Out west

While in New Mexico volunteering for the Obama campaign, I'm going to make my way down to Truth or Consequences to visit Jehanara Wendy Tremayne, who does a lot of cool things like Swap-o-Rama-Rama.

But what I want to see is this off-grid B&B she's creating in T'rC with her boyfriend, Mike Sklar. I think it's a bit off-topic for me, but I figured I'd film something while I was out here.

I also would love to see this place, Arcosanti:















but it's all the way out in Arizona, so that won't be happpening on this trip. Here's a quick description of Arcosanti, though:

In 1970, the Cosanti Foundation began building Arcosanti, an experimental town in the high desert of Arizona, 70 miles north of metropolitan Phoenix. When complete, Arcosanti will house 5000 people, demonstrating ways to improve urban conditions and lessen our destructive impact on the earth. Its large, compact structures and large-scale solar greenhouses will occupy only 25 acres of a 4060 acre land preserve, keeping the natural countryside in close proximity to urban dwellers.

Arcosanti is designed according to the concept of arcology (architecture + ecology), developed by Italian architect Paolo Soleri. In an arcology, the built and the living interact as organs would in a highly evolved being. This means many systems work together, with efficient circulation of people and resources, multi-use buildings, and solar orientation for lighting, heating and cooling.