Ten years have I been following Hipstercrite through various social media platforms, only knowing of her only through the internet. A strange connection has formed though, and when I saw that she and her boyfriend were traveling to Arizona, I got excited to see where they would end up.
Little did I know that the place they introduced me to was one that I most likely have passed by at least a thousand times over the years of traveling along this interstate highway, yet I had no idea that it existed. The arcology vision that is Arcosanti.
In 1970, the year of my birth, Italian architect Soleri had a vision of creating a place that would be a deliberate critique of the consumerism that he saw was taking over the world. He wanted to build a place that would balance the world with the environment, something that would embody a radically different perspective and aesthetic.
I hobble on over from my rehabilitation weekend at Grape Vine cabin to check this area out. Due to Covid the place was pretty empty, giving myself free range to wander around this unique installation.
Wonderful works of art are on display (and for sale), but if you go just a bit deeper into Arcosanti you find the living quarters of the artist’s that call this place home.
Unassumingly awesome is this place, nestled just out of sight behind a trucker’s rest stop and the unrelenting expansiveness of the high Arizona desert.
If you see the exit sign for Arcosanti, do yourself a favor and take it. It certainly made the pain I was feeling dissipate, if only for a short time.
