From 1955 to 1970, Italian émigré and Frank Lloyd Wright student, Soleri, with his wife, Colly, and students built his home and studio, Cosanti, in nearby Paradise Valley. That same year, 1970, he began Arcosanti, an ongoing “arcology,” uniting architecture and ecology, 65 miles north at Cordes Junction, Ariz. Today, his Cosanti Foundation continues the work, as with the construction of the Scottsdale bridge.

The Soleri Bridge and Plaza is a joint City of Scottsdale Capital Improvement Project and Scottsdale Public Art commission funded in part by Starwood Capital Group and Golub & Company, Ground Up Development Services and Salt River Project, explains Donna Isaac, senior project manager for Scottsdale Public Art.

Coordinating the bridge project is Scottsdale architect John Douglas, FAIA. Steve Martino & Associates, also of Scottsdale, is the landscape architect. The Phoenix office of Howard S. Wright Constructors is the contractor. The project includes 11 pre-cast concrete panels, each functioning as a unique artwork: These were pre-formed at Cosanti, using the same earth-casting method Soleri developed to create the buildings at Cosanti, explains Roger Tomalty, who has worked closely with Soleri for 40 years.

With his staff and the construction crew, he also completed “drip walls,” another technique innovated at Cosanti. The earth was carved into facets or a series of differing planes, reinforced concrete was cast against this surface, and a concrete slurry poured immediately on the sloping surfaces to create a drip texture. “The Soleri Bridge and Plaza is a focal point for the city’s pedestrian-oriented downtown, commissioned to enhance Scottsdale as a strong cultural tourism destination,” Isaac says. “The design team, with the fabricators and contractors, worked through many design and construction challenges. The result is an extraordinary project for the city of Scottsdale and an homage to Paolo Soleri.”

Claire C. Carter, SMoCA assistant curator, explains: “We want our visitors to move fluidly between the exhibition and, after it opens, the physical Soleri Bridge and Plaza — interacting with each site.”

For the last 60 years, Soleri has designed bridges through drawings, models and sketchbooks. These as well as prints and multimedia presentations at the SMoCA exhibition display his concern for creating multi-purpose structures intended to pursue an environment harmonious with humanity, she adds.

Collaborating with the museum are Scottsdale Public Art and the Cosanti Foundation. The exhibition is sponsored by RBC Wealth Management and Salt River Project. Outreach assistance is by Modern Phoenix.

“Paolo Soleri began to champion the concept of arcology nearly 70 years ago, when the Arizona desert seemed endless and undisturbed by human habitation,” Hales explains. “Our present reality is urban sprawl, which makes unsustainable demands on water and energy. These are critical problems, and Soleri’s vision provides a model for creative solutions.”