We last reported on the High Tunnel greenhouse on March 3. 2010. with the planting of first crops.
This photo was taken on 3/15 and shows small heads of lettuce as well as tomato plants.

The crew assembled and put in place a 2x4 internal framework to strengthen both ends of the greenhouse.

There are zippered entrances on either end of this High Tunnel greenhouse.

Here we can see the crops steadily maturing.

At this time four kinds of lettuce are raised, Buttercrunch, Romaine, Mesclun Mix and Red Leaf. Over 30 pounds of lettuce have been harvested so far.
There are crops of Swiss Chard, Spinach, Carrots, Yellow Crookneck Summer Squash, Amy Melons, Snow Peas, Dill, Basil.
The crew also planted Marigolds and Borage for pest resistence.

We last reported on construction of the heat duct tunnel on 4/9/2010. Work has progressed at a steady pace.

The wooden formwork has been covered with insulation and steel reinforcement bars and is ready for concrete to be poured.

The concrete was ordered in and the crew prepared a ramp from the concrete truck…

…to the slab right next to the pool, which is also the next roof section of the heat duct tunnel.

This pour took place on 4/8/10, with the help of quite a few students from Wentworth College in Boston.

In the left photo we can see the work area in location below the S.O.D. Office Building.

And in the right, Wentworth students are working with Arcosanti construction staff.

The slab is finished…

…and adds a lot of space to the area around the pool, especially the baby pool. It is now part of the heat duct tunnel roof structure and also a new pool entrance.

Once connected to the greenhouse, the tunnel will provide supplemental winter heating to residential spaces through the chimney effect. Hot air produced inside the greenhouse will rise through the tunnel and radiate heat into thermal mass (concrete) to help cut down our energy use.

On Saturday, April 24., the event season of 2010 started with the 13th annual Arizona Vivaldi Festival at Arcosanti with an evening of opera, dance, and art in the Colly Soleri Music Center.
This year, the Festival highlighted soprano Eileen Mager, Terpsicore Dance Company, and Dulce Dance Company performing Vivaldi classics along with other works from the composer's time.
Eileen Mager. Concert artist/actress Eileen Mager made her debut as a recitalist in Chicago and has been performing solo recitals in Arizona for the past sixteen years. She has appeared as featured soloist with Cantemus, the Desert Foothills Choral Foundation, in many Phoenix venues, and is soloist for Christ Episcopal Church in Carefree. Her repertoire is very broad, ranging from opera to jazz, Broadway to folk, classical religious works to spirituals and gospel. Her performances have included works of more than 80 composers and she has sung in 15 languages.

Terpsicore Dance Company was founded on the motivation of combining the beauty of line, technique of ballet, and the freedom of modern dance movement.
"Terpsichore," the Greek goddess of dance is the inspiration, with a change in spelling to illustrate how Terpsicore dancers perform from the core of their physical being and soul.
Terpsicore is a contemporary ballet company that recognizes the influence and incorporates the human expression of modern dance. It works to bridge the gap between the two forms of movement to create a fusion of innovative and forward thinking performances. The intent is not only to inspire existing dance audiences, but to draw in future lovers of dance.

Dulce Dance Company is a contemporary modern dance company that emphasizes technical artistic expression. Its mission is to choreograph and perform ideas, emotions, and stories through dance; to instill the passion of dance in each and every member of our audience by performing interesting, athletic, passionate, and provocative movements of inspiration; and to enrich our community through the timeless universal language of dance.

As last year, Painter Jim Covarrubias added sparkle to the evening with the creation of a new work of art live on stage during the performance. The painting was auctioned off at the end of the show.
Jim Covarrubias is well known and respected in the Scottsdale art scene and Phoenix's downtown SoHo district.
Many of his murals decorate walls and buildings throughout the Valley.
Covarrubias' performances are a culmination of years of painting, studying art, and developing audience experience.
The Hispanic artist is also a world traveler, studying in Paris and other European cities, as well as traveling regularly art shows in the U.S.

The event started with a complementary tour of Arcosanti and a delicious dinner in the Arcosanti cafe.
The Dinner menu included Sweet Corn and Red Pepper Chowder, Venetian Fish Fillets or Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Potato and Celery Puree, Lemon-seasoned Asparagus, Radicchio Spinach Salad topped with pancetta and pine nuts, followed by Raspberry Bars with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
It was a lovely event, freezing temperatures from the night before graciously rose back up to make it a comfortable outdoor evening.

Last week, on April 15. 2010, David Tollas looked out across the valley below his apartment in the Foundry Apse.
Can you see ... ?

... the beautiful big cat, a Lynx. This is a rare sighting and a very lucky shot. Congratulations!

On Tuesday, April 13th, 2010, Errin Turner and Alfonso Elia (two Arcosanti alumni, past and current residents) were joined in marriage.

The official ceremony was held Prescott Courthouse and witnessed by several friends and fellow residents.

A second ceremony will take place on May 22nd in Southern Illinois for Errin's family and friends.
The couple may also hold a third ceremony in Italy to include Alfonso's family and friends.

Congratulations to Errin and Alfonso!!

That evening EC3 overflowed with celebration.

And, of course, there was a beautiful cake!

Welcome to the April 11th, 2010 workshop participants!!

Back from left: Chris Kermiet [seminar week], Omar Macias from Mexico [work study + 5-week workshop], Caleb Bowman [work study + 5-week workshop], and Jonas Horbach from Germany [5-week workshop].
Front from left: Pepper James [seminar week], Jeanette Rodriguez [5-week workshop], and Joan Green [seminar week].

This continues our report about the metal fabrication of a new kind of Soleri sculptural bell assembly.
Metal shop instructor Brent Scott and his crew of workshop participants transported the metal pole to Cosanti.

A concrete slab was poured with an imbedded steel connection.

The crew lifted the pole onto the connection ….

…. and tightened it into place.

The sculpture was attached ….

…. and bells were hung and balanced.

The assembly will now showcase bells at the entrance of Cosanti and, according to Brent, is still a work in progress. Following Paolo's suggestions, a future pull rod added to the assembly will make it interactive for visitors.

The crew!!

In our March 15th report we showed images of a new kind of Soleri sculptural bell assembly, fabricated from steel by Brent Scott.

While making a pole for this new sculpture, Brent taught metal work to some of the March 8th workshop participants.

Brent Scott with his students.

The group measured and then fabricated a sturdy foot for the pole.

With this project, Brent taught all of the stages of basic steel fabrication.

Friday we will continue with a report on the new assembly's installation at Cosanti.

Congratulations to the March 2010 Workshop participants upon their graduation:
Back: Dan Moran, Scott Morgan, Jarred Jackson, John Fennell, Andrew Ferri, Matthieu Guiot and Patrick Deiulis.
Middle Back: Joe LoCoco, David Tarby, Kevin Stevenson, Tyler Wilcox, Dan Mulvey, workshop coordinator Melanie Husband, Adam McCarthy, Scott Daniels, Jeremy Couto, Nunzia DiMolfetta, John Yu, Angela Sicilia and Sammy Tapia.
Middle Front: Andrew Wheeler, Bobby Martin, Wes Gowen, Joe DiLorenzo, Jessica Corbett, Ariana Deignan-Kosmides and Lindsay Seligman.
Front: Matt Smith, Jonny Robitaille and Megan Rogoff.

Workshop graduates Kevin Stevenson and Andrew Ferri from Wentworth College.

Workshop graduates Angela Sicilia and Nunzia DiMolfetta came from Italy.

Kevin Stevenson worked with metal shop teacher Brent Scott.

[The upcoming report for Wednesday, April 14. 2010 will talk about the welding project of this group].

A workshop evaluation takes place on the last day of each workshop.

A lot of work was accomplished during the last 4 weeks, many thanks to everyone, especially to the group from Wentworth College.

Progress on our heat duct tunnel continues:

While formwork for the wall extension was removed, formwork construction for the roof slab began. Since the slab will also be the new entrance for the pool area, it was designed with extra structural support beams.

Here the formwork nears completion. The construction crew measures and prepares for rebar connections into the existing slab.

A view from underneath the roof slab shows preliminary wooden shoring and the steel support beams.

This hired backhoe helped to smooth the way for the future extension of the heat duct tunnel. Design of the steepest tunnel section (from the pool to the greenhouse) is underway.

Once connected to the greenhouse, the tunnel will provide supplemental winter heating to residential spaces through the chimney effect. Hot air produced inside the greenhouse will rise through the tunnel and radiate heat into thermal mass (concrete) to help cut down our energy use.

This continues our report from 4/5/2010 about the construction of a heat duct tunnel.

Long rebar extensions were left sticking straight up from the concrete walls. Some muscle and finesse is applied to bend the rebar just the right way.

The rebar is then covered with PVC pipe.
The succession of domed pipes will support a clear acrylic cover sheet.
[right photo] Looking down onto the heat duct tunnel site from the roof of the S.O.D. Soleri Office building, we see part of the crew right below the baby pool.

Here formwork is in process for another section of the west tunnel wall.

Concrete was poured and vibrated and finished from the top of the wall.

The next step is a roof section for the tunnel, just a step down from the pool deck.

Some of the heavy support beams for the roof formwork were installed.
This report continues on 4/9/2010.

This continues the March 17. 2010 report about construction of the heat duct tunnel.
Concrete walls have been completed down to the level below the foot bridge to the pool. In the last posting we saw images of a concrete pour for footings at this level. Wall forms are being installed on top of those footings and between same footings the crew prepares for a floor slab.

With the large addition of workshop participants, many hands help with this concrete pour.

The mixed, very heavy concrete is transported in wheel barrows to the pool foot bridge and moved down a shoot right into the prepared form for the floor slab.

This images explains the location of the work area right below the S.O.D. Office Building. We can see activity at the top of the tunnel, finishing of the floor slab and preparation of a large wall form.

The crew at the top of the tunnel is working on the rebar extensions.

More about this on 4/7/2010.

We reported on 1/25/2010 about a big storm that dropped so much water so fast that the dam below the Arcosanti site broke.
The dam has a spillway at the south end, but the force of the water was so strong that it deposited large rocks and bolders into the spillway and just about blocked it. We can see the large silt deposits that now cover a large part of the field.

Water pressure from continuing rainfall after this storm ate away at the bottom of the gap …

… and left a canyon like cavity in the dam.

Some repair has been done to fill the broken of the dam part way.