progressing photos on Flickr

Founded in 1970, Arcosanti is an arcology designed in the Brutalist style by Paolo Soleri to serve as a self-sufficient community on a desert mesa near Cordes Lakes, Arizona. The buildings that comprise the complex, despite being a work-in-progress, were mostly built between 1971 and 1980, with more sporadic work on a few portions of the complex being completed as recently as 2008. The complex is the result of the design philosophy of Soleri, being an example of his theory of an arcology, combining ecology with architecture, making a dense, self-sufficient community that works with the natural landscape, and an alternative to urban sprawl and more conventional development patterns. Soleri guided the project until his death at the age of 92 in 2013, with further phases of construction being planned. However, Arcosanti has struggled to grow beyond a commune of 150 people, taking on a form and size comparable to a traditional pre-industrial rural village, rather than a town or city with thousands of residents as envisioned by Soleri. Most residents of Arcosanti are like-minded, which is required for the community’s ability to function and operate, and consist primarily of artists, environmentalists, farmers, and sustainability advocates, whom each contribute their skills to the community. In addition to the permanent residents, temporary residents whom spend five weeks attending workshops at the site. Despite its shortcomings, Arcosanti’s relationship to the surrounding environment, radical approach in design, philosophical background, and self-sufficiency are key points that are valuable to consider when designing buildings for sustainability and environmental consciousness, along with being an excellent example of Brutalism, which harmonizes nicely with the surrounding desert landscape.

The buildings at Arcosanti include the boxy, rectilinear Visitor Center, which appears like a medieval tower rising from the edge of the Mesa, with an open pier foundation that provides shelter to visitors entering and exiting the Visitor Trail, the half-domes for the Ceramics Studio and Metallurgy Foundry, various resident apartments, which demonstrate varying exterior characteristics, a barrel vaulted canopy over the central plaza, known as the vaults, a laboratory that houses a greenhouse and woodshed, allowing for food to be grown more efficiently and for items to be crafted by residents, the East Crescent, which contains resident housing and surrounds a central amphitheater. The site also features a swimming pool, gardens, resident cabins, which mostly date to the first stages of construction in the early 1970s, a self-contained wastewater management system, and guest rooms for visitors. The main complex of buildings are arranged at the edge of a mesa, overlooking a canyon, with smaller buildings located further down into the canyon and in the bottomlands along the Agua Fria River.

Arcosanti provides a counterpoint to the modern development pattern, one that is more sensitive and respectful to the landscape and the natural environment, and a design that fosters a strong sense of community, all of which are lacking from most new development being built today. Residents are able to quickly walk to work and to amenities within the community, reducing the dependency on cars and mechanized transportation. Additionally, buildings are designed to be energy efficient, incorporating passive strategies for thermal regulation and lighting. The complex, owned by the Cosanti foundation, remains a work in progress, with only ten percent of the proposed buildings being complete, and cover a very small area of the larger property owned by the foundation, with most of the land being left in its natural state or utilized for agriculture. Tours are available for visitors, along with overnight stays in the guest rooms at the complex, and the complex continues to house and foster a tight-knit, vibrant community.

progress on Wash Kitty by floresita

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In Progress by secondhobby

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Construction rapidly progressing on the Freedom Tower

Progress indicator by Raymond d' orsoy de Flines

Zellweger 3 minute timer showing signal block progress

Progress New Branding by svetlinnikolaev

Progress Village BBQ by Tim Curtis

progress by tony dowler

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Downtown Hazleton: First Friday Oct. 2015 by Chris Adval

My fourth Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress First Friday event. This one was a has some spice too!

Don't forget to check out my instagram feed @chrisadval

Stops I made on this First Friday...

- Meet the Artists at Dragonfly Cafe, photographed Michael Delmonico's art work.

- Hazleton POWER! Chili Cook Off

- Latino Artist Exhibit and Opening Reception at Hazleton Art League

- LIVE Pro Wrestling at The Sanctuary

For press inquiries on usages please email chris@chrisadvalproductions.com these images are available for Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. I have these images available high resolution with no logo/watermarks allowed for news/media purposes only for this event “Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress First Friday: October 2015”. Visual or/and verbal credit required.

Progress creeping closer by Ray Kasal

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Strawberry Chair Progress by Angela

Program in Progress by NeighborWorks America

Progress by Daniel O'Connor

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Adelaide Metro looks like a joke compared to the monstrosity of Melbourne trains and trams

Bathroom nearly there 2 by Jessie

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Progress nearly complets! All I need to do is the backsplash for the vanity, hang mirrors and lights, a few minor touch ups and I will be done.

Progress New Branding by svetlinnikolaev

PROGRESS by Molly Des Jardin

Best use of this font possibly ever.

progress, upper 14? by Ampspeed

upper 14?

progress_bar by zaph_d

Progress New Branding by svetlinnikolaev

progress report by mark frederick

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it's always exciting for me cutting new doorways into existing solid walls. here i'm connecting a room that for many years was no longer a part of this apartment....progress indeed!

on the left, the before and the after on the right.

Progress by Ronnie R

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An Obama poster very near the corner of 14th and U, NW, in Washington, DC.

CHIM_206_1206 by Urban Splash