Arcosanti, Melting Bronze
Arcosanti is about an hour's drive north of Phoenix. Although its original design is described in Arcology: The City in the Image of Man, Paolo Soleri’s magnum opus on arcology, called for a place where thousands of people would live and work, Arcosanti has never been occupied by more than 100 people. Despite that, it continues to be regarded as an early example of sustainable architecture and vertically-dense building that prioritized live-work spaces and the surrounding natural environment over urban sprawl. Dubbed “the urban laboratory” in the 1970s by famed New York Times architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable, Arcosanti continues to experiment and test its own potential as a working alternative to urban sprawl, erosion of communities, and neglect of the environment while supporting its residents to lead lives that are enriched socially, energetically, and economically. In the bronze foundry, we could see that the metal was being heated to its melting point. Bronze used for bells is typically about 80% copper and 20% tin. According to Wikipedia, "Bell metal of these ratios has been used for more than 3,000 years, and is known for its resonance and 'attractive sound'." The mixture must be heated to approximately 2,010 °F (1,100 °C) in order to melt. Once the metal was ready, they grasped the crucible with this locked carrying tool and placed it on a cradle with long handles which would be used during the pouring process.
Size: 4207px × 4042px
Location: Mayer, AZ, USA
Photo credit: © B. David Cathell / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: agua, ambitious, architect, architects, architecture, arcology, arcosanti, arizona, az, balance, bdavid, blend, bronze, built, carved, city, closer, dense, ecology, environment, environmentalists, experiment, fria, good, humankind, inspiring, mayer, melting, micro, micro-city, multi, multi-, nature, nurturing, paolo, pedestrian, people, planet, prototype, river, scholars, soleri, theoretic, tiles, vertically, vertically-dense, windbells, world
