Roger Hankins was born in 1947 in Shreveport, Louisiana; but soon moved to the western slopes of the southern Appalachians of Tennessee where he received his primary and secondary education. In 1970 Roger graduated summa cum laude from The University of Tennessee with a Bachelor of Architecture degree. He was licensed in 1975 and practiced in the state of Tennessee until he elected early retirement in 1990 from a profession which, in his words, "was becoming increasingly oppressive and artistically stifling." His professional career included many challenging phases such as working in the internationally acclaimed office of I.M. Pei and Partners, New York; teaching architecture and theory seminars at a major southern university; receiving the largest research grant ever awarded to the College of Architecture from the National Endowment for the Arts; establishing a highly successful design-build construction company and serving as the facilities architect and construction coordinator for a teriary care regional medical center.
Being successful in many facets of the practice of architecture always took Roger away from his first love – the hands-on design of the built environment. It was this disenchantment and growing restlessness which prompted Roger to return to the idyllic setting of Greeneville, Tennessee to start his practice of architecture anew – this time uniquely downsized to include only habitations for the birds. And thus, in 1992, Studio 8220 was born specializing in ARCHITECTURAL BIRDHOUSES.
Roger's birdhouses became an instant hit on the national scene with both major gallery owners and folk art collectors. He has participated in many juried and nationally rated shows such as Coconut Grove Arts Festival, Miami; the American Craft Council Shows in Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show. Each year, Roger continues to receive numerous awards and honors.
Nine months after his initial birdhouse was finished, Mr. Hankins was elected to membership in the prestigious Southern Highland Craft Guild, Asheville, NC, which covers a nine state region; is the second oldest guild in the nation, and includes 700 of the finest traditional craftsmen in the United States. By the end of his second year, this maverick architect had pieces in the permanent collections of Laumier Sculpture Park, St. Louis and the White House Christmas Ornament collection of 1993 and was included as one of Tennessee's fifty most outstanding craft artists in a special exhibition at the Parthenon in Nashville, TN celebrating the culmination of the Year of the American Craft (1993).
His work continues to find its way into many major collectors homes who value his caricatures of building types and/or architectural styles for its whimsy and meticulous detailing – some of his single family birdhouses require as many as 400 pieces in their execution.
Looking back over his many careers, Mr. Hankins reflects that "this one is the most fun – I go to work to play in the studio. I have no regrets for any phase of my practice as I believe that everything has brought me to this point. I truly hope that my legacy to the environment will be found in the wit of these Architectural Birdhouses."
