This continues the report from 11/27/09 on “3-DIMENSIONAL CITY: FUTURE CHINA” exhibition.

[photo: Paolo Soleri’s presentation during the Opening Forum]

The founding Director of Beijing Center of the Arts, Ms. Weng Ling, had visited Arcosanti and Paolo Soleri in 2003, with the Young Leaders Forum group.
We were first contacted by BEIJING CENTER OF THE ARTS in the middle of July this year. Vice Director of Beijing Center of the Arts, Yipeng Jiang, visited Cosanti and Arcosanti in the middle of August to decide on Soleri artwork for the exhibition.

[photo: Tomiaki at the projector and Mary Hoadley with Paolo Soleri].

Tomiaki Tamura managed to pare down Soleri’s usual 1 hour presentation into 25 minutes to fit the conference format.

[photo: Tomiaki at the projector and Mary Hoadley with Paolo Soleri]

Soleri Archives Director Tomiaki Tamura also created four digital presentations that will loop-run during the exhibition.

[photo: Jacob van Rijs (MVRDV), Winy Maas (MVRDV), moderator, Paolo and Mary]

[photo: Jacob van Rijs (MVRDV), Winy Maas (MVRDV), moderator, Paolo Soleri and Mary Hoadley]

[photo: Paolo Soleri and the LEAN LINEAR CITY and NUDGING SPACE model]

Youngsoo Kim, Arcosanti Planning department, created 3-D renderings and CAD drawings for a model of LEAN LINEAR CITY and NUDGING SPACE Arcologies.
The model for this exhibition was built in China and we will post more photos of the exhibition, and especially the model, on Wednesday, 12/02/09.

COSANTI FOUNDATION PRESS RELEASE
November 25. 2009:

Urban Planning Innovator Paolo Soleri Presents Work at “3D City: Future China” Exhibit in Beijing.

Architect Paolo Soleri will speak at the opening of an exhibition featuring his work at the Beijing Center for the Arts, which will run from November 29, 2009 – February 28, 2010.

On November 28, 2009, architect Paolo Soleri will speak at the Beijing Center of the Arts (BCA) in the opening forum of an exhibit presenting his work in alternative architecture and planning. Titled "THREE-DIMENSIONAL CITY: FUTURE CHINA", the exhibition explores possibilities for China’s urban future through revolutionary planning and architecture.
Running from November 29, 2009 through February 28, 2010, the exhibition is open daily from 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m., closed Mondays. The BCA sits at the edge of Beijing’s famous Tian’anmen Square. Three Dimensional City: Future China highlights Paolo Soleri’s arcology design LEAN LINEAR CITY with a 5 x 36 foot architectural model (1:1,000 scale) among displays of other arcology design concepts, a portion of the 66 foot Two Suns Arcology scroll, historical sketches, and videos. The exhibition also features the work of MVRDV, a large architecture firm from the Netherlands, highly regarded for its alternative, ecologically minded designs.

[photo: exhibition preparation of the Lean Linear City model, which was built in China at Beijing Center of the Arts initiative, according to plans and CAD drawings provided by Arcosanti Planning Department, detailed report will follow next week].

Continued press release:
The BCA reports, “Three Dimensional City is poised to envision an ideal living environment and future urban ecology. The project addresses the depletion of land and energy resources. Not only will it be an enlightening project from which our future urban planning programs can draw inspiration, but also hopes to involve an exhilarating social reformation.”
Arcology, the concept of architecture + ecology that Soleri is most well known for, describes a dense, compact, three dimensional, pedestrian urban system that reduces human impact on the environment while improving quality of life and Lean Linear City is Soleri’s latest arcology proposition. Like all of Soleri’s arcology designs, Lean Linear City’s structures reduce energy demand, mainly for heating/cooling by using passive solar design and for transportation by incorporating logistics into the system’s plan.
“With attempts to curb global warming by maximizing its reduction of energy consumption and carbon emission and efforts to reclaim land that has been invaded and occupied in the chaos of horizontally spreading cities, humanity is looking for ideal future cities of high-density residences living in harmony with nature,” states the BCA.

[photo: exhibition preparation of scroll display. Note the mirror at the end of the case. It will double the length of the display]

Continued press release:
Arcology is the opposite of the single family, suburban home, incorporating all urban functions into a compact yet complex system that offers metropolitan amenities without sacrificing closeness to nature. Soleri argues that the world cannot sustain the social, environmental, and economic costs of urban sprawl. “The idea resonates more in China because they are faced with increasingly demanding population and resource issues,” claims Arcosanti rep Erin Jeffries. “In time, I believe more Americans will realize that it’s impossible to continue on our current course and that there are social as well as environmental benefits of the arcology concept.”
The “Lean Linear” approach incorporates two main structures, or “urban ribbons,” around a continuous urban park and “green river” and the buildings are surrounded by vast, natural landscape, allowing immense opportunity for experiencing nature and wildlife firsthand. Lean Linear City improves on earlier arcology design concepts with considerable energy production capacity. Its structures are lined at the top edges with photovoltaic (solar) panels facing southward and vertical axis wind turbines. With a complex arrangement of multiple and mixed-use structures around both light rail and high-speed rail networks, residents of Lean Linear City could reach all daily destinations with only a short walk or brief ride on a train. The dense urban ribbons can move through production farmland, bringing the city to the farmer and include agriculture production in the large, attached solar greenhouses and orchard terraces.

End of text from Cosanti Foundation press release.
We will continue to report on the exhibition and it's history with updated images, during the next two weeks.

[photo: The model is in place and covered during final cleaning. Again, note the mirror at the end of the case. It will double the length of the model display]

BEIJING CENTER OF THE ARTS
Opening Schedule

3D City: Future China
-- International Architecture and Art Cross Disciplinary Forum
November 28, 2009
13:30 – 17:30
Chief curator: Weng Ling, Feng Lun
Participating architect: Paolo Soleri (U.S.)
MVRDV (Netherlands)

Organizer: Beijing Center for the Arts
Beijing Vantone Citylogic Investment Corporation
Venue: Beijing Center for the Arts
No.23, Qian Men Dong Da Jie, Dong Cheng District, Beijing
Support: ISreading Culture
Sponsor: AUDI

Background
For the first time in 2008, the world’s urban population has exceeded that of rural. As the pattern of urban sprawl hits its peak, urban development is facing a bottleneck, putting a strain on natural resources, and pressure on sustainability. With attempts to curb global warming by maximizing its reduction of energy consumption and carbon emission, and efforts to reclaim land that has been invaded and occupied in the chaos of horizontally spreading cities, humanity is looking for ideal future cities of high-density residences living in harmony with nature.
“3D City: Future China – International Architecture and Art Invitational Exhibition” will invite Paolo Soleri, father of “Arcology” and cutting-edge architect group MVRDV to envision a future city that is able to accommodate 100,000 – 300,000 residents within a limited area of 1 – 2 square kilometers. The “Cross Disciplinary Forum” will accomplish its commitment of providing multi-dimensional visions and solutions for creating ideal future cities and developing sustainable urban ecology by gathering experts, scholars and practitioners in front line of a number of fields – urban planning, architecture, design, art, environment, economic, and so on, discussing the possibility of achieving eco-friendly 3D cities in China.

[photo: exhibition preparation of scroll display. This is a Paolo Soleri Original scroll drawing of the TWO SUNS series]

Theme
In modern architectural history, many architects have had the utopian dream of building a "three dimensional city". For example, Japanese architect, Isozaki Arata had proposed a series of plans on "city in the sky" in the 1960s ("Multilayer activities added to spaces above ground while maintaining that exists on the streets, such proposals were named as 'city in the sky'"... "We will expand architecture to urban scale, in the contrary appropriates urban elements into architectural design in order to reshape the architectural form"). The American architect and urban planning theorist Paolo Soleri further adopted an efficient principle of "complex – condense – sustainable" design (arcology) for human living implemented in Arcosanti – an experimental creation out of pure imagination ("Arcology instructs to reorganize the over-expanded city into a condensed, united and three dimensional city, allowing them to continue to sustain the complicated activities of human civilization. This city would be a critical step in the course of human evolution").
If Isozaki Arata's grand urban complex is an "architectural" resolution to the rapid expansion, highly dense urban environment, then Paolo Soleri's desert city – Arcosanti is an alternative experiment in "small scale" in response to contemporary reality, and the analysis performed by MVRDV based on actual data offers visualizations of such imaginations of the future city. Thus, China in a high-speed urbanization era, confronted with many new issues (for example, the overflow of homogeneous spaces caused by high-speed urbanization) and new pursuits (for instance, ecological/energy design, perpendicular/complex communication system, and the making of new urban spaces), is most likely to realize the dream of building three dimensional cities featuring sophisticated combinations of high-rises and certain futuristic qualities.

[photo: exhibition preparation of scroll display. This is a Paolo Soleri Original scroll drawing of the TWO SUNS series]

Three dimensional city far exceeds the working boundary of the "architect" and "urban planner" in the traditional sense. It needs convergence of all social resources, processing to study in depth and integrate extensively the urban elements of architecture, planning, ecology, natural resources, landscape, living and working models and complex network of transportation, and so on – it is an opportunity this era has offered to city builders, allowing utopian dreams of the past to be realized today.

Agenda
12:00 – 13:30 Luncheon and private viewing for forum guests
Forum
Part I: 13:30 – 14:40 3D City: Dream and its Realization
Dreaming of “3D City” utopia by modern architects is not rare through modern history. If Paolo Soelri’s “Arcosanti” is an eminent experiment in “mini-scale” challenging the contemporary reality, then the audacious imagination of MVRDV on basis of “data-scape” can be esteemed as a magnificent visualization of future city. In China, urban modernity is still measured by CBDs and super-skyscrapers, which requires great attention and serious reflection.

Host: Fan Di’an Director of NAMOC
Guest Speaker: Paolo Soleri American architect, father of “Arcology”
MVRDV vanguard architectural group from Netherlands
40’ lecture + 30’ discussion

14:40 – 15:30 Tea break
Part II: 15:00 – 16:00 3D City: Reality and Design
3D city features complex of high-rises with certain “futuristic” nature. If it up-to-now is still dreams in minds of western architects, then it could become true in China of an era when challenges and demands are both increased by accelerating urbanization. But the question is, are we ready to deal with it and how? Hereby, a few farsighted architects will give us their understandings of the subject.
Host: Shi Jian Critic of architecture/ city, director of ISreading Culture
Guest speaker:
Cui Kai Vice president, Architecture and Design Academy of China
Ma Yansong Chinese architect
Zhu Pei Chinese architect
Wang Hui Chinese architect
Wang Hui Partner, Urbanus Architecture and Design
30’ lecture + 30’ discussion

Part III: 16:00 – 17:00 3D City: Resources and Ecology
3D city far exceeds the working boundary of the "architect" and "urban planner" in the traditional sense. It needs convergence of all social resources, processing to study in depth and integrate extensively the urban elements of architecture, planning, ecology, natural resources, landscape, living and working models and complex network of transportation, and so on – it is an opportunity this era has offered to city builders, allowing utopian dreams of the past to be realized today.

Host: Shi Jian Architecture/ city critic; Director, ISreading Culture
Guest Speaker:
Zhan Wang Chinese contemporary artist, sculptor
Lu Zhi Director, Shan Shui Conservation Center
Lu Minjie Director, AUDI China Sales Department
Mi Qiu Public artist
Chen Jiaying Chinese contemporary philosopher
30’ lecture + 30’ discussion

Conclusion: 17:00 – 17:10
Guest speaker: Weng Ling Art curator; Director, the Beijing Center for the Arts
Q&A: 17:10 – 17:30
18:00 – 20:00 Opening cocktail
20:00 - VIP dinner

Paolo Soleri and Mary Hoadley, as well as Youngsoo Kim, are in the air over the Pacific Ocean on their way to Beijing, China, for the opening ceremony of "3-Dimensional City: Future China" exhibition. Tomiaki Tamura is already in Beijing, helping with the set-up. First photos are coming in and we will report about this exciting event tomorrow.

Here at Arcosanti, friends and family and many visiting alumni gathered for the annual Thanksgiving feast and a feast it was.

Delicious, as every year a huge pot-luck, an awesome arrangement of everyones best dishes, yummy smells, good company, it was a wonderful dinner.

And take a look at this desert table.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and best wishes to friends and family near and far!!

And also at the Scottsdale Green Streets event, right next to the Arcosanti panels, was a beautiful set of panels featuring the planned Paolo Soleri Pedestrian Bridge and Plaza.

The display was put together by Scottsdale Public Art.

This report continues from 11/20/09.
Ten volunteers from Arcosanti enjoyed the unique opportunity this year of attending the 2009 International Greenbuild Conference & Expo and Green Streets festivals that took place in downtown Phoenix and the Scottsdale Fashion Square.

This year's expo hall in the Phoenix Convention Center boasted 1,800 exhibit booths that showcased the latest in innovative products and services. Each volunteer had a specific research assignment at the Expo, ranging from community outreach to research on renewable energy technologies including solar, wind and geothermal; innovations in waste reduction; recycled and renewable products and building materials; and energy efficient strategies.

After a full day at the Greenbuild Expo event in Phoenix, the evening continued on with the Scottsdale Green Streets event, part celebration, part art exhibit, part music festival, to celebrate the city's sustainability efforts. The free event took place on the South Bridge and Scottsdale waterfront with a live Latin Jazz concert, organic beer tastings, eco-friendly public art installations and interactive exhibits that highlight Scottsdale’s green projects - a great place to end an exciting day.

The volunteer team set up the information booth right at a location with a view of the future site of the Soleri Pedestrian Bridge and Plaza, which is in the pre-construction planning phase. Decorative, precast panels for the site are currently being cast at Cosanti, to be part of the art wall around the bridge.

There was a positive buzz - people were all business and excited to participate. Everyone was interested in learning and sharing information, insights and contacts. The Arcosanti booth was well received by other business and expo visitors alike. We received many good leads. This was a great event to attend to gain exposure.

The team had a wonderful experience at both the Expo and Green Streets events. At the end of the day, we had interesting conversations with many environmentally conscious companies as well as other retailers, schools and individuals.
[from left to right] Young Soo Kim, Anna Tran, Alfonso Elia, Matteo Di Michele, Erin Jeffries, Scott Riley, Michael Bittman, and Jose Masaoy.

For the last couple of weeks, the Graphics, Public Relations, and Planning departments worked together in preparation for their field trip to the first 2009 International Greenbuild Conference & Expo, held at the Phoenix Convention Center, and the Green Streets festivals held in the locations of downtown Phoenix and the Scottsdale Fashion Square.

In preparing for this event, Erin Jeffries, Jose Masaoy and Young Soo Kim (above) collaborated together to design and create a poster board presentation that included information about Paolo Soleri and his city designs as well as information about Cosanti and the Arcosanti 5-Week Workshop.

The finished panels will be displayed at the Green Streets events to be held at the Scottsdale Fashion Square 11/12 and downtown Phoenix 11/13. We will continue to report on the field trip next week.

This report continues from 11/16/09.
Last week, we prepared and leveled the pad where we have decided to build the greenhouse. Here we see the caterpillar dumping dirt to fill in the low lying construction site, which will raise the level of the building foundation in order to reduce the chances of flooding.

The greenhouse will be constructed just south of the pool where La Loggia was/is planned to be.

Here we see the construction crew and the caterpillar smoothing and leveling the dirt after being poured onto the foundation. While the crew prepares and levels the pad, we will also begin preparing a soil mix for the raised planting beds that we will use in the greenhouse.
We will continue to report on the construction progress next week.

It has been a busy few months and we have some great news! We purchased a green house kit from a company called Clear Span, a manufacturer of fabric structures and greenhouses out of Iowa. It arrived at Arcosanti on 11/02/09.

This 20' wide x 48' long greenhouse, more specifically called a "High Tunnel," is an unheated, plastic-covered structure that provides an intermediate level of environmental protection and control compared to open field conditions and heated greenhouses.

We have been putting together a presentation of greenhouse systems research to educate ourselves, the crew and the Workshop participants.

We are excited to begin the process of growing food and experiencing the life of a greenhouse closer to the "center of town". We plan to use this greenhouse as a prototype for heat collection as it will be connected to the existing and in construction portion of the Heat Duct Tunnel and we will use rainwater collected from the building above for watering the crops. As a prototype, this greenhouse will help us perfect the design for the energy apron.

Welcome to the November 8. 2009 workshop participants!

[top from left]: Ralph Comegna (seminar week), Barbara Matusky, Susanne McMillen, and Vittorio Dell'Edera (seminar week)
[bottom from left]: Shino Itakura (two weeks), Keiko Nakamura, Evan Sachs and Chris O'Leary (workstudy)

This report continues from 11/02/09:
It has been a busy few weeks in construction. For the past two weeks, we were able to accomplish the constuction of a roof slab and two footings that run down the slope to the pool. Here we see the construction and concrete pour of the roof slab extending from the retaining wall.

While the crew waited for the roof slab to cure, construction continued down slope with the preparation of two new footings. The crew worked extra hard on building the two formworks so that they could be poured in time before the weekend.

The formwork was completed just in time for the pour on Friday morning, 11/06/09. The cement truck drove down to the pool level so that concrete could be accessible right near the construction site. In preparation for the pour, the construction team gathered large rocks for additional reinforcement of the formworks. Here we see the construction team passing rocks down the slope to place them up against the sides of the forms.

This time we had more members including the Agriculture and Landscaping departments that joined in and helped with the mixing and pouring. Five yards of concrete were mixed, then poured into wheelbarrows that were wheeled to the pool bridge. On the pool bridge, the concrete was shovelled into buckets to be passed up the slope and poured into the forms.

Here we see the finished roof and footings that were completed within the last two weeks.
Well done and thank you for everyone for all their effort and good work!

Participants of the Oct. 4. 2009 workshop program graduated last Friday.
Congratulations to:
Rachel Hirshey,
James [Jimmy] Carnazza,
Juan Felipe Mantanez,
Joseph Burton,
Paolo Vozzella
and Sophie Nichols.

Friend and Arcosanti alumnus Ron Anastasia passed away on October 20. 2009. We send our heart-felt condolences to his wife, Kim Anastasia, and to his friends and associates.

From alumnus Michael Gosney:

Dear Friends,
I wanted to let you know that my good friend and colleague Ron Anastasia passed over on October 20. He had been ill for some time. Some of you may have known Ron when he and I worked together on the Paradox Conferences at Arcosanti in 97, 99 and 01. Ron's mind was one of the most brilliant I have encountered, and he was an ever-positive, sensitive being always on the evolutionary vanguard.
During the time I knew him (from 95 on), he became an expert on intentional communities, not only Arcosanti, but also Damanhur and Auroville (he inspired my trips to both of these pioneering communities).
He was immersed during his final years in the work of Aurobindo and The Mother - and created the widely read (4 million views) online journal Science, Culture and Integral Yoga http://www.sciy.org/ - along with many other deep endeavors and explorations including Burning Man and work with Nassim Haramein's Resonance Project.
Ron had a remarkable charisma that brought him into circumstances and contacts that always seemed to lead to some form of synergy and evolution. He enriched everyone around him with wisdom and love. And he is still at it!
His amazing beautiful wife Kim Anastasia has been incredible through the difficult journey of this past year, and the final transition. Kim has planned, with the help of many friends, a fitting memorial for Ron this coming Saturday in the Los Angeles area.
Please let others who knew Ron know about this, and if you are able to make the event this weekend it would wonderful to see you there.

Ron Anastasia Memorial Service
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills
Church of the Hills
6300 Forest Lawn Drive
Burbank, CA
12 noon - 1/2 Hour of Memorial Harp Music by Dorothy Victor
12:30 – Service
1:30 - Brief interment ceremony (across from the Chapel) and releasing of the doves
2:00p - Reception on property at Hall of Liberty
Please bring flowers
or for Donations:
https://secure.aviusa.org/donations_donatenow.php
Auroville International USA
Matrimandir Fund
P.O. Box 1534
Lodi, CA 95241-1534

[photo & text: Michael Gosney]

Tags : alumni, vistors

PAOLO SOLERI HELPS KICK-OFF ROME'S FESTA DELL'ARCHITETTURA.
A public event celebrating the Festa dell'Architettura di Roma was held on September 28, 2009 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, Italy. Paolo Soleri was the featured speaker. The Festa dell'Architettura highlights architecture among Rome’s numerous other events for the arts with the purpose of involving a wide, nonspecialized audience in a series of cultural events, with international guests, exhibitions, and stimulating debates.

Paolo Soleri gave a presentation titled “Lean Alternative: The Elegant Frugality.” The lecture focused on arcology, Soleri’s term for the blending of architecture and ecology.
[photo] Event organizer Amadeo Shiattarella.


The arcology concept has transformed urban planning and architecture since Soleri introduced it in the 1960s and is gaining more attention as the world looks to architecture’s role in the future of our environment.
[photo]Paolo Soleri and Matteo Di Michele.

Coincidentally, across the street from the September 28 venue is The MAXXI National Museum of the XXI Century Arts, which recently purchased Paolo Soleri artwork. When the Museum opens in early 2010, a large scroll, which is 29 feet, 6 inches long, 4 feet, 4 inches tall and features some of Soleri’s designs for space arcologies, will be on permanent display, along with some architectural sketches, life drawing sketches, and sculptures. Paolo Soleri was given a special tour of the new museum buildings.

This report continues from 10/19/09:
The formworks for the heat duct tunnel footings were removed last week. This shows a plan view of the footings for the heat duct tunnel wall sloping down to the pool.

The next stage is building formworks for the retaining wall down the slope and next to the pool. Here we see the crew working on a retaining wall, shoring dirt under the scab of the pool that will be the east wall of the heat duct tunnel.

Once the formworks were built, the crew mixed concrete for the heat duct tunnel footing and retaining wall at the pool level.

The concrete was dumped into wheel barrels and transported to the pool bridge, shoveled into buckets, and passed down to be poured into the formworks.

Here we see a photo of the two formworks that was taken a few days after the pour. While the concrete cures, the crew will continue building formworks for the heat duct tunnel roof and retaining wall as well as excavating the slope below the pool. We will continue to report on the construction progress next week.