Waste Equals Food

A few years ago, Michael Braungart and William McDonough introduced the concept of a "cradle to cradle" - as opposed to a cradle to grave - design process.

In short, cradle to cradle moves away from the typical man-made linear manufacturing process where raw materials are plundered, processed, then thrown "away" (wherever that might be) to a system of sustainability where waste becomes the foundation for next generation products.

An example: the ball point pen when spent becomes a plant fertilizer spike.

Sambo Mockbee, an American Architect with Mississippi roots, showed the world how to recycle, or upcycle if you will, thrown-away materials into beautiful buildings.

Check out this informative Australian-produced documentary film on the Waste Equals Food concept.

Top 5 Blog Posts

Sambo Mockbee tops the list of "most read" posts on the NAV blog for good reason; he changed the way many people, including me, look at so-called ordinary materials. He was as much artist and sociologist as Architect. For ultimate inspiration, click on "Shelter for the Soul."

http://newamericanvillage.blogspot.com/2008/02/sambo-mockbees-shelter-for-soul.html

The next most clicked essay - What's Your Walk Score? - links you to a site that scores your (or any) neighborhood for walkability. See how you rank.

http://newamericanvillage.blogspot.com/2008/03/what-is-your-walk-score.html

Architect and professor Michael Berk takes the bronze with his design for the Green Mobile - an affordable, portable, and very green alternative to the modern-day McMansion.

Berk recently illustrated the power of truth and integrity. Forced by an aggressive and arrogant administration at Mississippi State University to "dumb-down and hide" the educational aspects of his design class, and under the threat of the Dean of the School of Architecture being fired, he stood up to the power structure with truth and integrity as his only defense. Long painful story made short, Berk and the Dean remain and the president of the University resigned. This deserves a more detailed post and is, I promise, forthcoming.

http://newamericanvillage.blogspot.com/2008/02/micheal-berks-greenmobile.html

Coming in right behind Berk is America's first green Architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. At the age of 89, he made the claim that "If I had 15 more years, I could rebuild this country." Although prone to hyperbole for the sake of drama, he may have been right. Wright is responsible for more of our built environment than you think, including the open plan. He called it "exploding the box."


http://newamericanvillage.blogspot.com/2008/02/frank-lloyd-wrights-organic.html


Rounding out the top 5 is Michelle Kaufmann. She's doing some very interesting things in the area of pre-fab design and building. All very contemporary. Check her out at:

http://newamericanvillage.blogspot.com/2008/02/michelle-kaufmanns-glidehouse.html

Sambo Mockbee's "Shelter for the Soul"

Sambo Mockbee showed the world what it really means to be an Architect with a capital A.

Emerging as a quirky, regional Architect in Mississippi in the 1970’s and 80’s, he shattered the myth that affordable housing should look and feel “cheap.” Always the artist, Mockbee took on each project with design ideals usually reserved for the richest of the rich.

Although he was not at all opposed to taking on large commissions, most of his work involved budgets every other architect called “not nearly enough.” He worked with a palate of inexpensive materials, many of which were recycled, and created a soulful expression that lifted the spirit and felt at home with the natural surroundings.

A beautiful chapel made of recycled car windshields.

A home covered with carpet scraps or rustic old barn tin.

A woven retaining wall constructed of used, discarded tires.

Mockbee was the master of breathing life into the ordinary, of making something out of what we consider to be nothing. He taught us that every building, regardless of budget, can and should have a “soul.”

Full disclosure: I’ve personally drawn great inspiration from Mockbee’s work. He was an occasional speaker and visiting professor at the Mississippi State University School of Architecture when I was a student there in the 1980’s. He argued for an artistic approach to architecture. He articulated his heart-felt belief that Architects should be socially responsible and proactive agents for positive change. I stopped in his office from time to time and witnessed his creative process first-hand; he greatly influenced the way I view the world.

In the last decade of Mockbee’s life (sadly, leukemia overtook him in late December of 2001), he devoted his time to teaching at Auburn University, his alma-mater. Along with D.K. Ruth, he founded the Rural Studio, where his vision of a decent architecture for all is studied and practiced.

In 2000, Mockbee was recognized for his life of service with the MacArthur Foundation’s prestigious Genius Award.

Check out the work of Sambo Mockbee and Rural Studio at:

http://cadc.auburn.edu/soa/rural-studio/