paolo soleri's dream of arcosanti

arcosanti, the brainchild of architect and visionary paolo soleri first crossed into my awareness (as with so many other people, ideas, and ways of thinking) when i read the whole earth catalogue. the whole earth catalogue was an extraordinary compendium of ideas, products, places, spaces, and people and was in effect a precursor to google in its gathering together of seemingly disparate yet somehow connected “stuff”.

at the time it first entered my awareness, arcosanti would have been three years old as it entered this world in 1970 grounding the ethos of the times in a practical attempt to provide an alternative to the prevalent structures and infrastructures associated with human habitation.

soleri was apprenticed to the great architect frank lloyd wright in the 1940’s. soleri later developed the concept of arcology, a hybrid of architecture and ecology, that proposed an alternative urban development form reflected at once in the design of the structures as well as in their organization.
in soleri’s words he saw arcosanti as “...a highly integrated and compact three-dimensional urban form that is the opposite of urban sprawl.”

soleri’s chief objective in designing and building arcosanti was to provide designs that offered an alternative to what he characterized as the great evils of the age - wastefullness and urban sprawl. this vision continues to be applied to an emerging 25-acre city where eventually as many as 5,000 people can live and work in harmony with each other and with nature. to effect this soleri has provided for a considerable amount of shared space which includes kitchens, gardens, and recreation areas. it is this idea of interdependence that i think most current city dwellers would find most challenging were they to move to a model based on arcosanti.
at present the “city” is home at any time to up to 100 people and is being built on a volunteer basis with very limited funds. this has led to some critics suggesting that by the time the city has actually been completed, the challenges identified by soleri will have been solved through improved technology. my own view on work like this is that sometimes through the sheer presence of someone pursuing their vision, others may capitalize on the inherent risk and hazhard involved in such an undertaking and create more practical solutions with more general utility. this is a commonplace practice in the arts where what is nominally marginalized as “avant-garde” eventually becomes mainstream.

to visit arcosanti and to see soleri’s other works, including the sundial bridge proposed for scottsdale, arizona (the bridge has pylons that act as sundials aligned to the summer and winter solstice points) then
go here. you might find his proposals for a “lean linear city” - an idea directed at the current massive expansion china is undergoing - to be of interest as well. to see all things soleri including a visit to the arcosanti shop where you can purchase these beautiful handmade bells (and others like it) spend some time here.