Paolo Soleri

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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The Spirit of Arcosanti: Paolo Soleri, Part 2

ContributorsPacifica Radio (Contributor) / Kroger, Frank (Contributor)
Created1974 (year uncertain)
DescriptionSecond part of Pacifica Radio (KPFK, Los Angeles) program produced and narrated by Frank Kroger and featuring Paolo Soleri talking to workshop participants at Arcosanti and Kroger interviewing Soleri and workshop participants as they are working on the construction of Arcosanti.

On becoming spirit, Part 2

ContributorsPacifica Radio (Contributor) / Kroger, Frank (Contributor)
Created1975
Description
Second part of Pacifica Radio (KPFK, Los Angeles) program produced and narrated by Frank Kroger and featuring an interview with Paolo Soleri at Cosanti and commentary by Jeffrey Cook (Professor of Architecture at Arizona State University). Soleri discusses his life and architectural career, including the Mesa City design, writing the…

Second part of Pacifica Radio (KPFK, Los Angeles) program produced and narrated by Frank Kroger and featuring an interview with Paolo Soleri at Cosanti and commentary by Jeffrey Cook (Professor of Architecture at Arizona State University). Soleri discusses his life and architectural career, including the Mesa City design, writing the book City in the image of man, and selection of a site and construction at Arcosanti.

The Spirit of Arcosanti: Paolo Soleri, Part 1

ContributorsPacifica Radio (Contributor) / Kroger, Frank (Contributor)
Created1974 (year uncertain)
DescriptionFirst part of Pacifica Radio (KPFK, Los Angeles) program produced and narrated by Frank Kroger and featuring Paolo Soleri talking to workshop participants at Arcosanti and Kroger interviewing Soleri and workshop participants as they are working on the construction of Arcosanti.

On becoming spirit, Part 1

ContributorsPacifica Radio (Contributor) / Soleri, Paolo, 1919-2013 (Contributor)
Created1975
Description
First part of Pacifica Radio (KPFK, Los Angeles) program produced and narrated by Frank Kroger and featuring an interview with Paolo Soleri at Cosanti and commentary by Jeffrey Cook (Professor of Architecture at Arizona State University). Soleri discusses his life and architectural career, including working as an apprentice at Taliesin…

First part of Pacifica Radio (KPFK, Los Angeles) program produced and narrated by Frank Kroger and featuring an interview with Paolo Soleri at Cosanti and commentary by Jeffrey Cook (Professor of Architecture at Arizona State University). Soleri discusses his life and architectural career, including working as an apprentice at Taliesin West, building the Dome House in Phoenix, working in Italy, and returning to Arizona. Ivan Pintar, longtime assistant at Cosanti, discusses the history of structures at Cosanti.