Paolo Soleri Collection
A noted architect, urban planner, and artist, Paolo Soleri (1919-2013) was best known for Arcosanti, a planned community about 70 miles north of Phoenix. A native of Turin, Italy, he earned a Ph.D. in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Turin in 1947 and apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West in Arizona and Taliesin in Wisconsin. In 1965, Soleri established the educational non-profit Cosanti Foundation in the Scottsdale-Paradise Valley area north of Phoenix to develop his architectural and urban planning theories, in particular the concept of “arcology,” architecture coherent with ecology.
Arcology as envisioned by Soleri included dense urban development designed to maximize human interaction and access to infrastructural services, conserve natural resources, reduce pollution, and foster interaction with the surrounding natural environment. Soleri was also a lecturer in the College of Architecture at Arizona State University, a National Design Award recipient, and the author of six books and numerous essays.
This collection originated in 1972 with a grant given to Professor Jeffrey Cook of the ASU College of Architecture to preserve materials about Paolo Soleri. It includes audiovisual materials, slides, photographs, ephemera, drawings, and newspaper clippings. The audiovisual materials in the collection document construction and other activities at Arcosanti as well as in-depth discussion and analysis of Soleri’s architectural concepts and philosophy. The slides in the collection document buildings designed by Paolo Soleri and also include pictures of Paolo and Colly Soleri, activities and buildings at Cosanti and Arcosanti, and architectural models, drawings, and designs by Soleri.
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- All Subjects: Interior architecture--Arizona
Interior photograph of Earth House at Cosanti in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Interior photograph of Cat-Cast House at Cosanti in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Photograph showing the interior of a building at Arcosanti with a drafting table
Photograph showing architectural drawings in a building at Arcosanti
Photograph showing windows and interior of dome house designed by Paolo Soleri in Cave Creek, Arizona
Photograph showing interior and kitchen of dome house in Cave Creek, Arizona designed by Paolo Soleri
Interior photograph of Ceramics Studio, designed by Paolo Soleri in 1959, at Cosanti in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Interior photograph of Ceramics Studio at Cosanti in Paradise Valley, Arizona showing original skylight
Interior photograph of dome house in Cave Creek, Arizona, designed by Paolo Soleri, showing table
Interior photograph of dome house in Cave Creek, Arizona, designed by Paolo Soleri, showing table