Rural Studio Fall Feast in Hale, what’s that? This event was established to raise the funds for our six 2025–2026 student projects and was the brainchild of our marvelous advisory board: Billie Tsien, Ted Flato, Mary Margaret Jones, Kim Clements, and Rachel Judlowe.
We are so grateful that Auburn University supports Rural Studio’s faculty, staff, and infrastructure. After that, it’s up to donors, to external support, to fund the “build” part of “design-build”—all of the materials, etc.—and we found ourselves significantly short this year. Our advisory board suggested we fundraise by inviting guests from around the country to join us at tables in our Great Hall for a fine dining à la Studio experience, so we did just that. Many were new to Rural Studio, and we are delighted to be able to share our passion with them, and for them to go back home and share it with their friends who couldn’t be at the table. In one night, the attendees helped us reach half of our student project fundraising goal!
On Saturday, October 25, guests toured local projects before sitting down to a meal prepared by chef Amanda Pinkstaff and her hardworking assistant, Ann Agnew. The menu featured a range of locally sourced ingredients for cocktail hour snacks and several courses, all accompanied by wines expertly selected Master Sommelier Thomas Price (one of only 279 sommeliers worldwide) with Auburn’s Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management. Guests heard from our director, Andrew Freear, renowned architect and board member Billie Tsien, current “leftover” student Tricia Smith, and 2007 graduate Danny Wicke, founding partner at Prospect Studio in Wilson, Wyoming. Those whose schedules allowed toured additional projects on Sunday. Thank you, all!
We also want to thank our sponsors. None of this could have happened without their generous support: our sponsors covered all of the costs of the dinner so that every penny of our guests’ donations could go to student projects. So we offer a grateful shoutout to ArchitectureWorks, Williams Blackstock Architects, David Frazier, Ruard Veltman Architecture, and JAS Design Build!
Did you catch the word “inaugural” in this post’s title? Yes, that’s right: we’re going to make the Fall Feast in Hale an annual event! After all, we will need support for student projects each year. Donor support makes the magic happen. In the end, our impact is far greater than our local rural community and students’ architectural education: students leave empowered and with the tools to make a powerful difference in all of the communities they touch.
We so appreciate all of our guests committing resources to Rural Studio and making the long journey to Newbern, Alabama, to invest in Rural Studio’s future, in our students’ futures!
If you’d like to support our students and help us reach our goal, make a gift online today!