Living the Arcosanti way
Written by: | 10 Apr 2009
The Italian architect Paolo Soleri began the creation of Arcosanti in 1970.
Soleri also has a similar site outside of Scottsdale, called Cosanti and he resided for a time at the famous Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin West in Arizona.
Soleri’s idea was to build an urban habitat where architecture and ecology could work together as one integral process; where people could live, work and have access to all their needs within one convenient location.
The unique design of the buildings offers a level of privacy as well as community. The common places throughout the site create a space for culture and activity rather than for TVs and video games.
Almost all of the materials used are recycled. Residents compost all their food, including their waste water.
Live and Learn
Arcosanti is a place where students can come to live and learn how to build while becoming proficient at the craft of bell making. Since 1970 they have housed over 6,000 students from all over the world. Handmade ceramic and bronze wind bells are made at Arcosanti, along with other crafts, as a way to fund their educational and construction projects.
“As we learn more we continue to change the designs of the newer buildings.”
Arcosanti is an urban laboratory of sorts. “As we learn more we continue to change the designs of the newer buildings,” says Erin Jefferies from Arcosanti’s public relations department. “Of the total design we are only three to five percent complete.” Plans for the future are to create green houses for not only food for the winter but heat as well, which will be sent up through building ducts creating less need for electricity and propane.
Concrete arches, used for heat from above are designed like a honey comb.
Plans include growth to 5,000 residents
When complete, Arcosanti will have the capability to house 5,000 people though, currently, there are approximately 60 to 100 people living on the site at any one time.
Over-night guest rooms are available for those who come from all over the world to visit. A five week workshop is set up for those who are interested in an immersive hands-on program in a desert landscape.
Environmental design
Within the site they have an open-air dining area/multiple use space for performances, a game room, art shows and many different activities.
Meals are served three times a day; a typical lunch consists of a choice between basic salad bar greens, meats and cheeses, or hot entrees like rice and other main dishes. There is also a bakery and cafe directly above the dining area, where they make organic pastries and breads. The third floor is where they have the famous Arcosanti Bells gallery.
The main building is spectacular. In the winter, a very large fabric tub, driven by a fan that runs from the top floor down to the bottom floor, draws heat from the top of the three stories to the main floor.
Throughout the summer the huge main doors of the central building open up to allow a cool breeze to move through, reducing the need for any kind of outside energy.
The huge Amphitheater is centrally located on the grounds. Here they have concerts, plays and lectures.
To visit Arcosanti from Prescott, travel about 35 miles on Highway 69 until it deadends at Cordes Junction, then follow the dirt road three miles north and east from the junction stop sign.
Photos by: Ted Hosey and Frances Karl
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