On March 4th, 5th, and 6th, 2022, a group of students from The School of Architecture at Arcosanti flew an Aerocene Sculpture, as part of Professor Joseph Becker’s workshop “RAD/PED,” a three-day exploration of radical pedagogies.
Following the guides included in the Aerocene Backpack atmospheric exploration kit, the team launched an Aerocene sculpture from the spectacular roof of Arcosanti in Arizona, which was able to get aerosolar lift in very cold air. Embracing the do-it-together ethos of the Aerocene, the students also built and launched their own Museo Aero Solar Tetro sculpture out of a thin recycled-plastic drop cloth and plastic bags.
Arcosanti is an experimental town in the high desert of Arizona founded by Italian-American architect Paolo Soleri. Envisioned as an experiment in living frugally and with a limited environmental footprint, Arcosanti is an attempt at a prototype arcology, integrating the design of architecture with respect to ecology.
In dialog with the Aerocene Community, Professor Joseph Becker, who is the Associate Curator of Architecture and Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, expressed: “Cultural revolutions and moments of societal upheaval have contributed to ways of looking beyond the traditional and hierarchical formats of teaching, learning, and making. This workshop examined the circumstances and explores the techniques of a history of radical pedagogy in art and architecture.”
