Workshop Vision Goals and Outlook: The educational experience at Arcosanti is based on the idea of Experiential Learning - learning by doing. A key mission of Arcosanti is to provide education to promote Arcology themed development.
Current Reality:
During the birth of the Arcosanti project, a five week long workshop program was initiated, so that students from around the world who were interested in, and inspired by, Soleri's vision could come to Arcosanti to help build "the world's first prototype Arcology." The first week is a seminar week where workshoppers get an overview of the site and the history of Arcosanti.
During the seminar week workshoppers have an opportunity to engage discussion with Paolo Soleri about his book Arcosanti: An Urban Laboratory. Workshoppers also become familiar with the surrounding desert ecosystem. At the end of the first week, workshoppers are asked what departments they would like to work in for the remainder of their stay. In order to live at Arcosanti as a resident, one must have completed the workshop program.
Many come to participate in the Arcosanti workshop program seeking refuge from the mainstream society desiring a place to soak up alternative ideas, while also seeking to expand upon those ideas in our own unique way, during or after college and/or as part of a transition in their lives. Another important component of our learning experience is the observation of human (group and individual) behavior within this intense "urban" environment since many come to Arcosanti from suburban environments where intact whole communities are quite alien to them.
The workshop includes three phases:
Phase I Orientation - a one week seminar at the beginning of the workshop, including:
an overview and tour by Roger Tomalty
the larger vision of Arcology and the theories
Presentations on Arcosanti planning & current construction.
Phase II Historical Awareness - a two day trip to Pheonix to explore the history of the project, including:
Tour of relevant sites such as Cosanti and work opportunities with the goal of completing projects to improve site
Tour of Tallesin West
Other sites such as the Phoenix Public Library which was designed by Cosanti Alum Will Bruder.
Phase III Experiential Learning Phase - where workshoppers:
Engage the community and discuss ideas like participating in Convivality, School of Thought, Frugal Soup and other special events and consider what Arcology really means and attempts to put into practice at Arcosanti
Work in various departments learning how things at Arcosanti get done
Develop hands on skills that gains a perspective on all the aspects of theory, design and build process.
Internships: can be done in various departments with a focus on offering architectural internships to students with an opportunity to get hands on experiences in the design-build process.
Possible Areas of Further Improvement:
While Arcosanti provides valuable workshop experiences for many of the people who visit the project. There is a concern that the project is not immersive enough in providing real world skills development. This relates to connecting the larger and more grandiose Arcology vision to the everyday needs of the project as well as those of those students/workshoppers to apply the knowledge learned in their Arcosanti Workshop to their own lives and lifework.
One option would be to make the workshop program a more rounded full immersion process in Arcology design that connects the vision of Arcology with the reality of life at Arcosanti. This could involve reinvigorated efforts to make the project and foundation that runs it more environmentally accountable, while also encouraging and providing incentives for community members to make positive steps in reducing their eco-footprints.
Arcosanti Sustainability Program: One possibility is developing a clear Methodology for Sustainability at Arcosanti and within any Arcology using existing tools such as EcoFootPrint Analysis and involving workshoppers and volunteers devoting a portion of their top to this research. Mathis Wackernagel and Martin Rees came up with the EcoFootprint analysis methodology as a way to inventory our existing unsustainable use of resources and determine what sustainability might actually look like if it were implemented in our lives.
The process might look something like this with students, alumni and community members involved at all stages:
Comprehensive EcoFootprint analysis of Arcosanti.
Plan for possible areas of improvement.
Proposal development for funding.
Implementing of plans for construction and refurbishing of existing infrastructure to build up to sustainable standards.
Long term program for measuring impact and success of subprograms in targeted priority areas
Development of the Energy Apron Greenhouse Project: This could be one of the focus areas of the Arcosanti Sustainability Program - to provide opportunities to expand the workshop experience at Arcosanti, while supporting the project to achieve tangible and practical goals. This could include four specific areas of benefit:
Hands-on organic farming experience
Compiling data on food production and energy results
Developing additional system components to increase sustainability and innovation at Arcosanti
Construction of additional Energy Apron Modules to further areas of sustainable research and development relevant to Energy Apron and further implementation of sustainability at Arcosanti
Possible Goals for Improving Program:
Develop a program that embraces the idea of Arcology and puts the vision forward on a practical level so that it can be developed into a curriculum.
Better integrate the curriculum around the actual building and development of the project and relevant focus areas such as research and development of a sustainable infrastructure
Tap into the workshopper and overall networked knowledge in relation to helping to address the challenges that Arcosanti faces in becoming a real Arcology model such as research aiding in the development of a sustainable master plan for Arcosanti
Consider best practices in ecological design and other related sustainability fields and especially those in our immediate network such as Ecosa Institute's Total Immersion in Ecological Design Seminar.
Partnership Development around Arcology Education Program:
Central to strengthening the Arcosanti Workshop Program and developing a more well rounded educational approach is form relevant partnership with groups that already offer compelling educational content, training and curricula in relation to sustain or ecological design. This could include collaboration with existing groups and programs. The low hanging fruit are the ones that existing in the alumni network such as:
the Ecosa Institute Total Immersion in Ecological Design Seminar - mentioned above so that their work in ecological design is incorporated into Arcosanti's everyday educational programs as well as its built environment and infrastructure development.
Amersand Sustainable Learning -
Questions for further consideration:
How does education relate to Arcosanti or Arcology development on a practical level in relation to Consanti Foundation using Arcosanti and its assets to effectively achieve its mission?
How might further developments lead to the evolution of the Arcosanti educational that leads to something innovation and inspirational such as a "New Model for Education and Research at Arcosanti that invovles a Holistic Approach to Sustainable Development?"