Cosanti, the experimental home and studio of Paolo Soleri, was established in 1955 in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and is now recognized as an Arizona Historic Site. On this five-acre site, Soleri pioneered an earth-casting technique, pouring concrete over shaped soil to form sculptural, shell-like structures that were then excavated from below—building from the roof down rather than the ground up.
The resulting semi-subterranean forms, often surrounded by earth for passive insulation, evoke a blend of ancient Mediterranean architecture and science-fictional landscapes. With expressive domes, vaults, and sunken courtyards, Cosanti reflects Soleri’s radical vision of architecture as a fusion of ecology, craft, and futurism—a hand-built manifesto for living differently.