Our Favorite Things: Volume 7

by Maggie Flickinger

Heading to Sweden?  A stay at the Kolarbyn Ecoresort promises to be an adventurous highlight.  Rustic grass & moss covered cabins enjoy cozy interior details of stone wood-burning fireplaces and sheepskin adorned beds.  A wood fueled sauna floats on the idyllic Lake Skarsjon, with dense woods surrounding.  Wildlife abounds, with wolf, moose, lynx, beaver & bear being among the highlights.  This is also truly a local ecoresort, as it is actually owned by the area’s community farmers.

From Nicole, our intrepid Denver cyclist:  I value that this Great Road Rides Denver has an urban emphasis.  It encourages riding directly from home rather than traveling by car to a less urban setting with bike in tow, a practice that has always confused me.  Laws, safety and road etiquette are clearly expressed, validating an urban cycling experience that I could never have put into words.  I am very excited to experience a new side of  Denver by riding a route I would never have found on my own!

Sometimes, spatial limitations waylay even the best green intentions.  Don’t have space for both a compost bin and a recycle?  Basketbin cleverly combos the two with a dishwasher safe, lidded compost insert that marries a standard recycle / wastebin, making separation a snap.  This seems like it would be a great solution for commercial or home offices as well.  The best part?  They’re currently on sale for just $28 from SFMOMA.

Ex-Barrett Studio-er Greg Uitto shows off Populus’ new burly cargo bike.  In a great example of a green business “walking the walk,” Boulder home energy company Populus encourages county-wide business to be done on their fleet of Yuba’s Mundo bikes, outfitted with roomy cargo bags for tools & briefcases as well as lights for evening use.  Tally one for shifting from “the company car” to company bike(s).  We have one question though:  are those stylie aviators Greg is sporting part of the Populus uniform?

Faded Dreams at Arcosanti

by Maggie Flickinger

Recently, I set off on a southwest road trip, and in later posts you’ll read about my impressions of Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam Bypass.  Here though, I’d like to share some photos I took of Arcosanti – that fabled gem in the dusty desert north of Scottsdale, Arizona.  Like many of you, I recall learning about Paolo Soleri and Arcology in Architectural History courses…here, something was happening…change was afoot!  So when I realized the line on our map could take us right past the site of the only developed and inhabited Arcology, Arcosanti, I naturally foisted a visit upon my begrudging parter.

Internet research told the story of a declining population, an increasingly absentee visionary leader (Soleri is still an active architect at 93, but spends much of his time at Cosanti, in neighboring Scottsdale), and a project path erring from the original vision.  The visit itself was marred by a cavalier tour guide who obviously had little knowledge of or respect for Soleri’s vision – he said that the idea of a fully built Arcology was “a joke” around Arcosanti.  Indeed, work has markedly slowed in the past several years, with the most significant project being a swimming pool (not in the original plans).  In the model below, the dark chipboard in the foreground is built, the white chipboard the remaining vision.  Planned for 5,000 inhabitants, the current incarnation houses between 30 and 40 residents.