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.
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Interior architecture--Arizona
- All Subjects: Architectural drawing
Interior photograph showing projects and bronze bell windchimes at Gallery/North Studio at Cosanti in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Interior photograph showing projects and posters at Gallery/North Studio, designed by Paolo Soleri in 1961, at Cosanti in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Interior photograph showing skylight and ceiling structure at Gallery/North Studio at Cosanti in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Interior photograph of a double cube (a 16' x 8' living space) at Construction Camp, Arcosanti, showing a drafting table and windows
Interior photograph of the Octagon, a community building at Construction Camp, Arcosanti
Drawing of Arcosanti Arcology design by Paolo Soleri
Interior photograph of dome house in Cave Creek, Arizona, designed by Paolo Soleri, showing staircase
Drawing of a design for Teilhard de Chardin Cloister, Arcosanti, by Paolo Soleri
Drawings of Mesa City designs by Paolo Soleri at an exhibit
Drawing of Arcosanti arcology design by Paolo Soleri