SCOTTSDALE THIS SUMMER – ECO-TECTURE AND ART

By CINDA CHAVICH

(SCOTTSDALE, Arizona) - Normally, I wouldn’t suggest venturing into the blistering Sonoran desert in June, but this summer may be the perfect time for starving artists and architectural buffs to go south.

With major anniversaries being celebrated in Arizona this year –honoring Paolo Soleri and Frank Lloyd Wright, two of the most innovative architectural thinkers of our time, who both lived and worked there - and the economy hitting the area’s upscale resorts hard, it’s the perfect storm for art, architecture and accommodation in Scottsdale.

Wright and Soleri, both found inspiration for their innovative design in this harsh desert landscape, and turned their theories into practical experiments, places that have lured students and scholars for decades. And this summer you can scoop up some great travel deals, while visiting architectural sites like Taliesin West and Arcosanti, to learn about organic and sustainable living.

Soleri celebrates his 90th birthday on June 21 with a three-day public event at Arcosanti, the prototype-in-progress for his theory of “arcology” – the fusion of architecture and ecology in integrated urban habitats. It’s a futuristic eco-city, a self-sustaining community for 5,000, set on a high mesa in the Sonoran Desert, 100 km north of Phoenix, a project that’s built his reputation as one of the most original urban designers.

Cosanti is the site of Soleri’s first experiments in the desert, a collection of cast concrete domes where the architect has lived since settling here in 1956. It’s home to Soleri’s not-for-profit educational foundation and an Arizona historic site that’s open to the public for tours, a collection of unique structures that recall both Gaudi and Picasso in their organic forms.

More than 100 students and artists from around the world sign up for five-week workshops at Arcosanti every year, to study with Soleri, work and live in his model desert community.

Like these students, Soleri originally came to Arizona to work with another of the world’s progressive architects, Frank Lloyd Wright, but soon left Wright’s Taliesin West to pursue his own divergent philosophies.

Like Soleri, Wright also advocated learning by doing – it was devoted apprentices who built his summer home, Taliesin West, in the Arizona desert outside Scottsdale. Wright’s unique desert home, and the communal campus which still lures aspiring architectural students, is now open for regular tours.

What’s particularly interesting is the desert tour of student shelters, the unique individual dwellings created by students over the last 70 years. This summer, as part of a special 50th anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Wright’s most famed design, there’s a special exhibit celebrating his work, and a separate display including models and photos of student shelters, entitled Learning by Doing.

THE LESS IS MORE EXPERIENCE:

In Scottsdale, Arizona, there are several ways to experience the organic architecture inspired by visionaries like Paolo Soleri and Frank Lloyd Wright. Here are a few places to start:

CELEBRATE SOLERI – Join Paolo Soleri June 19-21 to celebrate his 90th birthday at Arcosanti – a solstice weekend complete with entertainment, educational programs and a gathering of Arcostanti alumni, at the site, 100 km north of Phoenix. Or visit anytime for one of six daily tours. 928-632-6225.

ARCONSANTI WORKSHOPS – Serious students can immerse themselves in Soleri’s arcology at one of his one- to five-week workshops on site, complete with seminars with Paolo Soleri, hands-on construction work and dorm-style room and board. 928-632-6233 or workshop@arconsanti.org

EAT, SING, SLEEP – Even if hands-on construction isn’t your thing, you can still visit Arconsanti, or take in a concert at the Colly Soleri Music Center, complete with a tour of the facility and dinner. You can stay - rent an inexpensive room with shared bath (from $30) or choose the Sky Suite, a two-bedroom apartment with views over the desert ($100/night including breakfast for two). www.arcosanti.org

COSANTI – Come to Cosanti, in the heart of Scottsdale, for a tour of Soleri’s bell-making foundry or just to walk the peaceful pathways among his variations on the earth-cast dome. Buy a bell to support the cause from the gallery. 80-948-6145

THE LLOYD WRIGHT EXPERIENCE – Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and campus, Taliesin West, makes for an intriguing tour (and great gift store shopping experience). Built by Wright and his apprentices in the 1930s, the sprawling complex was created using local desert stone and sand and is considered one of the architect’s greatest works. Various tours of Wright’s home, the drafting studio, theatres and student-built structures in the surrounding desert are available. www.franklloydwright.org

MID-CENTURY MODERN – If you’re looking for a more luxurious space to contemplate the minimalist, modern architecture of the desert, escape to the Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, with it’s zen-like spa and cool casitas (designed in the 1950s by one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s students). Or check in to Valley Ho, the funky 1950s hotel in downtown Scottsdale that’s been restored to its former mid-century glory, complete with retro-inspired rooms and an olive-shaped pool.

MORE MODERN ART IN SCOTTSDALE – The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) celebrates it’s 10th anniversary this year. Housed in its own visionary space (a former movie theatre repurposed into a spacious minimalist gallery) by architect Will Bruder, it’s home to and outdoor sculpture garden featuring James Turrell’s skyscape viewing chamber, Knight Rise, and is devoted to protecting the area’s endangered pool of world-class mid-century modern architecture.

©Cinda Chavich 2009