Young Arcosanti residents and visitors celebrate Easter Sunday with an egg hunt in the Mind's Garden.
[Photo: sa & text: Laura Manville]

The Minds Garden, which sits on a cliff overlooking the Agua Fria River, is a good place for recreation as well as meditation.
[Photo: sa & text: Laura Manville]

Later, residents and workshop participants enjoy a potluck dinner in the Cafe.
[Photo: sa & text: Laura Manville]

Many cottonwood trees grow along the Agua Fria Riverbed. Some of the branches have died and hang dangerously over the bunkhouse. The original construction kitchen was located in the east half of this structure. Now it is used as housing for residents and workshop participants. It has been empty for some months.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

A tree cutting crew arrives with crane equipment to cut the dead branches.
[Photo; Cristina Guidani & text: Yuki Y]

They cut one of the big branches little by little. The cut branch is lowered down carefully.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

The bunkhouse is safe again.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

A group of Arcosanti residents participated in the Arizona State University "Local to Global" teach-in. The conference hosted activist and educational groups to educate each other about ways to address broad issues at a community level. Arcology theory, which is the basis of Arcosanti, demonstrates how urban centers can be both earth-friendly and community-driven.
[Photo: Erika Peres & text: Laura Manville]

The Arcosanti group joined a wide array of organizations in the display area, which included presentations on "green" home design and other relevant ideas.
[Photo: Erika Peres & text: Laura Manville]

The board of directors of the Taliesin Fellows held its annual meeting for Taliesin Fellowship, FLlW Staff and former apprentices of the FLlWSA at Taliesin West. California architect Eric Wright, F.L. Wright's grandson, converses with Soleri in the David Dodge House where the Taliesin fellowship gathering was held.
[Photo:tt & text: sa]

David Dodge,a long-time fellow at Taliesin, designed and built this house on his property adjacent to Taliesin West.
[Photo:tt & text: sa]

Paolo Soleri graduated from the Politechnico in Torino with highest honors and a Ph.D. in architecture in February 1946. He received a grant given to outstanding students; at that time, just after the war, the grant amounted to about '6 lb. of butter'. Soleri wrote F.L. Wright expressing his desire to study at Taliesin and was accepted. As it was the custom with students who could not afford Wright’s already high student fees, Soleri was initially assigned to work on the the kitchen and then to be personal aid at the dining table for the Wright family. Soleri became an apprentice to Wright, working primarily in the kitchen as a waiter and dishwasher, and also as a gardener and construction worker at both Taliesin East (Wisconsin) and Taliesin West (Arizona). Soleri also became a personal waiter to Mr. and Mrs. Wright. Soleri was still learning English while at Taliesin. He built a very simple shelter on Taliesin grounds, as other Wright's apprentices do, as living quarters. Paolo studied with F.L. Wright for 18 months.

Congratulations to alumni Ayano and Jeff Masty on the birth of their two beautiful little daughters. Ayano worked in the Soleri Archives during 2002-2004. Jeff worked in the Arcosanti Bell Foundry.
[Photo: Masty & text: sa]

Fumino and Tsukino Masty were born on February 25., weighing 5 pounds each.
[Photo: Masty & text: sa]

Welcome to the March workshop participants: [from left] Gustav Bjoereman, Virginia Schutte, Nicola Maggiaioli, and Jacqueline Lucero [seminarweek only].
[Photo: Yuki Yanagimoto & text: sa]

The Feb.7. workshop has completed their 5-week program. Workshop coordinator Kelli Huth hands a certificate to Laura Manville. Laura was accepted for an internship in the Soleri Archives.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Cristina Guidani, from Brazil, has completed the workshop program.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Graduate Kelley McLaughlin continues as a volunteer in Agriculture. Also graduated: Masahiro Kawabata, from Japan, and April Braly, both continue as volunteers in Construction.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Landscape crew member Krystofer Lanceaux and February workshop participant April Braly shovel sand and gravel into buckets for the concrete mix. [right photo] Construction crew member Joshua Kuensting runs the concrete mixer.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Staff members from several departments carefully carry the mixed concrete in wheelbarrows and pour it into the prepared forms.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Landscape coordinator Ron Chandler [left photo] and other staff members screed the concrete level to the existing pathway.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Finally, the slowly setting concrete is flushed with water and cleaned with a heavy broom and brush to create a rough surface, to match the existing pathway.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Landscape crew Krystofer Lanceaux, February workshop participant Masahiro Kawabata and Construction volunteer Mika Kawai dig the ground in preparation for widening of the pathway between the foundry apartment and the west housing.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Masahiro checks to keep the same level between the concrete pathway and the form board. [right photo] Landscape coordinator Ron Chandler cuts a thin piece of form board, that will be bent.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Mika installs the smooth bent board.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

The concrete path will be wider and more comfortable to walk, and more accessible for wheelchairs.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

The peach orchard is in blossom.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

The Agriculture crew prunes back many small branches to promote healthy growth.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

The Arcosanti Cafe and some of the living spaces are dressed up with fresh peach blossoms.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

The Construction crew installs a new steel railing at the end of East Crescent. The stairs are located on the south wall of Unit 10 and lead up to the roof of the S.O.D unit.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

February workshopper Kelley McLaughlin (left) and Laura Manville (right), with crew leader Joshua Kuensting, hold the railing and check it the length and angle of the spindles. [right photo] The railing is supported until it is welded into place.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Laura cuts pieces for the railing at the Metal shop.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Kelley grinds the weld plates in preparation for the railing to be welded on. More on this later.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

Maricopa Community Colleges sponsored a visit from Charles Hopkins with UNESCO, Chair for Sustainability, to Arizona. Charles Hopkins lectured at each college in Maricopa County and also visited Arcosanti. The purpose of his travels is to develop a curriculum that focuses on Sustainability issues, to be taught to pre-high school children. from left: Roger Tomalty, Cosanti Foundation, Mary Hoadley, Cosanti Foundation, Charles Hopkins, UNESCO, Paolo Soleri, Chuck Burke, Arizona DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality), Tony Brown, Arcosanti Alumni and founder of ECOSA and Tomiaki Tamura, Cosanti Foundation.
[Photo & text: sa]

Participants were Jeff Zucker of CATALYST, Barnabas Kane of LAND ARC 4, Melanie DeBo Stauffer with ARCANA, Charles Hopkins with UNESCO, Peter L. Obelia, volunteer with AZ DEQ, Gail Bliss with AZ DEQ, Charles Burke with AZ DEQ, Tony Brown, ECOSA, and architect Stephen Reed. Paolo Soleri gave a presentation of his present focus, a design of a linear city that he calls an Urban Ribbon. More to come on the Urban Ribbon design.
[Photo & text: sa]

Agriculture department crew works in their new orchard next to the lake. February workshopper Ursula LeMaistre and Garden Manager Scott Dolan plant new apple trees.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

The apple orchard with the Arcosanti buildings in the background.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

A rotating crop of fresh greens grows in one of the greenhouses. After harvesting, the agriculture crew sells greens and other items from the garden at the farmer's market at the Arcosanti Cafe. Fresh lettuce from the greenhouse are also available at the Cafe salad bar.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]

A new crop of garlic grows in the garden. It will be ready to harvest in the middle of May.
[Photo & text: Yuki Y]