Setting up EC 5 2nd Floor Shoring : Photo : Jeffrey Kunzelman

The Construction Program is the primary focus of the Workshop. We call the program a "work"-shop because in work we can develop a bond to the physical aspect of the Arcology theory. Pouring concrete, pounding nails, or tying reinforcing steel gives a chance for the workshoppers to contribute their energy to the real stuff of developing this new idea of Arcology. We all work on a huge sculpture that represents the idea.

It is by this process that we all develop a connection to our environment and we can be self-responsible for what goes on in what we call our community. The project is in a totally different work climate because we are non-profit oriented. The learning, (and the congeniality the crew leaders try to maintain), that is the focus of the Workshop that is not possible in the construction industry.

The workshop also offers our Habitat Staff a "cushion" of labor. An emergency such as a broken water line that might need to be dug up would take us two days to fix, but if we can have the help of two people on the workshop we can fix it in an afternoon. Our goal in this type of construction industry is to enable the built project to be a personal product of the people who live and work on the site. We are all transforming a bit of our spirits into matter. As a workshopper would you should expect to wake up early.