by 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.
Above, this sculpture greets visitors at the entrance to a long dirt road that winds across a mesa to Arcosanti.
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.
This main building houses a store to sell the hand-cast bells, a restaurant and offices for the project.
Just in case you don’t know, here is the sign telling you that it’s Arcosanti.
Visitors are not allowed to wander freely around this ‘village’. An escorted tour is available and starts in the store inside the main building where the bells and a few books by Soleri are available for sale. He did not live here full time.
Arcosanti is perched on the side of a canyon. There is a trail for visitors to follow across to the other side to get a view of the whole project.
The entrance to the Arcosanti restaurant. It is definitely a 1970s architectural style.
The view from the restaurant at Arcosanti. A man who worked there suggested I go downstairs and take a walk along a path to the far side of the canyon. “Great view of Arcosanti from there”, he told me.
How utterly 1970s! The circular window, the stained glass. As I made my way down the stairs I wondered how many of the 8,000 volunteers were simply hippies wandering across America.
As I stepped out of the main building I was blasted by freezing air and just looked around instead of hiking across the canyon. Near the doorway this small sculpture under the main building embodies the whimsical spirit of Soleri.
On my way back to the parking lot I took a wrong turn and saw behind the scenes. An old bus was propped up on blocks next to a old trailer, stacks of wood were aging in the Arizona sunshine. Perhaps the new head of the Cosanti Foundation will revitalize this experiment.
Paolo Soleri died in 2013.
