Both places are creations of Paolo Soleri, one of Frank LLoyd Wright's fellows.
Cosanti was the first one, built in Scottsdale way before the area became full of expensive mansions. The famous windbells are made here. Arcosanti is the site of an experimental project that Paolo started in the 70'. The idea for the project is from the 50s. The project was intended as an experiment in ecological living - using less space, less resource, with little impact on the surroundings, fostering a sense of community. Basically, the exact opposite of how cities developed in the last 50 years in North America. It was sad to see how little of the project has been completed to date. Even like this, one can see that the ideas were way ahead of the times. The plans and drawings exposed there were spectacular. As for Arcosanti, depending from where one looks at it, it certainly has a bit of a extraterrestrial feeling to it.
