Post date: Sep 22, 2014 7:10:21 PM
Where Arcosanti is now: From Benevolent Dictator to Arcosanti GroupThink
We have gradually seen a transition from a system run by a self described “benevolent dictator”to a more group oriented management system over the last 10 years. I had heard from sources in both organizations that Taliesin has been where Arcosanti is now and its important to understand that when we compare the two. Apparently it took over 40 years for Taliesin to become the well run institution it is now. Right now it is not clear to me on who would succeed in running the organization so there was a jockeyed for power over who most deserved and was most able to run the project. Over time the power struggle at Taliesin resolved itself and it is now a successful example of a architectural apprenticeship program that appears to be managed very much in the way Wright would have desired for it to be run after his death..
Much Ado about Nuthin?: What's Compelling and BigNews at Arco?
The strange reality is that when some major media person comes and one might have this feeling like we have nothing really innovative in relation to sustainable design, agriculture or development to offer them. While I do think Arcosanti remains an interesting place in many respects, it definitely has an air of stagnancy to it for many people. Some feel its more like a museum than an active place for experimentation and innovation in the area of ecological design or sustainable development that it promotes itself as. To address those kinds of things, the organizational bottleneck has to be resolved so that we can make the project a more dynamic and exciting place for people to visit.
Make Education a Priority by Giving Real Opportunties for Students to Learn about Ecological Design at Arcosanti
I am always impressed by the talent and intellectual capacity of the people who come to Arcosanti. At the same time equally amazed that so little is produced from that having all these people to Arcosant. I see little sign that even 10 percent of that talenti is being properly utilized. I feel almost this is criminal negligence. Yet that too is my more judgmental side. I know I could have done much more myself to have made Arcosanti an interesting place while I was there.
What Arcosanti needs is people doing good and inspirational things regardless of whether they think the management is dunderheads or not. People taking the initiative is possibly the most important thing that might lead to an improvement of the situation. This is what happened when I dragged out and smashed the long cracked sneeze-guard that was unsightly looking in the cafe. The questions still lingering in my mind from all of that was why wasn't I punished for that and why it took so long for someone to take any action. I think its because we all saw that action as a form of civil disobedience.
I don't at this time see a real effort to improve things or to create a strong creative dynamic at the cultural, building things and research levels despite how hard it seems some of the leaders are trying to work to keep things going. There are people doing some creative things individually like making jewelry or pottery or other crafts, but what is missing is that spirit of sharing their creative energy on collective projects that is the very hallmark of what Soleri terms the Urban Effect.
While in the early years the student's ability is more limited in terms of doing serious research and project. However we also see cases of very young students doing remarkable work that contributes to the human knowledge pool.
In terms of Arcosanti it would to me be a no-brainer that those people taking the workshops, internships and even living there are special people and should be rewarded by being allowed and even encouraged to participate and engage each other in the development of a brain trust or think tank of knowledge dedicated to the promotion of Arcology and Arcosanti.
Arcosanti for many Longtimers is the Only Thing they Know
I also am compassionate to the people running the project. For many on the leadership team Arcosanti is the only thing they have known in terms of working for a nonprofit or even in some cases a professional job. In other words in terms of their careers, it is only Arcosanti that is worth mentioning in their resume.
The leadership has been able to create a self-reinforcing dynamic that enables them to not be accountable to any one really, despite the deteriorating financial situation of Cosanti Foundation the organization that runs Arcosanti. I expect that it will be too late before these people realize they have a problem and it will be so big they won't know how to get out of it. At that point, they are going to need to look for backers to keep the project alive even at a basic survival level as a museum and production facility. The people giving the money are probably if they have any sense, going to want to make sure that changes are put in place to make sure that they will get their money back. At that point the board will be shifted away from the status quo and at that point we will begin to have a much greater chance of seeing real change in addressing some of the concern areas.
The Board is Invested in Business as Usual
Several of the long timers are serving on the board but also are employees. While that may work or be ok in some situations for start-ups, it does not work so well as part of a long term management strategy, esp if the people in charge cannot manage themselves by being able to look at themselves independently of their own egocentric desires to say things are going fine when they are not and when there needs to be leadership change.
The ego is the human element that is the deeper issue beyond Soleri's twin demons of hyper-sprawl and hyper-consumerism. That is the key realization that helps us to understand the situation at Arcosanti. There is no regulatory or self regulatory dynamic that cuts through the tendency of the ego to say everything is fine and to instead be honest and say: no this is not working; lets change this. In my view the mark of the true leader is one who demands the same kind of accountability of others and the larger society that they demand of themselves. The fact that Soleri was not able to (or did not want to) put that structure in place at Arcosanti goes a long way to explain why similar patterns have emerged in the culture and society there as is evident in the mainstream society.