Hermitages,
Sanctuaries, Retreats, and Urban Communes
Sanctuaries
and Retreats
Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated
(or sacred) area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or
altar. In medieval law, a sanctuary was a place of religious right
of asylum for felons on the run from the law. An animal sanctuary
is a place where animals live and are protected. In modern parlance
the term is used to mean a place of safety.
Sanctuary was also a right to be safe from arrest in the sanctuary
of a church or temple, recognized by English law from the 4th to
the 17th century.
The term retreat has several related meanings, all of which have
in common the notion of safety or temporarily removing oneself from
one's usual environment. A retreat can be taken for reasons related
to spirituality, stress, health, lifestyle, or social or ecological
concerns. Increasingly, organizations hold retreats to focus board
and staff members on key issues such as strategic planning, enhancing
communication and collaboration, problem-solving and creative thinking.
A retreat can either be a time of solitude or a group/community
experience. Some retreats are held in silence, and on others there
may be a great deal of conversation, depending on the understanding
and accepted practices of the host facility and/or the participant(s).
Retreats are often conducted at rural or remote locations, either
privately, or at a retreat centre such as a monastery.
Religious/spiritual retreats allow time for reflection, prayer,
or meditation. They are considered essential in Buddhism[1], and
are also popular in many Christian churches, including evangelical
Protestants, Roman Catholics and Anglicans
Urban
Communes and Communities There
were rural communes and also urban communes in the 60s & 70s.
"Haight Ashbury's" all over the country. For example, South Street
in Philadelphia, that housed all kinds of family tribes exploring
communal living.
If you have any areas you live in that still hold the 60s vibration-please
send them to us.
South
St.-Philadelphia
'South Street Memoirs' "In
September 26th, 1970, I was living in a commune on South Street in
Philadelphia. Do you hear those Orlons? “Where do
all the Hippies meet, Southhhhhhh Street, Southhhhhhhhhhhhh Street….”
Anyway, we lived in a three-story row house we called Om Sweet Om.
It was Don, Robert, Danny, Monica, Marlene, Melody, and Me—with
many visitors, of course. The commune had started just a few
months earlier, and I had moved in only several weeks earlier.
Anyway, somehow all of our schedules meshed, and we decided to have
a “family outing.” First of all, just the thought
of my having a beautiful family—one of my one choosing—one
that actually felt like my own family… Wow! I felt
like an orphan who had been adopted by angels. So, with our
freak flags flying magnificently, we set out strolling the Center
City Philadelphia streets on a gorgeous fall evening. I was
high just being in my family’s company, and I’m sure our
love touched many as we passed. We stopped for dinner at a great
pizza place and had mushrooms for dessert. Then we walked about
another city mile to The Electric Factory, an old warehouse barely
able to hold 200 people, but probably embracing 350.
When The Electric Factory first opened, it had a room with
strobe lights. There was a barber chair where you could get
body painted; and, believe it or not, there were old-fashioned wooden
coffins attached to the back walls standing at a slight angle
so people could stand/lay in them and groove to the shows. All
of these novelties didn’t last long. Soon, everything was
stripped out so there was maximum space for people. We used
to jam in that old warehouse painted flat black to Clapton, The Nazz,
The Dead, The Kinks, Mott The Hoople, you name it."
Peace & Love Walt W.-(Hawaii-2005)
Arcosanti
and Paolo Soleri Arizona
In 1970, the Cosanti Foundation began building
Arcosanti, an experimental town in the high desert of Arizona, 70
miles north of metropolitan Phoenix. When complete, Arcosanti will
house 5000 people, demonstrating ways to improve urban conditions
and lessen our destructive impact on the earth. Its large, compact
structures and large-scale solar greenhouses will occupy only 25 acres
of a 4060 acre land preserve, keeping the natural countryside in close
proximity to urban dwellers.
Arcosanti is designed according to the concept of arcology (architecture
+ ecology), developed by Italian architect Paolo Soleri. In an arcology,
the built and the living interact as organs would in a highly evolved
being. This means many systems work together, with efficient circulation
of people and resources, multi-use buildings, and solar orientation
for lighting, heating and cooling.
In this complex, creative environment, apartments, businesses, production,
technology, open space, studios, and educational and cultural events
are all accessible, while 60s Tribe is paramount in the overall design.
Greenhouses provide gardening space for public and private use, and
act as solar collectors for winter heat.
Arcosanti is an educational process. The five week workshop program
teaches building techniques and arcological philosophy, while continuing
the city's construction. Volunteers and students come from around
the world. Many are design students, and some receive university credit
for the workshop. But a design or architecture background is not necessary.
People of many varied interests and backgrounds are all contributing
their valuable time and skills to the project. Week-long silt sculpture
workshops and Elderhostel programs offer other ways to be involved.
At the present stage of construction, Arcosanti consists of various
mixed-use buildings and public spaces constructed by 5000 past Workshop
participants.
The residents of Arcosanti are workshop alumni, who work on planning,
construction, teaching, computer aided drafting, maintenance, cooking,
carpentry, metal work, ceramics, gardening and communications. They
produce the world-famous Soleri Bells, as well as hosting 50,000 tourists
each year in a Gallery, Bakery, and Cafe open every day except Thanksgiving,
Christmas, and New Years Day. Guided tours introduce visitors to the
philosophy , history, planning and ongoing construction of the site.
Concerts and other events in the Colly Soleri Music Center also allow
visitors to experience Arcosanti.
Shows include dinner, and are often followed by a pictograph light
show on the opposite mesa.
"In nature, as an organism evolves it increases
in complexity and it also becomes a more compact or miniaturized system.
Similarly a city should function as a living system. Arcology, architecture
and ecology as one integral process, is capable of demonstrating positive
response to the many problems of urban civilization, population, pollution,
energy and natural resource depletion, food scarcity and quality of
life. Arcology recognizes the necessity of the radical reorganization
of the sprawling urban landscape into dense, integrated, three-dimensional
cities in order to support the complex activities that sustain human
culture. The city is the necessary instrument for the evolution of
humankind."
- Paolo Soleri
