Arcosanti Offers Rare Sale on Soleri Windbells

Handmade in Arizona, Soleri windbells are offered at discounted prices in the Arcosanti Gallery only March 19 – 28, 2010.

A limited time sale on Soleri bronze windbells will be offered in the Arcosanti Gallery from March 19 – 28, 2010, including 20% off a wide selection of bells. Located about 1 hour north of Phoenix near exit 262 off of Interstate 17, Arcosanti is open daily from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Arcosanti offers visitors remarkable architecture in a serene desert setting.

Walking tours are offered several times per day, the Café serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets, and a visitor hiking trail presents an opportunity to see splendid views of the Arcosanti site perched upon a colorful desert mesa. Call 928-632-7135 or visit www.arcosanti.org for maps or additional information.

Each one of a kind Soleri windbell is handmade in Arizona using the techniques developed by Italian architect and Arcosanti founder Paolo Soleri. This sale is only offered once per year, only applies to in-store purchases at Arcosanti, and cannot to be combined with any other discount.

In response to the recent catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, the Cosanti Foundation has donated $3,000 from our Tsunami Disaster Fund to Partners in Health, a Boston-based nonprofit organization that has provided vital health care services in Haiti for more than 20 years.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook Haiti near its capital of Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010, leaving a path of utter devastation. Partners in Health is one of the largest health care providers in the country, working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to deliver comprehensive health care services to a catchment area of 1.2 million.

Our donation was made possible by gifts and accumulating contributions from the sale of Soleri Cause Bells, a line of bronze windbells sold in a variety of designs, each representing a specific cause or charity. A portion of the sale of each Cause Bell benefits a nonprofit organization.

Paolo Soleri designed the Tsunami Cause Bell [photo] in response to the massive earthquake/tsunami off the Indian Ocean in December 2004. Today, the Tsunami Bell and Fund represents the call for a humanitarian embrace of natural disaster victims worldwide.

You can join Arcosanti’s effort by giving today. Simply click on Stand with Haiti It is not too late to help with a contribution in any amount.

More about Partners in Health.

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.

On October 24 - 26, 2009, Arcosanti hosted a Dutch TV crew from VPRO TV, a national, noncommercial broadcasting organization in the Netherlands. Arcosanti and the work of Paolo Soleri will be featured in a special extended edition of the weekly news documentary series "Backlight," which will present ecologically-minded community projects around the world. The piece will air while the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark this December.
In this photo, the crew interviews Paolo Soleri in front of the Ceramics Apse while Arcosanti Public Relations Coordinator Erin Jeffries assists with a light reflector panel.