FEBRUARY 24, 2014 | BY JC MILLER

 

Travels recently took me through central Arizona where I had the opportunity to stop in at Arcosanti, Palo Soleri’s urban laboratory in the desert.

This is a sentimental place for me since I spent time there as a design student. The day I passed by was one of those bright autumn afternoons when the high desert seems like paradise. It was midday and midweek, so the site was nearly empty of visitors which allowed me to wander solo for a couple of hours. Soleri passed away earlier this year, so this was an opportunity to reflect on his ideas and influence.

Fundamentally, I see Soleri as a designer/thinker/philosopher completely committed to a set of ethical principles. While I was never able to follow his arguments all the way to the philosophical conclusions he shared with Tielhard de Chardin, I still find great value in his Complexity/Miniaturization/Duration model as well as the elegance of his “Lean Alternative.” The images attached to this entry are from that afternoon as well as some pages from the sketchbooks I made during my time there as a student.