Ithaca College

Arcosanti, Italian architect Paolo Soleri's prototype urban laboratory under construction in Arizona's high desert, will be the subject of a presentation on Friday, September 9, at 1:00 p.m. in the Campus Center seminar room.

The general presentation is open to all Ithaca College students, faculty, and staff.

Soleri's innovative experiment in urban design demonstrates his concept of "arcology," architecture and ecology working as one integral process to produce new urban habitats that provide a positive response to the problems of urban civilization population, pollution, energy and natural resource depletion, and quality of life. Arcology recognizes the need to radically reorganize the sprawling urban landscape into dense, integrated, three-dimentional cities in order to support the complex activities that sustain human culture. Arcosanti incorporates homes, work places, agricultural production, and cultural, educational, and recreational activities in a pedestrian environment surrounded by a 4,000-acre preserve. It is intended to house 5,000 people when completed.

Arcosanti offers a seminar week, 5-week hands-on educational workshops, internships, and employment for individuals interested in architecture and urban planning and design, sustainable agriculture and land use, environmental studies, and social ecology and sustainable communities. Students interested in an off-campus component to their education, and graduating seniors seeking to use their education to challenge society to do more with less in an innovative environment, are encouraged to attend.

This program is sponsored by Career Services.