Cosanti is the gallery and studio of Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri; it was his residence until his death in 2013. Located in Paradise Valley, Arizona, USA, it has become an Arizona Historic Site open to the public. Cosanti is marked by terraced landscaping, experimental earth-formed concrete structures, and sculptural wind-bells. [1]
Soleri and his wife Colly established their residence there in 1956 on a five-acre site just a few miles from Taliesin West, where Soleri had studied under Frank Lloyd Wright ten years earlier. [2] Built on the outskirts of Scottsdale, it is surrounded by a wealthy suburban neighborhood. [2] In Italian, the name Cosanti "is a combination of the words for 'object' and 'before,' and it means, 'There are things more important than objects.'" [1]
In 1970, Soleri outgrew the site. He had coined "arcology" by combining architecture and ecology; then, combining "arcology" with "Cosanti", he founded Arcosanti, an "urban laboratory" in the desert seventy miles north, for which he became famous. As students and the frontier of development moved there, Cosanti became the headquarters and namesake of Soleri's foundation. [2]
The structures at Cosanti include the original "Earth House", [3] a student dormitory, outdoor studios, performance space, a swimming pool, gift shop, and Soleri's residence. All are set amidst courtyards, terraces and garden paths.
Many structures are partly underground and surrounded by mounds of earth for insulation, moderating their interior temperatures year-round. Soleri designed and built south-facing apses (partial domes) as passive energy collectors that collect light and heat in the lower winter sun, deflecting it and creating shade in the higher summer sun. The swimming pool and several other structures have southern exposures to maximize the warmth of the winter sun.
Cosanti predates the concept of arcology, but many principles of arcology were first implemented at Cosanti. Most of the structures were built with variations on earthcasting. Concrete was poured over mounds of densely packed earth; the earth was excavated after the concrete solidified. [4] A modified earthcasting technique is also used to craft the bronze and ceramic wind-bells produced at Cosanti and Arcosanti on weekday mornings.
Arcology, a portmanteau of "architecture" and "ecology", is a field of creating architectural design principles for very densely populated and ecologically low-impact human habitats.
Paolo Soleri was an Italian-born American architect and urban planner. He established the educational Cosanti Foundation and Arcosanti. Soleri was a lecturer in the College of Architecture at Arizona State University and a National Design Award recipient in 2006. He coined the concept of 'arcology' – a synthesis of architecture and ecology as the philosophy of democratic society. He died at home of natural causes on 9 April 2013 at the age of 93.
The Unisphere is a spherical stainless steel representation of the Earth in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. The globe was designed by Gilmore D. Clarke as part of his plan for the 1964 New York World's Fair. Commissioned to celebrate the beginning of the space age, the Unisphere was conceived and constructed as the theme symbol of the World's Fair. The theme of the World's Fair was "Peace Through Understanding", and the Unisphere represented the theme of global interdependence, being dedicated to "Man's Achievements on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe".
Arcosanti is a projected experimental town with a bronze bell casting business in Yavapai County, central Arizona, United States, 70 mi (110 km) north of Phoenix, at an elevation of 3,732 feet (1,138 m). Its arcology concept was proposed by Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri (1919–2013). He began construction in 1970 to demonstrate how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing the destructive impact on the Earth. He taught and influenced generations of architects and urban designers who studied and worked with him there to build the proposed town.
Will Bruder is an American architect.
McCarren Park is a public park in Brooklyn, New York City. It is located on the border of Williamsburg and Greenpoint and is bordered by Nassau Avenue, Bayard Street, Lorimer Street and North 12th Street. The park contains facilities for recreational softball, volleyball, soccer, handball, and other games. It is also used for sunbathing and dog-walking. It also includes the McCarren Play Center, which consists of a recreation center and a pool. McCarren Park is maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity. It typically refers to a flat-topped mound, whose sides may be pyramidal.
Highbridge Park is a public park on the western bank of the Harlem River in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. It stretches between 155th Street and Dyckman Street in Upper Manhattan. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The City maintains the southern half of the park, while the northern half is maintained by the non-profit New York Restoration Project. Prominent in the park are the Manhattan end of the High Bridge, the High Bridge Water Tower, and the Highbridge Play Center.
Astoria Park is a 59.96-acre (24.26 ha) public park in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The park is situated on the eastern shore of the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Ditmars Boulevard to the north and Hoyt Avenue to the south. The Robert F. Kennedy (Triborough) and Hell Gate Bridges respectively pass over the park's southern and northern sections. Astoria Park contains a playground, a soccer field, a running track, a skate park, and courts for tennis, basketball, and bocce. Astoria Park also includes the Astoria Play Center, which consists of a recreation center and a pool. The park and play center are maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
Impossible Cities: A Utopian Experiment is a play inspired by Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities and which deals with the fates of four different utopian communities in the United States. The play was staged by Walkabout Theater and premiered at Peter Jones Gallery. It grew out of a solo show by Seth Bockley, who also performs in the longer show.
53 West 53 is a supertall skyscraper at 53 West 53rd Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). It was developed by the real estate companies Pontiac Land Group and Hines. With a height of 1,050 ft (320 m), 53 West 53 is the tenth-tallest completed building in the city as of November 2019.
The Municipal Asphalt Plant is a former asphalt plant at York Avenue and 91st Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, housing the Asphalt Green recreation center. The asphalt plant was completed in 1944 to designs by Ely Jacques Kahn and Robert Allan Jacobs. The current structure, originally a mixing plant, reopened as the George and Annette Murphy Center in 1984. The asphalt plant, which formerly included a conveyor belt and storage facility, produced asphalt that was used to pave roads in Manhattan. The Murphy Center is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Paolo Soleri Amphitheater is an amphitheater in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which opened in 1970 and closed in 2010. The structure, which was never considered finished, was designed by Italian architect Paolo Soleri.
London Terrace is an apartment building complex in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It occupies an entire city block on Manhattan's West Side, bounded by Ninth Avenue to the east, Tenth Avenue to the west, 23rd Street to the south, and 24th Street to the north. Construction began in late 1929 and cost more than $25 million on what was to be the largest apartment buildings in the world.
Anna Marie "Annette" Del Zoppo was a Southern California–based photographer, graphic designer, multimedia producer, business owner, and community activist. She was a frequent contributor to Los Angeles–based publications, and was associated with the office of Charles and Ray Eames in the 1960s.
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Betsy Head Park is a 10.55-acre (4.27 ha) public park in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. The park occupies two non-contiguous plots diagonally across from each other at the intersection of Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street, covering a collective 10.55 acres (4.27 ha). The modern-day park contains a playground, a swimming complex, and fields for baseball, football, tennis, and basketball. The park's swimming complex, the Betsy Head Play Center, was designed by Ely Jacques Kahn and consists of a bathhouse, a general swimming pool, and an infilled diving pool. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as NYC Parks.
Thomas Jefferson Park is a 15.52-acre (6.28 ha) public park in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The park is on First Avenue between 111th and 114th Streets. It contains a playground as well as facilities for baseball, basketball, football, handball, running, skating, and soccer. The Thomas Jefferson Play Center within the park consists of a recreation center and a pool. The park and play center, named for former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson, are maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Arizona Cancer Center Chapel also known as the Soleri Chapel or the "De Bonis Chapel" is a distinctive architectural resource located within the University of Arizona Cancer Center at 1515 North Campbell Avenue in Tucson, Arizona. Designed by the internationally renowned Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri and built in 1986, the chapel reflects Soleri's vision and commitment to blending art, architecture, and nature. The late twentieth-century design is a rare example of Soleri's architectural work in southern Arizona.