Discover Cosanti’s progressive experiments in architecture
The otherworldly structures and dwellings that comprise Cosanti are recognizable to the many thousands of people who have visited this cultural treasure in Paradise Valley. Arrestingly imaginative, these original structures date back to the late 1950s and early 1960s and have earned Cosanti a place on the Arizona Registry of Historic Places. Cosanti was built by Paolo Soleri (1919–2013), an Italian-born architect, urban designer, and philosopher. Including Cosanti, fewer than ten of his projects have survived.
Earth-casting and Arcology
Soleri experimented on a large scale with his earth-casting technique in 1956 to create the innovative structures found at Cosanti. Built almost counterintuitively, from the roof down and outside in, many of these unusual spaces were created by first forming a concrete shell over mounded dirt. The soil beneath this shell was then excavated (usually by hand) and what remained became a structure’s walls and roof.
The structures at Cosanti are experiments in passive solar heating and cooling, frugality, recycling, and cleverly building according to the sun’s position to warm semi-outdoor spaces in winter and cool them in summer. These ancient concepts influenced Soleri’s idea of a built world in balance with nature. He called this “arcology,” a blend of architecture and ecology.
“Cosanti” combines the Italian words cosa and anti — “against things” — and embodies Soleri’s stand against hyper-consumerism.
The Cosanti Foundation, founded in 1965 by Paolo Soleri and his wife Colly, is a nonprofit that advances communities focused on living more fully with less, and with less harm to the Earth. Sales of windbells at Cosanti Originals help support that work.
The Story Behind the Windbells
Cosanti Originals began with ceramic windbells in the 1950s. After settling in the Southwest, Paolo Soleri began making ceramic pieces, and a shop owner's request for bells sparked a tradition that continues today. Ceramic bells came first, followed by bronze, and the techniques developed to cast them went on to inform the construction of Cosanti's experimental architecture.
That exploration continued at Arcosanti, where Soleri sought to apply the building techniques and ideas developed at Cosanti to an actual living city. Today, artisans at both sites continue to handcraft windbells using patterns and molds developed over decades, while bringing their own designs and finishes to each piece.
Every bell is one of a kind, and each purchase helps support The Cosanti Foundation and its work.
Why this work still matters
Embracing the concept of arcology, The Cosanti Foundation’s mission becomes more relevant as human civilizations grow larger and more complex. The need to live more sustainably is critical as society is faced with designing cities to accommodate a population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, and with many coastal communities needing to relocate inland due to rising sea levels.
The guiding principles of The Cosanti Foundation are a progressive rationale for why re-examining the way communities are formed and human habitat is built in balance with the environment is critical in the 21st century.