unusual materials within extremely limited budgets. Materials used in the past include junked car windows, recycled plastic, old tires, surplus license plates, salvaged wood, and hay-bales. To date, the studio has completed five houses and twelve community facilities including a children.s center, a playground, and a chapel, all utilizing found materials and sustainable energy strategies. Samual Mockbee, Rural Studio founder and inspiration, passed away in December 2001. Rural Studio Website – http://www.arch.auburn.edu/ruralstudio/ Steve Hoffman Steve Hoffman was a student of Samual Mockbee, and is currently a faculty member at the Rural Studio.