About me I'm called "Claire" or "Clara," "RC" or "Ruth-Claire," my given name. I was 18 years old when I tumbled into the studios of Paolo Soleri in Paradise Valley, north of Scottsdale, AZ, in 1962. My plan was simple:
Stop in. Briefly visit with my friend Cuyler (JC) Page, who had packed himself up and moved from Ithaca to Cosanti after Paolo visited Cornell and talked about his work at the architecture school. That was the plan. "Hello/Goodbye" J-Cuyler; then - move on. Mann plannt und Gott lacht (Man plans and God laughs), my Vienna-born grandmother would have said. It was early morning; the summer sun was already bright as we steered onto then-unpaved East Doubletree Ranch Road. In front of 6433, a one-story wood-frame house, I spotted Cuyler in a small group of people performing modern dance exercises, He stopped when he saw us, greeted me, introduced me to Colly Soleri, who invited us travelers to join them. My shy cousin Clark, who’d been driving, hung back; but Debbie, my travel-partner from NY who'd come out to San Francisco to find me at the behest of our mutual friend YCharles Ludlam (the "Y" is silent, he'd clarified), stepped right in with me. Sally, the teacher, gave the newly expanded group a few more combinations to try before she took her leave. Then, more introductions: to Paolo, Colly, Kristine and Daniela Soleri; to Sally; to Alan Saret, an artist from NY. After which, Cuyler suggested - offered to lead me to - a Ha! I'd have followed a Yeti to Tibet for water but my friend simply walked ahead of me, down a slight slope, beyond which I found myself in the most habitable space I'd ever, in my entire life, been in. I would not, could not have, simply had not been able to imagine it kinesthetically from the slides he'd shown me the previous winter when he'd stopped in at my His photos, interesting as they'd been, had scarcely prepared me for the real thing. Might as well have been a creature of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth who’d wandered away from the comforts and security of the hobbit-hole and could scarcely believe "home" was still there after the journey's travails: that's how perfect a fit it seemed. The gentle clinking of bells hanging everywhere in the all-but-invisible-from-the-road atelier whispered harmonious welcome. Relatively untutored in architecture, I marveled at the absolute creatureliness of the place. I sensed rather than discerned the complexity of its deceptively simple design, the ingenuity of its execution. Its architectural vocabulary was unusual for suburban Phoenix but it made complete sense environmentally and graphically, was just as right economically, made total ergonomic sense of a landscape containing intricate nuances, the subtle complexities of which did not immediately present themselves. At least not to me. I've been a long-term, many-times returnee ever since. I strive to observe with respect, without ever sacrificing genuine curiosity. Now, I'm turning thought into deed with a cyber-space into which others interested in arcology and matters arcological may venture. Welcome to my experiment!  |
About ArcologyCentral ArcologyCentral (Peter van Erp came up with the name) is an expression of my interest in sustainable arcological design. I'm especially curious to learn what resonates for those who've worked in any capacity at Cosanti or Arcosanti, including but not limited to those who participated in a construction workshop, seminar week, the Elderhostel or Haystack program. I hope ArcologyCentral can serve as another form of entry into the global discussion that is needed - that we need to have - about the meaning of arcology and Arcosanti itself. In addition to Facebook groups for arconauts (no, Paolo didn't coin that word: but it does seem to fit), ArcologyCentral is my opportunistic get-together way to reconnect with other people who "went there, did that" - as well as people who might want to "go there, do that."
The more discussion there is, the broader those discussions are, the more possibility there is, it seems to me, for coming to consensus about how to fulfill its vital mandate. If Arcosanti is to serve well as a laboratory, it is important, necessary, and, I feel, incumbent upon us to talk about the experience of all the experiments that take place within it, to share our experience of it, especially if we recognize that it's part of who we have become. My hope is that ArcologyCentral can help foster and promote applied arcology research, whether primary, secondary or tertiary, and help implement or even goad sustainable arcological design: for new and old projects, for real world problems large or small, including situational challenges and concerns. ArcologyCentral.net is simply a personal welcome, a cyber-handshake from me to all those who may be willing (or wishing) to entertain the material culture experience of an "urban laboratory." It's another ... experiment!    |
About an arcological imperative "Arcology" is not a political system per se. But IMO (which I get to voice here because I'm responsible for it) sustainable development - sustainable arcological development - is imaginable and possible only if we choose carefully how the 'body politic' expends its/our resources. Therefore, a disclaimer:
Here and now in the good ol' US of A, if we're calm, lucky and willing to become a great deal more astute than we have been, I'm willing to bet our collective, dedicated commitment to sustainable arcological development could transform global material culture for the benefit of all living beings. Good idea, right? It's clear to me we need such a change since what we have been doing hasn't produced a national or international development strategy that holds water better than a sieve. But if (I did say this would be a disclaimer) you question that assertion, a glance at current (as in, up-to-date) information about the USA's domestic economy is in order. As the word "arcology" was coined by one who sought non-violent solutions to problems of every sort - personal, political, and professional, here's data from the AFSC, (American Friends Service Committee), an organization known for its advocacy for Global Peace and Justice: <http://www.oneminuteforpeace.org/budget> And further (not to belabour this, but FYI): <http://costofwar.com/> Caveat emptor: Don't say I didn't warn you. "Frugal" we are not, "frugal" we ain't been. Thanks again for participating in my experiment.   |
