The artwork of the Paolo Soleri exhbition at Boston Architectural Center returned to Arcosanti.

Excerpts from comments by Director of Architecture at the Boston Architectural Center and Cosanti Foundation alumnus, Jeff Stein, who arranged the exhibition and lecture:



The series of events here was terrific, really. Some of what we accomplished:
*We held an exhibition of Paolo’s beautiful early drawings at the Boston Architectural Center for the entire month of April. 25,000 pedestrians per week walked past the BAC’s glass-walled first floor gallery, and one particular weekend more like 150,000 people passed the place – the day of the Boston Marathon, whose route comes within ten feet of the gallery. 1,000 students per week – and a couple hundred faculty - passed through the gallery.
*And as part of this, we sponsored a public lecture by Paolo, the 14th “Cascieri Lecture” at the BAC. Paolo was awarded the Archangelo Cascieri Medal at this event, to a standing ovation. Archangelo Cascieri was the longtime Dean of the BAC, whom Paolo met many years ago, and who died recently at age 98.
*Around 300 people showed up for Paolo’s public lecture. The room holds approximately 200. We had planned for this, and the remainder watched on large-screen live-video in other parts of the BAC, and through the gallery storefront from the street. All these people attended a reception after the lecture. 80 of them attended a separate reception before the lecture, too.
*A dozen ex-Arcosanti workshoppers attended Paolo’s lecture and reception, including familiar names like Paula Wittner, Modestino Conti, Peter and Chiara Van Erp, and George Kosmides who organized the alumni gathering.

*While here, Paolo was interviewed by NPR/WBUR for an hour. This tape is still being edited and we do not know yet when it will be aired.
*Paolo was interviewed by a representative of “City Futures” magazine from New York.
*Paolo will be the cover story in May’s “Practice” magazine, a publication of the BAC.

Thank you, Jeff Stein and Boston Architectural Center, for a terrific effort.