The rest of the crescent consists of ten living and working
units, currently under construction, surrounding the Amphitheater.
When completed, the East Crescent will provide housing
for approximately 60 Residents. Its multi-level units
will be used also for studios, offices, overnight guest
rooms, a gallery, and possibly a movie theater. All 10
entrances face a central courtyard/market and amphitheater,
while the back side is lined with patios and courtyards.
The complex will be heated by warm air collecting within
and rising from a greenhouse section. The air will be
channeled to the crescent units through a large concrete
duct running along the outer edge of the building. The
mass of the structure functions as a heat sink.
The crescent is being built in phases:
Phase One began in 1979 with two stories
of the first unit completed in 1981. Interior
work was not completed until 1987. In
1983 it was decided to add a third story
with an apartment, the Sky Suite. Interior work was completed
and this apartment is presently used for VIP visitors
and rented to the public.
Phase Two, the next two units, began in 1992
and is complete. It consists of 10 living spaces, 8 of
which are complete and housing 9 residents, a community
kitchen, a meeting room and pool hall, a public laundromat,
and studio space which is slated for private leasing.
Phase Three, two more units, began in the summer of 1993.
It is the most active construction project at the moment;
concrete work has been completed, and steel framing and
interior finishing is progressing. When completed, it
will consist of several apartments, more spacious than
the preceding phases', and more studio space for leasing.
If all goes well, habitation will begin by the end of
the year.
The East Half design is larger than the first three phases
combined. The details of its design are currently being
finalized. Preliminary excavation of its Heat Duct Tunnel
was conducted in the Fall of 1995 and
continued in 1996; construction is expected
to begin in earnest sometime in early 1997.
The Keystone Unit, a single unit in the middle of the
crescent, will be the final phase to be built. It will
hold various facilities, such as large restrooms for public
events, some exhibition space, and a projection booth
for showing movies in the Amphitheater.
The Keystone Unit is currently slated for redesign.
More about
the East Crescent from Paolo Soleri's
"Arcology International Coalition: the 41 Projects"
"It is one of the edifices which exemplifies and
emphasized the mixed-use proposed by the arcological concept.
Living, producing, performing, and exhibiting in this
case. In its most intense use, the East Crescent will
be an enclave where the performing arts and group activities
will find ways of producing a variety of events like music,
plays, poetry recitals, encounters, conferences and celebrations.
"While most of the events will take place on the
stage, the surrounding dwellings (three stories) will
permit the participation of residents to the degree they
feel appropriate. If the homes become a mix of resident
and guest (see the "pensione" old tradition)
and the residents are not necessarily performing or working
in the performing arts, then other aspects of living and
working might be part of the enclave.
"One can also for see periodic exhibits and markets
taking place in the Amphitheater and spilling over on
the semicircular promenade, in the arcades of the dwellings,
onto the terraced and stepped areas on the south side,
including the Sky Theater. The ground floor of the residences
has sufficient area for living and/or working in the atelier
mode.
"Very important for the liveliness of the East Crescent
and for the Critical Mass is that the East Crescent in
total will not come to life only for brief hours per week,
but that it will be in use every day of the week. For
instance, the Amphitheater, and the stage, will be also
used as a 'classroom' and a nursery-playground.
"The Confluence
of reality and simulation (theater work) 'under one roof'
could generate a few magic moments and be of great pedagogical
and normative value--the art of living, for one."
