Model for Yancey Chapel, Hale County, Alabama
In 1993 architect and professor Samuel Mockbee established the Rural Studio for architecture students at Auburn University. The objectives were twofold: to give students practical building experience and to encourage them to use architecture as a means of improving the lives of others. Rural Studio focused on the community of Hale County, Alabama, where the majority of residents lived below the poverty line, many in shacks without heat, plumbing, or weatherproofing. During its first years the Rural Studio emphasized housing. Each year a single family was selected for whom the students, guided by Mockbee, would design and build a residence that fulfilled the family's needs.
In 1996 students Ruard Veltman, Thomas Tretheway, and Steven Durden designed Yancey Chapel, Rural Studio's first public building for Hale County. Eager to use only low-cost materials, they created walls out of worn tires packed with excavated dirt then reinforced with rebars, wrapped in wire mesh, and coated with stucco. Salvaged lumber supported by concrete beams comprised the roof. Tin recycled from old local barns became roof shingles. Scrap metal gave material form to the pulpit and font.
In 1996 students Ruard Veltman, Thomas Tretheway, and Steven Durden designed Yancey Chapel, Rural Studio's first public building for Hale County. Eager to use only low-cost materials, they created walls out of worn tires packed with excavated dirt then reinforced with rebars, wrapped in wire mesh, and coated with stucco. Salvaged lumber supported by concrete beams comprised the roof. Tin recycled from old local barns became roof shingles. Scrap metal gave material form to the pulpit and font.
Artwork Details
- Title: Model for Yancey Chapel, Hale County, Alabama
- Manufacturer: Rural Studio (Established by Samuel Mockbee, 1993)
- Designer: Steven Durden (American, born 1969)
- Designer: Thomas Tretheway (American, born Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, 1970)
- Designer: Ruard Veltman (Dutch, born 1970)
- Date: 1996
- Medium: Wood, plywood
- Dimensions: 58 × 29 3/4 × 46 in. (147.3 × 75.6 × 116.8 cm)
- Classification: Architectural Models
- Credit Line: Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, 2001
- Object Number: 2001.676a-d
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Santiago Calatrava
2003
Gerrit Rietveld
G. A. van de Groenekan
1923 (designed), 1981 (made)
Garth Evans
1983
Tapio Wirkkala
1951
Vanessa Stephen Bell
ca. 1915–17
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.