Proposed Energy Apron : Model : Cosanti Foundation

The Arcosanti Project, located 70 miles north of Phoenix, is constructing a living demonstration of a compact three-dimensional town, a proposed alternative to suburban sprawl, concentrated on 10 acres in the Arizona desert. An integral part of the design and coupled to this prototype town will be five to seven acres of south facing sloping greenhouses, an "energy apron" acting as a central system for producing food and collecting energy to support the prototype town.

Arcosanti has been continuously involved in greenhouse research and design development since 1974 under the direction of architect Paolo Soleri, his design staff and outside consultants.

The conceptual research of the greenhouse as a large central system for food and energy production was carried out from 1974-1976. This work was made possible by a $25,000 grant from Xerox Corporation, with matching funds from the Cosanti Foundation, the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration and the Environmental Research Laboratory at the university of Arizona. Extensive research, carried out from 1976-1978 , resulted in the construction of a prototype greenhouse in 1979. This facility has been operating in a passive mode since March 1979, generating both agricultural and climactic data necessary for further greenhouse development, specifically aiding in the designs of the first full scale segment of the energy apron.