It's almost autumn, Friend.
And right now, the Arizona desert really is this lush. We've had abundant summer rains, which have been great for greening the local ecology. No wonder this time of year is a favorite for visiting Arcosanti and Cosanti. This month's newsletter is full of reasons why, and they go way beyond the beautiful scenery!
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Farm-and-Garden Workshops |
Do you love fresh, delicious produce straight from the garden? Then you'll love our newest series of single-day workshops!
Led by Arcosanti agriculture consultant Emerson "Casey" Jones, this monthly farm-and-garden series is designed to give participants an orientation to Arcosanti's growing farm program as well as hands-on experience with the basics of homegrown food at any scale:
- September 18: Winter Gardens
- October 16: Home Canning
- November 20: Drip Irrigation
- December 11: Tomatoes + Peppers
The workshops are open to participants at all levels; prior experience with farming and gardening is not required. You'll go home with seeds, starts, samples, and the knowledge and confidence to start growing, harvesting, and preserving your own food right away.
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Casey teaches the basics of home canning and garden-to-table food preservation in our Lab Kitchen |
Assistant Agriculture Manager Walker Simpson surveys our year-old food forest and irrigation system |
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Land Stewardship Coordinator Ana Catalina Vázquez Ramírez plants native seeds |
Last year's planting has yielded a vibrant pollinator garden in full bloom |
Our team is working with NRCS to restore riparian areas along the Agua Fria |
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Getting Serious about Land Stewardship |
If you follow The Cosanti Foundation, you probably know that arcology is a combination of the words "architecture" and "ecology." (And if you didn't already know that, now you do!) The idea of land stewardship would seem to be implicit, but serious ongoing discussion of what land stewardship means for an arcology has been rare, despite more than 50 years of building in the desert.
That's finally changing.
Over the course of the last year, The Cosanti Foundation has developed an official Land Stewardship Program. Much of groundwork for this program was laid by Ana Catalina Vázquez Ramírez, a former Cosanti Originals ceramics artisan who is now our first-ever Land Stewardship Coordinator. Ana is also the author of our latest blog post, detailing how and why land stewardship has become a central focus for The Cosanti Foundation and for Arcosanti in particular:
"As we work to continue to define, enact, and refine what it is for The Cosanti Foundation and the Arcosanti community to be stewards of this dynamic land we call home, we dance between two primary roles — that of students of the land (chronicling), and that of caretakers (engaging)."
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More Ways to Experience Arcology |
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You can visit Arcosanti and Cosanti almost every day of the year, take our tours, hike our trails, and stay for lunch or even overnight with Arcosanti's cafe and guestrooms. But if you're yearning to really get to know arcology, here are two good ways to go a whole lot deeper.
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Have a few weeks? Take a Signature Workshop.
In addition to including all of our regular and specialty tours and popular bell-making workshop, our multi-week workshops include field trips, seminars, and immersion in both community and organizational life at Arcosanti. It's the original Arcosanti experience, and it's your pathway to becoming one of more than 8000 official Cosanti Foundation Alumni.
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Have a few hours?
Try a Specialty Tour.
Architecture. Sustainability. Archives. K-12 School Groups. Even if you only have a couple of extra hours, you can still go beyond our regular daily tours to enjoy an in-depth experience of Arcosanti.
P.S. We're also working to develop tours in Spanish and in American Sign Language tours later this year!
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Dome House at Home
After opening over the summer at the Burton Barr Central Library in Phoenix, "The Architecture of Possibility: Dome House" has moved! Now through December, you can visit the exhibition at the Desert Broom Public Library (pictured here with our exhibition team) in Cave Creek, where the actual Dome House still stands.
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Hello, Supercomputer!
Our latest in-kind donation is a big one: the gift of a world-class supercomputer from Silverdraft. Received in August, this machine is a game-changer for our ability to create, render, and deliver on The Cosanti Foundation's design needs. Thank you to Jim Dilettoso and everyone at Silverdraft for making it happen!
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All in a Day's Work
As our CEO and Executive Director, Liz Martin-Malikian wears many hats on behalf of Arcosanti, Cosanti, The Cosanti Foundation, and Cosanti Originals. As an architect and academic, she also often serves as a bridge and advisor across not just the various parts of our own organization, but between our organization and numerous others. We wanted to give you a glimpse of a few recent examples of what that really means.
Liz is pictured here (in the ivory dress, center right) on August 25th inside the newly renovated Earth House at Cosanti, where she was giving a private tour to the Arizona State Planning Commission. The special tour discussed issues that affect the current and future use of both Cosanti and Arcosanti:
- Zoning and Amended Special Use Permit processes
- The Cosanti Foundation’s contribution to planning
- The background and historical use of the site, including Cosanti's history as a multi-use property
- Renovating the site to create educational spaces for the school of architecture
In addition to being a full-time resident of Arcosanti, Liz also occasionally steps in to give the public tours at Cosanti and Arcosanti. If you're lucky, your next tour could be with our Executive Director!
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Coming in October
- Conference Updates for 2023
- Fall Speaker Series Details
- Annual Impact Report
- News From Cosanti
+ more!
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About The Cosanti Foundation |
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Since 1965, The Cosanti Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has advocated for the built environment to be created in harmony with nature through the concept of arcology (architecture + ecology), and through our Arizona demonstration projects, Cosanti and Arcosanti.
Join us in our mission to inspire a reimagined urbanism that builds resilient and equitable communities sustainably integrated with the natural world.
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Images courtesy Paola Avila, Kate Bemesderfer, Pinto LeBrun, Liz Martin-Malikian, Leigh McCoy, Ana Catalina Vázquez Ramírez, Rebecca Young, and The Cosanti Foundation
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