Talk:Arcosanti

Untitled

Okay, I lived at Arcosanti for five years, and in the region for ten, and never heard it called anything like "The City of Bells". And the whole "City of the Future" thing is fairly tongue-in-cheek. I'm pondering editing this entry accordingly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.22.18.79 (talk) January 1, 2005

Wind chimes?

Speaking of bells, I've never heard the bells cast at Arcosanti referred to as "wind chimes" before reading this article. Always as "bells". (And beautiful ones, I must say.) Anyone else know about this? --ILike2BeAnonymous 08:56, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

I lived at Arcosanti & Cosanti for 17 years and worked in the metal studio making the bells. The bells were originally referred to as "windbells." Then later that was broadened to "wind chimes." A windbell has an internal clapper only. A wind chime has external clappers as well/or instead.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.162.104.126 (talk) 03:44, January 29, 2007

"Landmarks"

What is the basis for placing this in a "landmarks" category? Does it have legal status as a state landmark (in which case the article should mention that and doesn't)? Otherwise: everywhere is a landmark to someone, entirely subjective, should not be used as a category. - Jmabel | Talk 19:38, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

1978 [1976] car fire

I'm reverting the text that was just added about the 1978 [1976] car fire, but am recording it here for posterity. The events that are described are basically factual (although whether it was altruism or the threat of lawsuits is certainly open to question) however the text itself is far too POV -- as well as unsourced -- for inclusion in the article. If somebody wants to provide a source and remove the POV and provide some sourcing, that would be a good thing. Skybum (talk) 11:16, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

"It must also be noted that Arcosanti's lack of funding is an unfortunate result of Soleri being guilty of what what must ultimately be considered "having a Heart of Gold." In the mid-70's, after an exceptionally dry Arizona summer, a Festival was held at Arcosanti. At the time, as a result of an unusually wet winter, the surrounding fields were covered with dry grasses and brush.

"With several hundred visitors in addition to the dozens of students & volunteers, the immediate area around the Site was fairly well "packed" with cars and trucks. Unfortunately a hot exhaust pipe or muffler from one of the vehicles started a brush fire and over a hundred cars were destroyed before the fire could be put out.

"Soleri, out of pity for his adoring young friends, artists, struggling design students and volunteer staff, paid everyone who lost their car (and didn't have insurance) enough money to purchase another vehicle. This came out of his "Building Fund" and slowed his beloved project to a near standstill. This act of altruism resulted in a legion of devoted fans and admirers, who spent many years working for him as a Volunteer at Arcosanti as well as at the Bell Foundry at Cosanti down in Scottsdale."

Food production

If 5000 inhabitants should live on 100,000 m², that's just 20 m² per inhabitant. As far as I know an arcology is supposed to produce its own food. Which crop will nourish a human on just 20 m²? Typical cereal yields are maybe 10 tonnes/hectare, or equivalently 1 kg/m². With 2 harvests per year, this would be 40 kg per human per year. A human needs about 2000 kcal nutritional energy per day, or about 600 g of cereals, or equivalently about 219 kg per year.

Theoretically one could increase the harvest by constructing very tall buildings and doing agriculture on each floor. Icek (talk) 14:28, 26 February 2011 (UTC)

Objectivity

This article seems a bit worshipful. Why has building dragged on so long? Will anyone want to live there once it is finished? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.150.235.107 (talk) 06:14, 15 April 2012 (UTC)

Minimum wage, and implications

"The average salary at Arcosanti is minimum wage." This is no longer a true statement. The average is above minimum wage, and a significant majority make more than minimum wage. Minimum wage in Arizona currently is $12.hour.

Think about it: if this statement is true, that means either (a) everyone makes minimum wage, or (b) some residents earn less than minimum wage.

If Arcosanti can only afford to pay minimum wage to its residents, despite its many purported inherent efficiencies (and an influx of tourist dollars), it has failed to meet its goal of providing a better lifestyle than traditional communities. 71.219.204.88 (talk) 15:13, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Ugly HDR

It's a terrible look for the article. I'm thinking we ought to look for better images, or just remove them. 97.81.204.131 (talk) 03:25, 30 November 2020 (UTC)

While I don't think the pictures are ugly, I have no preference on their inclusion. I'm fine with leaving it how it is now, but if anyone else has preferences on their inclusion, please feel free to chime in. Perryprog (talk) 19:39, 1 December 2020 (UTC)

Of the 2 images I just viewed, HDR is obvious in the interior shot of the dining area, but I believe it is as well done as HDR can be expected to be done, and serves the purpose of giving balanced lighting, rather than creating supernatural "tone mapping" effects, of which I disapprove.--Quisqualis (talk) 18:33, 7 December 2020 (UTC)