Tuesday 4 January 2011
“There is no energy crisis, just a crisis of ignorance,” the great Buckminster Fuller once wrote.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011 | 
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Sound bites or the ability to capture our imagination, explore the possibilities and open our minds. To come up with novel ideas and the world will beat a path to his door? Did the theory really meet the practice? Certainly engaged people to ponder, contemplate consider new possibilities and different horizons! Another famous quote: -
The Dymaxion House was developed to historically address several perceived shortcomings with existing homebuilding techniques. He designed several versions of the house at different times, they were all factory manufactured kits, assembled on site, intended to be suitable for any site or environment and to use resources efficiently. One important design consideration was ease of shipment and assembly. Perhaps inspiring the German manufacture Huf Haus? & undoubtedly others!
Criticism
Criticisms of the Dymaxion Houses include its supposed inflexible design which completely disregarded local site and architectural idiom, and its use of energy-intensive materials such as aluminum, rather than low-energy materials, such as adobe or tile. Fuller chose aluminium for its light weight, great strength, and long-term durability, arguably factors that compensate for the initial production cost. Aluminum was also a logical choice if the homes were to be built in aircraft factories, which, since World War II had ended, had substantial excess capacity.
The Wichita House was a project Fuller accepted during World War II as an attempt to produce cost-effective dwellings for everyone. The project continued to develop the technological concept of the Dymaxion House, now incorporating a round floor plan instead of a hexagonal one. The reactions to the prototype were extraordinarily positive; nevertheless it was not produced industrially. Fuller, a consummate perfectionist, felt he could improve the design and was dissatisfied with the prototype. He refused to begin production rather than allowing the "unfinished" design to be used.
You can't help but love the poetic-ness of Bucky who would articulate his philosophies about life and our planet. (“Everybody is an astronaut,” he said, for example, “We all live aboard a beautiful little spaceship called earth.”)
As Bucky described, everything he did was “an experiment to discover what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity. ”Passionate about efficiency and addressing the limited resources of the planet, he continuously found ways to recycle materials while promoting something he called “ephemeralization,” i.e. “doing more with less.” Perhaps influencing Earthship Biotecture of Taos, New Mexico? and again undoubtedly others too!
The anniversary of his death will be the 1st July 28 years since his departure. I am personally going to explore his original plans and designs of Dymaxion House in homage to his vision, foresight & splendor via various experimental designs utilising new technologies and materials appreciating local site and architectural idiom, and the use of low-energy materials, such as adobe or tile, perhaps wood and other natural building material, plus reclaimed and or recycled materials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blyth_(engineer)
What I would have given to have been in the combined company of two truly amazing, awesome and inspirational futurists Buckminster Fuller and Professor James Blyth. Quite often in history their ideas seemed radical, even extreme, perhaps extraordinary, however for anybody that has visited the Eden Project his inspiration and legacy lives on endlessly today via influences such as the geodesic-domes. Perhaps the combined legacy that they both leave is the lack of commitment via bureaucrats, industry and commerce, plus bankers even financiers to ultimately grasp the benefits of the alternatives far and beyond monetary values!
Some would argue that nothing has changed, although maybe times are changing, slowly but surely? A physicist once said to me it's easy to create something on a blank canvas but when somebody has scribbled all over it or you run out of canvas, you run into risks and problems, the analogy of our environment! Also it's easy to travel in a straight line but when people constantly put obstacles in our way, we always have to deviate from the simplest route!!! "We're still trying to find the pencil Mother Nature's using" whilst others are scribbling crayon all over our canvas!!!
The richness, complexity, and genius of Bucky’s mind and his many inventions are impossible to cover in a single article. But for starters, he was an early environmental activist, predicting and addressing today’s most pressing problems well before they were acknowledged in popular culture.“I’m not trying to imitate nature; I’m trying to find the pencil she’s using.” ~ R. Buckminster Fuller
The Dymaxion House was developed to historically address several perceived shortcomings with existing homebuilding techniques. He designed several versions of the house at different times, they were all factory manufactured kits, assembled on site, intended to be suitable for any site or environment and to use resources efficiently. One important design consideration was ease of shipment and assembly. Perhaps inspiring the German manufacture Huf Haus? & undoubtedly others!
Criticism
Criticisms of the Dymaxion Houses include its supposed inflexible design which completely disregarded local site and architectural idiom, and its use of energy-intensive materials such as aluminum, rather than low-energy materials, such as adobe or tile. Fuller chose aluminium for its light weight, great strength, and long-term durability, arguably factors that compensate for the initial production cost. Aluminum was also a logical choice if the homes were to be built in aircraft factories, which, since World War II had ended, had substantial excess capacity.
The Wichita House was a project Fuller accepted during World War II as an attempt to produce cost-effective dwellings for everyone. The project continued to develop the technological concept of the Dymaxion House, now incorporating a round floor plan instead of a hexagonal one. The reactions to the prototype were extraordinarily positive; nevertheless it was not produced industrially. Fuller, a consummate perfectionist, felt he could improve the design and was dissatisfied with the prototype. He refused to begin production rather than allowing the "unfinished" design to be used.
You can't help but love the poetic-ness of Bucky who would articulate his philosophies about life and our planet. (“Everybody is an astronaut,” he said, for example, “We all live aboard a beautiful little spaceship called earth.”)
As Bucky described, everything he did was “an experiment to discover what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity. ”Passionate about efficiency and addressing the limited resources of the planet, he continuously found ways to recycle materials while promoting something he called “ephemeralization,” i.e. “doing more with less.” Perhaps influencing Earthship Biotecture of Taos, New Mexico? and again undoubtedly others too!
The anniversary of his death will be the 1st July 28 years since his departure. I am personally going to explore his original plans and designs of Dymaxion House in homage to his vision, foresight & splendor via various experimental designs utilising new technologies and materials appreciating local site and architectural idiom, and the use of low-energy materials, such as adobe or tile, perhaps wood and other natural building material, plus reclaimed and or recycled materials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blyth_(engineer)
What I would have given to have been in the combined company of two truly amazing, awesome and inspirational futurists Buckminster Fuller and Professor James Blyth. Quite often in history their ideas seemed radical, even extreme, perhaps extraordinary, however for anybody that has visited the Eden Project his inspiration and legacy lives on endlessly today via influences such as the geodesic-domes. Perhaps the combined legacy that they both leave is the lack of commitment via bureaucrats, industry and commerce, plus bankers even financiers to ultimately grasp the benefits of the alternatives far and beyond monetary values!
Some would argue that nothing has changed, although maybe times are changing, slowly but surely? A physicist once said to me it's easy to create something on a blank canvas but when somebody has scribbled all over it or you run out of canvas, you run into risks and problems, the analogy of our environment! Also it's easy to travel in a straight line but when people constantly put obstacles in our way, we always have to deviate from the simplest route!!! "We're still trying to find the pencil Mother Nature's using" whilst others are scribbling crayon all over our canvas!!!
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