I want to go there: Arcosanti, Arizona, USA
Words–
Jonas Nutter
@jonasnutter
Photos–
Alfonso Elia &
Annette Del Zoppo
Erupting out of the rocky hills and sandy valleys of central Arizona lies Arcosanti. A growing urban laboratory founded in the mid 1900’s that strives to explore and reinvent the way we use space. Jonas Nutter talks to Architect Jeff Stein AIA on reawakening a connection to community and discovering the inherent ecological and environmental benefits of a relationship with nature.
Italian architect, Paolo Soleri and his wife Colly established the Cosanti Foundation in 1965 in Paradise Valley, Arizona. The Cosanti Foundation’s major project has been Arcosanti. How has Paolo Soleri’s philosophy been put into action at Arcosanti?
It’s true, Paolo and Colly Soleri, along with a small board of directors, established the Cosanti Foundation (from the Italian words Cosa and Anti, “Before Things,” literally, a place to think about and research cultural issues, especially issues of urban design) in 1965. There, they and an ever-expanding band of collaborators developed drawings, models, publications, museum exhibitions, buildings, crafts – the famous Soleri windbells are hand made at both Cosanti and Arcosanti to this day – and produced the initial planning for a larger creation, Arcosanti.
Located 70 miles north of Paradise Valley and Cosanti, Arcosanti is meant to be a demonstration project for Soleri’s urban design ideas that have evolved around how we are beginning to understand the relationship between architecture and the earth’s Ecology. Four tenets, core values, really, of Soleri’s philosophy in particular have guided the ongoing construction at Arcosanti, where about 80 people now live year ‘round.
Ecological Accountability: We are trying to develop a human habitat that protects its surroundings.
Limited Footprint: Arcosanti is about urban density, as opposed to unbounded dispersion, a condition that will allow more human activities in less space and provides access for all to the economic and social essentials of city life.
Resourcefulness: People at Arcosanti practice a careful, thoughtful approach to planning, building and daily life that is experientially rich and materially frugal.
Experiential Learning: Arcosanti is meant as a cradle for the power of demonstration as a dynamic, grounded educational experience.
These ideas guide all aspects of the work at Arcosanti on a daily basis.
Established almost 50 years ago, have the project’s objectives and aspirations changed or developed in any major way?
The objectives have become a bit more detailed, and somewhat more realistic and buildable, but Arcosanti’s aspirations remain grand: to provide a working model for how humanity’s continued urbanisation of the planet can work in harmony with earth’s natural systems. It’s scientific! A little bit, anyway; and like science experiments everywhere, we pursue planning goals, actually construct and live in them, learn from our mistakes, and go right on. We continue to think that Arcosanti can act as a kind of trigger for a more coherent methodology for building and inhabiting cities.
Education was and continues to be the catalyst of the projects infusion and longevity. Could Arcosanti and its fundamentals be used as a tool to educate the greater population?
Certainly! In fact, even in its infancy as a project, Arcosanti’s intention is to be just that: a tool to educate a greater population about how the earth’s systems function and what part we as (nearly 8 billion!) humans play through our pattern of inhabitation. We continue with our mainstay educational tool, the Arcosanti Workshop Program, through which the intricately connected buildings at Arcosanti have actually been constructed; and this is embellished by several additional educational programs:
Strathclyde University Master of Science – Arcosanti has partnered with Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland to offer the degree MSc. In Sustainable Design. This three-semester-long advanced degree features one semester in residence at Arcosanti, with students participating in seminars and carrying out a research project onsite.
Educational Resources for Universities – More than a dozen college and university programs send their students to Arcosanti each year to undertake educational projects that directly relate to their curricula. From Architecture studios from Columbia University, to Philosophy courses from Northern Arizona University, to semester-long co-op experiences from Wentworth Institute in Boston, students add to their college experience by learning at our site.