Arcosanti

Arcosanti is a real construction site north of Phoenix Arizona. It is the product of Paolo Soleri's architectural and societal theory of Arcology. In his philosophy, architecture is society and visa versa. This is an image from Arcosanti's web page. It is a rendering of the mega-structure where it will be when completed. You can see the existing buildings near the bottom. notice the flowers in the foreground. They are meeting the rising sun in the east. The entire construction site is oriented to face south. In the summer months, the sun's path is high in the sky and the apse's(the mega-structure) curved shape keeps the inside in shade. In the winter months when the sun's path is low in the sky, the apse collects the sun's rays and stores the heat in it's enormous thermal mass. It regulates it's temperature with passive solar design principles and is incredibly aesthetic at the same time.