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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Arcosanti Festival, conferences, Part 1

ContributorsArcosanti (Contributor) / Bolcom, Bill (Contributor)
Created1978-10-05 to 1978-10-06
DescriptionPanel discussion on integrating habitat, environs, and media with Bill Bolcom (musician), Nory Miller (architectural historian), and David Greenberg (urban designer). Panel discussion called "Arcosanti: Critical Mass," with Tony Brown (Arcosanti staff), Tom Van Sant (painter, sculptor), Arthur Stokes (sculptor, builder), Ruth Asawa Lanier (sculptor), and Kate Maxwell (psychotherapist).

Arcosanti Festival, conferences, Part 2

ContributorsArcosanti (Contributor) / Brown, Tony (Contributor)
Created1978-10-05 to 1978-10-06
Description
Conclusion of panel disussion "Arcosanti: Critical Mass," with Tony Brown (Arcosanti staff), Tom Van Sant (painter, sculptor), Arthur Stokes (sculptor, builder), Ruth Asawa Lanier (sculptor), and Kate Maxwell (psychotherapist). Panel discussion called "Excellence and Commitment," with Ronald Gourley (architect), Peter Blake (architect), Jeffrey Cook (professor, College of Architecture, Arizona…

Conclusion of panel disussion "Arcosanti: Critical Mass," with Tony Brown (Arcosanti staff), Tom Van Sant (painter, sculptor), Arthur Stokes (sculptor, builder), Ruth Asawa Lanier (sculptor), and Kate Maxwell (psychotherapist). Panel discussion called "Excellence and Commitment," with Ronald Gourley (architect), Peter Blake (architect), Jeffrey Cook (professor, College of Architecture, Arizona State University), and Chris Robinson (sculptor). Presentation by Henryk Skolimowski (philosopher) on the role of culture in healing.

Arcosanti Festival, conferences, Part 3

ContributorsArcosanti (Contributor) / Thompson, William Irwin (Contributor)
Created1978-10-05 to 1978-10-06
DescriptionPanel discussion on the relationship of theology and esthetics with William Irwin Thompson, Paolo Soleri, Henryk Skolimowski and others. Recording also includes a session with Thompson answering questions from the audience.

Arcosanti Festival, conferences, Part 4

ContributorsArcosanti (Contributor) / Thompson, William Irwin (Contributor)
Created1978-10-05 to 1978-10-06
Description
Conclusion of presentation by William Irwin Thompson. Panel discussion called "Excellence and Commitment," with Ronald Gourley (architect), Peter Blake (architect), Jeffrey Cook (professor, College of Architecture, Arizona State University), and Chris Robinson (sculptor). Presentation by Henryk Skolimowski (philosopher) on the role of culture in healing. Duplicates some of the material…

Conclusion of presentation by William Irwin Thompson. Panel discussion called "Excellence and Commitment," with Ronald Gourley (architect), Peter Blake (architect), Jeffrey Cook (professor, College of Architecture, Arizona State University), and Chris Robinson (sculptor). Presentation by Henryk Skolimowski (philosopher) on the role of culture in healing. Duplicates some of the material in Parts 2 and 3.

Arcosanti Festival, panel discussion on jazz

ContributorsArcosanti (Contributor) / Liebman, David (Contributor)
Created1978-10-05 to 1978-10-06
DescriptionPanel discussion with Dave Liebman (musician), Richie Byrick, Thomas Furgeson (Arizona State University), Bernard Purdie (musician), and Freddie Waits (musician).

Paolo Soleri: The city energized by the sun

ContributorsArizona State University (Contributor) / Soleri, Paolo, 1919-2013 (Contributor)
DescriptionPresentation and slide show by Paolo Soleri in the Education Lecture Hall at Arizona State University. The presentation consists of about 300 slides illustrating the development of the "Two Suns" concept being applied to the Arcosanti Arcology under construction near Cordes Junction, Arizona. Soleri is introduced by Stan Jones.

Arcology and the historical process, Arcosanti Thanksgiving symposium, Part 1

ContributorsArcosanti (Contributor) / Bruce, Robert (Contributor)
Created1977-11-23
Description
Presentation by Robert Bruce (Prescott Center College) entitled "Paolo Soleri, Teilhard de Chardin, and the Meaning of History," an examination of aspects of arcology related to the philosophy of history and the prospect of human destiny. Presentation by Gene Chartier (Honeywell Information Systems) entitled "Teilhard's Concept of Mankind," relating…

Presentation by Robert Bruce (Prescott Center College) entitled "Paolo Soleri, Teilhard de Chardin, and the Meaning of History," an examination of aspects of arcology related to the philosophy of history and the prospect of human destiny. Presentation by Gene Chartier (Honeywell Information Systems) entitled "Teilhard's Concept of Mankind," relating the theories and principles of philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to the concept of arcology. Presentation by Henryk Skolimowski (University of Michigan) entitled "Economics, Culture, and Human Rights," discussing the implications of arcology for human rights and economic rights. Presentation by Paolo Soleri entitled "The Theoretical Foundations of Arcology, " discussing the working model of his theory of arcology.

Arcology and the historical process, Arcosanti Thanksgiving symposium, Part 2

ContributorsArcosanti (Contributor) / Bruce, Robert (Contributor)
Created1977-11-23
DescriptionConclusion of symposium with discussion among the panelists: Paolo Soleri, Robert Bruce, Gene Chartier, and Henryk Skolimowski.

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.