70 miles north of Phoenix, off a winding dirt road is the experimental village of Arcosanti. This collection of structures built into the side of a canyon is the work of Italian architect Paolo Soleri and 8,000 volunteers who donated their time and energy to the project since it began in 1970.
Back then Soleri and his village were famous far beyond the world of architecture. Soleri’s intent was to create a town compatible with the environment to demonstrate that it could be done. Architects may have paid attention, but ugly suburbs across America prove that real estate developers did not.
Much to my surprise, Marybeth, a self-described geeky artist and my Phoenix Airbnb host, had never heard of it.
With a little research I discovered that the money and enthusiasm had faded significantly by 1989 the year the last building was completed. Since then the Cosanti Foundation, which oversees Arcosanti, has relied on the sale of beautiful cast bells that some would describe as ‘wind chimes’ for funds and no additional buildings have been completed.
Nevertheless, on a very chilly and very windy day, I drove north to Acrosanti. Here is some of what I saw.
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