Buckminster Fuller

Richard Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller (July 12, 1895 - July 1, 1983) was an American visionary, designer, architect, and inventor. He was also a professor at Southern Illinois University and a prolific writer.

Practical achievements

Certainly, a number of Fuller's projects did not meet success in terms of commitment from industry or acceptance by a broad public. However, many geodesic domes have been built and are in use. According to the Buckminster Fuller Institute Web site, the largest geodesic-dome structures (listed in descending order from largest diameter) are:

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• Fantasy Entertainment Complex: Kyosho Isle, Japan, 710 feet
• Multi-Purpose Arena: Nagoya, Japan, 614 feet
• Tacoma Dome: Tacoma, WA, USA, 530 feet
• Superior Dome: Northern Michigan Univ. Marquette, MI, USA, 525 feet
• Walkup Skydome: Northern Arizona Univ. Flagstaff, AZ, USA, 502 feet
• Round Valley High School Stadium: Springerville, AZ USA, 440 feet
• Former Spruce Goose Hangar: Long Beach, CA, USA, 415 feet
• Formosa Plastics Storage Facility: Mai Liao, Taiwan, 402 feet
• Union Tank Car Maintenance Facility: Baton Rouge, LA USA, 384 feet
• Lehigh Portland Cement Storage Facility: Union Bridge, MD USA, 374 feet

Fuller's development of the dome and his roles as a philosopher and as a gadfly within the design and architectural communities left an important legacy. He introduced a number of concepts, and if every one wasn't entirely new, we can still say that he honed each one well.

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Thousands of geodesic domes have been built, but they are not an everyday sight in most places. Contrary to initial hopes, in practice most of the smaller owner-built geodesic structures proved to have drawbacks (discussed in the Wikipedia section on geodesic domes); plus, as a home, many people have been put off by the domes' unconventional appearance.

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So, while an envisioned widespread and common adoption of geodesic domes is yet to materialize, Fuller's ideas, teachings, and attitude to life and creativity, in combination, have prodded designers and engineers. What Fuller accomplished, in this sense, was to make professionals and students think "outside the box" - question convention. Fuller was followed (historically) by other designers and architects (examples, Norman Foster - especially his "Armadillo" project - Steve Baer) willing to explore the possibilities of new geometries in the design of buildings, not based on the conventional rectangles. The English writer, playwright, and philosopher John Dryden wrote something quite relevant to the pioneering forays of Fuller still to be brought to full result: "We must beat the iron while it is hot, but we may polish it at leisure."

Related Topics:
Norman Foster - Steve Baer - John Dryden

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