Learn by Doing at Arcosanti

Winter-Spring 2024 Workshops

Why learn arcology?

The principle of learning by doing has guided Arcosanti since the beginning in 1970. Come learn in an immersive environment unlike anywhere else. You’ll connect to the inspiring High Sonoran Desert and the unique architecture, all while learning new skills and helping us create our community. 

Arcosanti is an urban experiment that practices sustainable living through arcology, architecture+ecology, which seeks the harmony of human habitation with the natural world.

Our Workshop Programs

▼ Farm-to-Table Workshops

Who do you get your food from?

  • Reduce transportation using a closed-loop food system.
  • Know the real source and handling of your food.
  • Grow quality food crops with high nutritional value.

 

Learn Hands-on

Learn and practice the science of sustainable food production. Become inspired by what you grow and turn it into memorable meals. Facilities include a wide array of growing styles: greenhouse agriculture, hydroponics, raised beds, fruit and nut orchard, field crops, and a permaculture food forest.

 

Build a Community

  • Run a store & make group meals together.
  • Respect history and care for its habitat.
  • Live, work and play in the same space.

 

Program

$1400 for one interval; $2450 for two intervals; $3500 for three intervals.

 

Spring Planting Season

Interval 3: April 8 May 3, 2024

 

Fall Planting Season

Interval A: September 9 – October 4, 2024

Interval B: September 30 – October 25, 2024

Interval C: October 28 November 22, 2024

 

Includes tuition, 5-day per week lunch, housing, facilities, and field trips.

Upon graduation you join the more than 8,000 alumni who have built the arcology of Arcosanti.

▼ Construction Workshops

How do we practice construction at Arcosanti?

  • Help repair and restore the original structures of Arcosanti.
  • Help build new structures as part of our urban experiment.
  • Learn resource-conscious architecture.
  • Discover a compact and integrated urbanism.

 

Learn Hands-on

Develop and implement the science of architecture and construction using our central plan centered on arcology and the project of building a self-sufficient and humane pedestrian city. Projects include examination, demolition, and remodeling of existing structures, as well as building and reformatting structures into functional environments that focus on community.

 

  • Assist in tiling, framing, plumbing, electrical, and other skill-learning tasks.
  • Participate in work and community events and gatherings.
  • Live, work, and learn as a group in the same space.

 

Program

$1400 for four-week workshop

2024: March 25 – April 19; June 17 – July 12; September 9 – October 4; October 14 – November 8; November 18 – December 13.

Includes tuition, 5-day per week lunch, housing, facilities, and field trips.

Upon graduation you join the more than 8,000 alumni who have built the arcology of Arcosanti

▼ Archives Workshops

What does archival work accomplish?

  • Study the wealth of historical knowledge and media developed at Arcosanti.
  • Learn and preserve the lineage of theory and practice of this urban experiment.
  • Clean and maintain historic architectural documents and models.

 

Learn Hands-on

Discover and document the posterity of past work including art, sketches, text documents, construction documents, architectural models, drawings, and photographs. Facilities include an environment-controlled archives unit, with digitizing methods, storage areas, and virtual reality simulations. The archives is the largest repository of arcology thought and design, where we help pass the legacy of The Cosanti Foundation to the next generation of archivists.

 

  • Help disseminate archival information to the public via displays and exhibits.
  • Catalogue and digitize past work.
  • Live, work, and learn in the same space.

Opportunities vary and are based on available material and needed tasks.

 

Program

$1400 for four-week workshop

2024: March 25 – April 19; June 17 – July 12; September 9 – October 4; October 14 – November 8; November 18 – December 13.

Includes tuition, 5-day per week lunch, housing, facilities, and field trips.

Upon graduation you join the more than 8,000 alumni who have built the arcology of Arcosanti.

Apply Today

If you have any question or to request more information please email workshop@arcosanti.org

Our Experience Programs

In these single day or weekend programs, participants learn a variety practices and crafts through hands-on experience.

Tile-Making Experience

Cosanti, Paradise Valley

In this hands-on class, you will learn the exceptional tile making and design process developed by The Cosanti Foundation and used every day by the artisans of Cosanti Originals to make our popular ceramic tiles. As a participant, you will have the opportunity to mold and imprint your own one-of-a-kind ceramic tile. This process involves using clay and water to create your tile, so come prepared to get your hands dirty.

Spring 2024 Dates

Saturday, March 2nd
Saturday, April 6th
Saturday, May 4th
Saturday, June 8th

Please note that this class is only available at our Phoenix-area location, Cosanti in Paradise Valley, not at Arcosanti in Mayer.

More Info/Register

Clay Pit-Firing Weekend

Arcosanti, Mayer

Learn and participate in an ancient form of firing pottery that uses natural materials and requires no gas or electricity during this two-day program.

You choose a small pre-made (bisque) clay vessel to decorate with different colorants, as well as learn the process of burnishing surfaces on some leather hard clay. After filling the earth pit with various natural combustibles and the pots, we begin the firing process. Typically this lasts a few hours, then the pit is covered and left overnight. In the evening, all participants can attend a potluck style dinner followed by a short presentation on the history of pit firing, particularly its significance in indigenous communities of the Southwest.

You may camp or stay in a guest room overnight, with a nature hike and then brunch in our café the next morning. During the hike you can collect a burnishing stone to take with you for future work. By afternoon, the pit should be cool enough to unload and we can talk about ways to finish the pieces with waxing or just leave them as-is.

Take Home

You’ll be able to take home your decorated, burnished, and fired vessel with you.

Dates

Saturday, April 20th – Sunday, April 21st
Saturday, May 18th – Sunday, May 19th

More Info/Register

Bell-Making Experience

Arcosanti, Mayer

In this hands-on experience, you will learn the unique silt-cast bell-making process developed by The Cosanti Foundation and used every day by the artisans of Cosanti Originals to make our world-famous ceramic windbells. As a participant, you will have the opportunity to cast and carve your own one-of-a-kind ceramic bell. This process involves using clay and dirt to create your bell, so come prepared to get your hands dirty.


Spring 2024 Dates

Saturday, March 23rd New Date!
Saturday, April 13th Class Full!
Saturday, April 27th New Date!
Saturday, May 11th, Mother’s Day Weekend
Saturday, May 25th New Date!

More Info/Register
Event and Program Refund Policy

Workshops and Educational Programs: In the event that a participant must cancel registration, the program fee will be refunded IN FULL up until 2 weeks before the first date of scheduled program date(s). Refunds requested less than 2 weeks before the first date of the scheduled program will be refunded at 50% or, applied IN FULL to a future program held during the same calendar year. Refunds requested on or after the first date of the scheduled program are not eligible for a refund.

Public Programs and Performances: Ticket-holders may request a refund up until 1 week before the scheduled performance or program date; EventBrite, our ticketing platform, reserves the right to charge a nominal fee for issuing a refund. Refunds requested less than one week of the scheduled performance or after a performance or program has taken place are not eligible for a refund.

Special Circumstance Cancellations: For single-day programs and public programs that The Cosanti Foundation is forced to cancel due to low enrollment or ticket sales, extraordinary or unforeseen circumstances, or acts of god, registrants and ticket-holders will be notified via email and receive a refund IN FULL.

Private Events: Refunds for the cancellation of private events are subject to the terms and conditions stated in the individual contractual agreements between the event organizer and The Cosanti Foundation.

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