As part of its celebration of the 20th anniversary of the renowned Rural Studio this year, Auburn University invited Raleigh, NC-based architect Frank Harmon, FAIA, to give a lecture.

On March 18, Harmon will join the celebration in Auburn, Alabama, by presenting a lecture entitled “Native Places.”

Frank Harmon is an award-winning architect and the author of “Native Places,” a collection of thoughts and hand-drawn sketches that illustrate the value of looking closely at buildings and places. His presentation in Auburn will explore his belief that drawing and writing are not obsolete skills -- that both disciplines allow architects to develop a natural grace in the way they design projects and engage the world around them.

Harmon’s work, which always begins with simple sketches, has been described as “buildings rooted in the earth, warmed by the sun, with fresh air flowing through the windows and made of materials friendly to the touch.” He is recognized nationally as a leader in modern, sustainable, and regionally appropriate design. As a result, his firm’s work has won numerous design awards and is widely published.

Frank Harmon has admired and followed the Rural Studio’s work since the late architecture professor Samuel Mockbee, along with D.K. Ruth, founded it in 1993.

Mockbee believed architecture must have a strong ethical imperative to be meaningful. He believed architects should become leaders in bringing about environmental and social change. And he called on them “to place less emphasis on pleasing the rich and more on helping those who don’t have access to design services but need them.”

To put their philosophy into practice, Mockbee and Ruth led a group of architecture students to rural West Alabama to give them a hands-on, educational experience, designing and building for an underserved population. For this initiative, Mockbee posthumously received the AIA Gold Medal, the greatest accolade in American architecture.

Twenty years and 150 projects later, Rural Studio continues to educate architects through a mixture of hands-on learning and social activism.

Speaking of Samuel Mockbee’s legacy, Harmon said, “The Rural Studio has shown us how to make $5 out of $2, it has allowed us to discover the genius of place, and it has made architecture relevant.”

For more information on the Rural Studio and the 20th anniversary celebration, go to http://www.ruralstudio.org/programs/rs20-20th-anniversary.

For more information on Frank Harmon, visit www.frankharmon.com.