Arcosanti 1969

Photograph from Arcology: City in the Image of Man, MIT Press 1969, p. 121.
This was the final design in City in the Image of Man. The attention generated by the book, in conjunction with a major touring exhibition of the drawings and models (attendance at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. exceeded 100,000), gave Soleri the momentum to begin the project in earnest. With this call for volunteers, he began work on the site of Arcosanti in 1970:
"The aim of this book is to present an alternative to urban disaster . . . Because of the physical, cultural, and ethical impasse man has arrived at, I consider this undertaking as necessary, essential, and urgent as any program concerning man. . . .
"This project is designed as the new environment for the Cosanti Foundation, and we hope it may be initiated soon with the help of scores of students from schools of this and other countries. The main concern of the community-school is investigation of and experimentation with arcological concepts. This design is for a community of about 1,500 people. It covers 6 acres and is about 150 feet high. Its module is the individual rather than the family because a high percentage of the population would be students and apprentices. Working, learning, living, and playing are all 'under' one roof, with a density of about 200 persons per acre."