Index
1 Italicized page numbers refer to material in illustrations.
2 Abbott, E. A., 105
3 ABC group, 78--79
4 Aburdene, Patricia, 39,42 Ackerman, Frederick, 109 Adler Planetarium (Chicago), 202n32 Aigner, Hal, 192nl9
5Airplane Hanger (1955), 138
6 Aluminum Limited, 139
7 Amana community, 43
8 American Institute of Architects (AIA), 32
9 American National Exhibition (Moscow), 132, 185
10American Woman’s Home, The (Catharine and Harriet Beecher), 4,83--84
11 Applewhite, Ed, 21,56,57,203nl4 Architects’ Emergency Relief Committee of New York, 205n30
12 Architectural League of New York, 53, 79, 111
13 architecture: architectural license awarded to Fuller, 43; core idea of modern, 78--79; ‘‘cubical,’’ 72,79; Fuller contrasts industry with, 76; Fuller defends himself against hegemony of European modernism, 74; Fuller’s move from traditional categories to environment controlling, 69--70; Fuller’s radical questioning of, 77--79; Giedion’s Space, Time, and Architecture, 176; industrial design contrasted with,
14 77; International Exhibition of Modem Architecture of 1932,125; as medium for redefining relationship between humans and their environment, 59--60; postmodernism in, 177; Structural Studies Associates, 109; Sullivan and discourse of American, 68; universal, 57,107. See also houses; modernism Architecture and Democracy (Bragdon), 114,117,121
15 atomic (nuclear) energy, 47,89 Autonomous Wing, 102
16 Bacon, Francis, 38,74 Baer, Steve, 171,215n60 Baldwin, Jay and Kathleen, 172 Ban, Shigeru, 69
17 Banham, Reyner, 60,200n26 Bauersfeld, Walter, 173,202n32 Bauhaus, 127,195n27 Beck, Ulrich, 181--82 Beech Aircraft, 72,93
18 Beecher, Catharine and Harriet, 4,83--84 Bell, Alexander Graham, 58,147,202n32 Bell, Daniel, 177
19 Bellamy, Edward, 41,42,43,45 Benjamin, Walter, 176--77,183 Bertalanffy, Ludwig von, 72--73 Binelli, Michael, 160,212nl Black Mountain College, 120,140,142 Blake, Peter, 127
20 Bonaventure Hotel (Los Angeles), 183--84
21 Bragdon, Claude: on fourth dimension, 105--6,114--15; Fuller influenced by, 117--24; Fuller sends copy of 4D Time Lock to, 117; ‘‘Mathematical Abstractions’’ exhibit of 1941,122; universal system of projective ornament of, 4, 99--100,103,114--15,119--24,206n46
22 Brand, Lois, 156
23 Brand, Stewart, 156,157,171
24Brave New World (Huxley), 46
25 Breuer, Marcel, 127
26 Buckminsterfullerene, 58
27 Buckminster Fuller Institute, 22
28Buckminster Fuller: Supplementary
29Exhibition of Models, Photographs, and Drawings exhibit, 126,137,137--38, 141,145
30 buckyball, 4,121,122
31 Buffington, George N., 113
32 Calico Company dome (Bombay), 184
33 Callenbach, Ernest, 178
34 Canaday, John, 141,142 carbon 60 molecules, 4,58 Chase, Stuart, 108,109 chemistry, Fuller encourages his students to study, 59
35 Chronofile, see Dymaxion Chronofile cities: Fuller on problems of, 79--80;
36 Fuller’s projects for dome-covered, 34, 43,45,95--97,95,96, 97,134--36,135, 211n33
37 Clausewitz, Carl von, 166,167, 168
38 Climatron, 69
39Cloud Nines (1961), 136 cognitive maps, 178,183 columns, 65
40 Committee on Technocracy, 108,109 communes, 34,86,146,154--55,158,159, 170,211n31
41 communication facilities, 81 comprehensive design: in back-to-the-land movement, 158--59; at Drop City, 155; in 4D Time Lock, 101--2; Fuller as comprehensive anticipatory design scientist, 1,17,151; military-industrial information theory in, 151--52; and politics of consciousness, 153--58; psychological integration in, 151,152; as seeing whole picture, 150; as way for counterculture to embrace technology, 46; as way of life, 149--52; Whole Earth Catalogs primer for, 156
42 computers, 152,159,160,161,180,183, 210n20
43 Comte, Auguste, 38
44 Condorcet, Marquis de, 38 consciousness, politics of, 153--58 containment policy, 148 Corbett, Harvey W 79
45 Corbusier, Le: on architecture or revolution, 178; double character of, 77, 194nl7; Dymaxion house as fundamentally different from work of, 79; Fuller reads, 194nl7; Fuller’s antithesis of building contrasted with, 77; on house as machine for living, 29, 87; on pure creation de I’esprit, 82; utopias of, 181; Vers une architecture, 74,119, 194nl7
46Cosmic Fishing (Applewhite), 57 Cosmography (Fuller), 58 counterculture of 1960s and 1970s, 146--59; bureaucratic society opposed by, 148; communes, 34,86,146,154- 55, 158,159,170,21 ln31; consumer society as influence on, 148--49; Fuller as link between engineering and, 86; Fuller’s emphasis on adequate housing appeals to, 85; Fuller’s lectures as well-received by, 16; Fuller’s optimism appeals to, 46; Fuller’s rejection of status quo appeals to, 87; and geodesic domes, 4,162,169--73,174--75; New Communalism, 153--56,21 ln26; New Left, 153,154; nuclear war threat in formation of, 147—48; and technology, 4,46,147,149; two postures toward social change in, 153; utopian communities of, 43; Utopia or Oblivion: The Prospects for Humanity circulates among, 173; and World Game, 162--63 Covey, Stephen, 51
47Critical Path (Fuller), 88--89,91 Critical Regionalists, 32,195n26 Crystal Palace, 84 C60 molecules, 4,58 cybernetics, 152,160,210n20
48 Defence Early Warning (DEW) Line, 94, 130,155,207nl0,216n2
49 Dertouzos, Michael, 39,42 design: architecture contrasted with, 77; everyday objects as models in, 65; Fuller as link between humanities and, 86; Fuller on ‘‘one best way,’’ 107,109; Fuller shifts from shape-oriented to structure-oriented conception of, 78; Fuller’s philosophy of, 53--54; Fuller’s revolution by, 160,162,164,213nl2; Fuller’s sumptuary, 113--14; hallmarks of 1920s and 1930s, 87; from inside out, 66,68; resistance to unfamiliar designs, 92; time saving as requirement of progressive, 107,204n22. See also architecture; comprehensive design; design science
50 design science: for completing industrial revolution, 34; as comprehensive design, 102; DEW Line domes in development of, 130; Fuller as comprehensive anticipatory design scientist, 1, 17,151; Fuller commits himself wholly to articulation of, 23; Fuller’s early athletic pursuits and, 25; Fuller’s personal concerns mature into, 2; other discoveries presaged by Fuller’s, 4; Three Structures by Buckminster Fuller exhibit in public understanding of, 126; World Design Science Decade, 108
51 Deskey, Donald, 32
52 DeVarco, Bonnie Goldstein, 192nl2 Dial, The (magazine), 9,109,117
53Dispossessed, The (Le Guin), 178 Domebooks (Kahn), 171--73 Dome Cookbook (Baer), 171,215n60 domes: ‘‘Fly’s Eye Dome,’’ 93--94,98,186, 186. See also geodesic domes
54 Douthit, Peter (Peter Rabbit), 46,154--55, 171,215n52
55 Drexler, Arthur: and attribution controversy regarding Tensegrity Mast, 139, 140,142,143; on function in Fuller’s structures, 127; as Museum of Modern Art exhibition architecture and design director, 125; on radome, 130--32; Supplementary Exhibition curated by, 137,138; on tensegrity structures, 128, 129; Three Structures by Buckminster Fuller exhibit organized by, 125, 145;
5657Visionary Architecture exhibition of, 136--37,138
58 Drop City, 46--47,50,154,154--55,159, 170--71
59 Drop City South, 171
60 ‘‘Dymaxion’’: etymology and origin of term, 9--10,76,191n2,194nl9. See also Dymaxion air-ocean world map; Dymaxion car; Dymaxion house
61 Dymaxion air-ocean world map: 4D house informs design of, 102; geoscope based on, 121; and great map of World Game project, 161; planetary- extraterrestrial perspective in, 62; as utopian, 43
62 Dymaxion car: at Chicago world’s fair, 44; energy efficiency of, 92; fails to replace conventional car, 34; fatal accident with, 44; 4D house informs design of, 102; as never realized beyond prototype stage, 3; photograph of, 44; photographs displayed at Museum of Modern Art exhibition, 138; as utopian, 3,43
63 ‘‘Dymaxion Charts for Economic Navigation’’ (Nine Chains to the Moon), 108
64 Dymaxion Chronofile: beginning of, 192nl2; charts of correspondence in, 13,15; as heart of Fuller’s archive, 7, 10; list of 1927 grows into, 24; naming of, 9--10,192nl2; objectivity attributed to, 7; as scientific in conception, 12; at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 19; as support for Fuller, 10--16 Dymaxion Deployment Unit, 125,207n2 Dymaxion house (4D house): American origins in concept of, 76--85; American settlers’ houses compared with, 80,82; in Architectural League of New York lecture, 53,55; Beecher sisters’ The American Woman’s Home as inspiration for, 83--84; circular plan considered for, 199n2; for crystallizing new model of existence, 77; double character of, 76--77; Einsteinian relativity associated with, 106; elevation and plan from 1928, 31; elevation, isometric, and plan after redesign on triangular module, 112; exhibition of model of, 111; Fortune magazine illustrations of, 79; Fuller’s family tragedy in genesis of, 80--81; Fuller’s massed-produced structures for military prefigure, 92; Fuller tours with model of, 79; hexagonal plan of, 29,101, 111, 121; Lightful Houses project evolves into, 3,29,101,111; as like a tree, 64; as machine, 29,87; mast in, 81,104; mind over matter represented by, 106; as mobile, 101; model, c. 1929,100; model damaged in Deske/s office, 32; model first displayed at Marshall Field’s in Chicago, 92,101, 111, 194nl2; as multideck tower, 80; natural principles of, 104; as never realized beyond prototype stage, 3,76; only one ever built and inhabited, 2; as outpost, 79--81; personal and spiritual inspirations of, 76; regular geometry in aesthetic appeal of, 99,124; second model of, 55; shelter provided by, 80; shift from shape-oriented to structure- oriented conception of design in, 78; sources of idea of, 4; triangular module
65 in, 111—12,113; unified, homogenous way of life dictated by, 169; unique or unusual features of, 81; as utopian, 3, 43. See also Wichita Dwelling Machine Dymaxion Index, 13 dystopias, 46,51,174
66 Eames, Charles and Ray, 132,185
67Early X Piece (Snelson), 140,141,145, 208n33
68 Earth Day, 87,163
69 East St. Louis (Illinois), Fuller’s project for dome over, 95--97, 96, 97
70 ecology, 47,87,162
71Ecotopia (Callenbach), 178 Edison, Thomas Alva, 29,58,147 Edison Price, Inc., 139 efficiency engineering, 99
72 Einstein, Albert, 33,88, 99,105,106,107, 204nl8
73 electrical grid, 4,91--92,201n21
74 Emerson, Ralph Waldo: on beautiful necessity, 99, 117,119; The Dial founded by Margaret Fuller and, 9,109; Fuller reads essays of, 73; and Fuller’s renunciation of material wealth, 40; holistic thinking of, 90; on poetry as saying most important things in simplest ways, 69; in references list for 4D Time Lock, 74
75 energy, 86--98; electrical grid, 4,91--92, 201n21; entropy, 87--88,89; environment-controlling artifacts and, 87; in Fuller’s designs, 4; Fuller’s energetic- synergetic geometry, 203nl4; Fuller uses beauty to stimulate consumer desire for rationalizing use of, 110; in ‘‘Lightful Houses,’’ 64; oil shortages of 1970s, 86--87; Scott’s survey of North America, 108,205n30; synergy, 90
76 Engels, Friedrich, 38,52 Enlightenment, the, 37,49 entropy, 87--88, 89 environment controlling, 69--70, 72, 87, 110
77 Epcot Center, 184 ephemeralization, 6,8,89,98 epistemography, 56
78Esprit nouveau, L’ (magazine), 82 Estate of Buckminster Fuller, 22 Euclidean geometry, 88
79 ‘‘Everything I Know’’ session, 16--17 Expanded Cinema (Youngblood), 164 ‘‘expanding sphere’’ image, 68,73 experts, diminishing faith in, 48,50 Expo 67 dome, 97--98; contents as in other people’s hands, 45; in determination of structure of C60,58; diameter of, 58,98; environment controlling in, 69; Fuller brought to world attention by, 161--62; Fuller’s house thinking as not completed with, 73; geoscope planned for, 161, 180,184,185,185; photograph while in construction, 59, as still standing, 4,44
80 Fitzgibbon, James W., 139
81Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Abbott), 105
82 ‘‘Fly’s Eye Dome,’’ 93--94,98,186,186 Fog-Gun shower, 3
83 Ford, Henry: anniversary celebrations of Model T, 49; on black as color for Model T, 113; consumers buy into technological reform of, 110; in development of mass production, 29,92, 106--7; ‘‘4D’’ label possibly associated with, 200nl7; Fuller compared with, 29, 76; Fuller sends 4D Time Lock to, 33; in references list for 4D Time Lock, 74; transcendentalism as influence on, 90
84 Ford Laboratory Building, 84 forecasting industry, 51 Fortune (magazine), 79 fossil fuels, 89
85 Foster, Norman, 69,177
86 Fountain Factory (90% Automatic Cotton Mill), 71,71--72,110--11
87 ‘‘fountain of life’’ image, 68--70 4D house, see Dymaxion house (4D house)
88Four-Dimensional Vistas (Bragdon), 105 4D Time Lock (Fuller), 27--33; Bragdon sent copy of, 117; and Bragdon’s universal system of projective ornament, 119; on comprehensive design, 101; cover of, 30; versus custom home, 77; early 4D house designs not published with, 111; Einsteinian relativity associated with, 106; evolution of manuscript of, 194nl6; on 4D Control Syndicate, 101; on frivolous consumption, 113; as groundwork for Fuller’s later books, 102; Lama Foundation republishes, 215n60; Lightfiil House as heart of, 28--29,101; ‘‘Lightful Houses’’ in evolution of, 62; list of references for, 74,117; location of manuscript, 202n2; on mass-produced housing, 29--32; as meditation on time, 29, 204n22; printing and distribution of, 32--33,194nl6,202n2; project as unrealized, 76; as rant against modern civilization, 28,31--32; on sphere in nature, 204nl7; typescript of, 194nl9
89 Fourier, Charles, 38,42 fourth dimension: Bragdon on, 105--6,
90 114--15; Fuller on, 104--6,117,204nl7, 204nl8
91Frozen Fountain, The (Bragdon), 116, 121--22,122,123
92 Fuller, Alexandra (daughter), death of, 10,11,25,28,80,103,150
93 Fuller, Allegra (daughter): birth of, 10, 26,66--67,103; and picture of baby in programmatic drawing for ‘‘Lightful Houses,’’ 63; Record of the Direct Parentage of Allegra Fuller, 9
94 Fuller, Anne Hewlett (wife): anxiety experienced during second pregnancy, 26; correspondence with Fuller, 26; diary kept by, 67,194nl7; on 4D Time Lock, 195n23; and Fuller’s thoughts about suicide, 103; on life as inspiration for Fuller, 67; marries Fuller, 25
95 Fuller, Margaret (great aunt), 3,9,90: The Dial founded by, 9,109; Fuller influenced by, 3,36,73,84,151--52; in Fuller’s Ideas and Integrities, 73--74; and Fuller’s renunciation of material wealth, 40; on independence of American literature, 74; portrait of, 37; on truth and originality, 75; and utopian communities, 42--43; on world as system, 152,210nl9
96 Fuller, R. Buckminster aesthetic appeal of designs of, 99--124; influences on aesthetic of, 4; regular geometries lend beauty to designs of, 99--100,110,114 architectural license awarded to, 43 archive of (See R. Buckminster Fuller archive)
97 built works and projects of (See also Dymaxion car; Dymaxion house (4D house); geodesic domes; Lightful Houses project); dome home in Carbondale, 122,124; fails to complete unfinished program of industrialism, 34,196n33; ‘‘Fly’s Eye Dome’’ of, 93--94,98; idiosyncratic inventions as response to contemporary needs, 2; work at world’s fairs, 44
98 corporate franchises of, 139 and counterculture of 1960s and 1970s, 146--59; and Drop City commune, 170--71; helps restore young people’s faith in technology, 4; as link between design and humanities, 85,86; optimism appeals to young people, 46; and programmatic rejection of politics, 162--63; rejecting status quo appeals to young people, 87; speaking style well-received by young people, 16; Whole Earth Catalog inspired by, 156
99 design principles of (See also comprehensive design; design science); Bragdon as influence on, 117--24; as comprehensive anticipatory design scientist, 1,17,151; comprehensive design of, 101--2; on cubical architecture, 72,79; defends himself against hegemony of European architecture, 74; design and discourse as unity in work of, 53--56,73; on designing for least resistance, 205n34; design philosophy of, 53--54; on doing the most with the least, 79,89,98,164; energy in thought and design of, 86--98; on environment controlling, 69--70, 72; fourth dimension in designs of, 104--6,117,204nl7,204nl8; on house habits of thought, 57, 59; from inside out, 66,68; as late modernist, 177--78; membrane character of structures of, 69; mobile structures designed by, 93--94; modelability as goal of, 58; narrow conception of efficiency of, 110--11; natural principles in designs of, 104; on new forms rather than reforms, 110; ‘‘one best way,’’ 107, 109; radical questioning of architecture, 77--79; rational building methods supported by, 28; revolution by design of, 160,162,164, 213nl2; shift from shape-oriented to structure-oriented conception of design of, 78; sumptuary design of, 113--14; teleological approach to building of, 78,79; on universal architecture, 57,107; unpaid debts to former students of, 4
100 early life of, 24--25; as asbestos floor covering sales representative, 27; childhood nearsightedness of, 10--11,42; family history of, 9; father’s illness and death, 11,42; at Harvard, 11,25; loses Stockade Building System job, 11--12,26,81, 103,192nl5; marries Anne Hewlett, 25; as mill and packing-house worker, 25,193n7; in U.S. Navy in World War 1,7,25,73,106,150, 210nl9; works for Stockade Building System, 25--26,78
101 eventful year of 1927,23--35; continual recitation of events of, 24, 60; critical detonation point of, 26--27; epiphany of, 3,10,23--24, 81,103—4; events transformed into conscious, methodical program, 24; moratorium on language of, 23--24, 27,104; suicide considered by, 10, 23, 42, 87,103
102 fame of: becomes household name, 17; Expo 67 dome in, 161; iconic status achieved by, 86; international breakthrough of, 60
103 the future in late works of, 176--87;
104 Giedion on, 176; modernist utopia of postmodern replication, 186--87; and postmodernism, 177--79 intellectual characteristics of: attempts to bridge mechanical and social, 3,33--34; complementary relationship between building and thinking in, 3,58,73; continuous expansion and interconnectedness as hallmarks of thinking of, 17; Einstein’s relativity theory as influence on, 88; Margaret Fuller as influence on, 3,36, 73,84,151--52; as ‘‘Guinea Pig B,’’ 1,8,12,27,52,104; holistic thought of, 90; ideology as more important than artifacts of, 2; intellectual influences on, 3; lateral thinking of, 3--4; nature and organic world in thinking of, 66--68; as nineteenth-century inventor with twenty-first-century ideas, 58; as public intellectual, 2; as reader about contemporary architecture, 74; as renaissance man, 1; sources of ideas of, 4; on synergy, 90; and systems theory, 72--73,152,182, 210n20; transcendentalism as influence on, 3,73,84,90,98,151--52; as visionary, 34, 39
105 as lecturer: ambitious schedule of, 17; body language in meaning of, 57; as charismatic speaker, 2; ‘‘Everything I Know’’ session, 16--17; fees for, 40,192n24; forcefulness of, 86; in 1927--28,27,194nl2; photograph while lecturing, 18; physical appearance in later years, 146; as well-received by the young, 16 military work ofi in cold war, 177, 216n2; Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, 94,130,155,207nl0, 216n2; massed-produced structures for military in World War II, 92--93; with Office of Strategic services during World War II, 212n4
106 Museum of Modem Art exhibition of 1959 (SeeMuseum of Modem Art [MoMA] exhibition [1959]) patents awarded to, 43 personal characteristics ofi eccentricities of, 28,33; financial success eschewed by, 39; as gregarious, 12; hubris and humility coexist in, 8--9; insecurities of, 10; love of boats and the sea, 24--25,193n6; nervous breakdown of, 33,196n32; own metrics for measuring his worth, 12--13; physical appearance in later years, 146; as playful and engaged, 149; self-discipline as goal of, 103--4; as traveler, 17,47,152; as unable to make concessions that might have allowed his ideas to gain traction, 34; Victorian attitude toward correspondence of, 16; work style of, 152
107 photographs ofi lecturing, 18; with models of geodesic structures, 1949, 120; in New York City, c. 1929,11; with second Dymaxion house model, 1929,55; with tensegrity models, 1959,54
108 and politics: anti-Fuller propaganda,
109 64,213nl8; liberalism of, 169; politics’ critical role misunderstood by, 51--52; politics rejected by, 162,65,166,213nl2at Southern Illinois University: to at Carbondale, 18--19; moves Edwardsville, 20; sours on Carbondale, 19--20
110 and technology: ethical dimension to technological orientation of, 39; free-market approach to technological evolution of, 102,109--10; and Technocracy movement, 107--9, 124; as technological determin- ist, 38,49,52,92; as technological utopian, 38--39,40,162
111 as utopian, 38--52; bridges gap between utopian idea and reality, 3, 42--51; makes utopianism popular again, 45,47; Mumford’s criticism of, 46,48; utopian cities foreseen by, 45,46
112 views and ideas of (See also Spaceship Earth; synergetics; World Game); on cities, 79--80; on ephemeraliza- tion, 6,8,89,98; on epistemogra- phy, 56; on large-scale planning, 182; on ‘‘livingry,’’ 85, 87, 151, 161, 166,175; on local phenomena revealing universal truths, 17; on natural resources as finite, 39;
113 on penalizing self-indulgence, 114,206n44; on precession, 3; on progress, 77; on universalizing humanity, 168—69; on working in mainstream, 50; on world as information system, 151--52
114 writings of (See also 4D Time Lock-, ‘‘Lightful Houses’’; Synergetics: Explorations in the Geometry of Thought-, Utopia or Oblivion: The Prospects for Humanity); Cosmography, 58; Critical Path, 88--89,91; Grunch of Giants, 39; Ideas and
115Integrities, 73--74,146,149--50,151, 157; ‘‘Influences on My Work,’’ 73, 74; Inventions: The Patented Works of R. Buckminster Fuller, 52; Nine Chains to the Moon, 69,76,106, 107,108,117,119; Noah’s Ark #2, 66; Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, 146,177,182,216n73; translating into other languages, 57; ‘‘Vertical Is to Live, Horizontal Is to Die,’’ 65
116 Fuller, Thomas (great, great, great, great, great grandfather), 9
117 Fuller, Wolcott (brother), 195n23 Fullerenes, 58
118 Fuller Research Foundations, 139 functionalism, 66,87,90,136 ‘‘fundamental,’’ 56
119 Gabel, Medard, 13,16,192nl9 game theory, 166,180 Gantt, Henry L., 107 Gardner, Hugh, 21 ln31 Gates, Bill, 39,40,42,52 Geddes, Normal Bel, 92,212n4 general systems theory, 73,152,179,182, 210n20
120 genetic engineering, 49
121 geodesic domes, 94--98; at American National Exhibition, Moscow, 132,185; in communes, 34, 86,146,158; counterculture of 1960s and 1970s influenced by, 4,162,169--73,174--75; in Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, 94,130, 155,207nl0,216n2; domed-covered cities, 34,43,45,95--97,95, 96,97, 134--36,135,138,211n33; at Drop City, 46—47,154,155,159,170,171; ease of assembly of, 94,98; as enclosing greatest volume of space with least amount of material, 110; as environmentally friendly, 98; environment controlling in, 69--70; Epcot Center, 184; ephemeralization embodied in, 98; in Fountain Factory, 71,71--72,110--11; 4D house
122 informs design of, 102; Fuller on helicopters for transporting, 41; Fuller’s attempt to relaunch as futuristic, 134; in Fuller’s international breakthrough, 60; Fuller’s millenarianism among dome builders, 174—75; Fuller trades other sorts of inefficiencies for structural efficiency, 110--11; Fuller with models of geodesic structures, 1949,120; geometry in aesthetic appeal of, 99; as interior architecture, 70; larger-scale, 94--95; as late modernist, 177; as link between counterculture and engineering, 86, 87; mast in, 65; military uses of, 163--64,170,213nl8; natural principles of, 104; number built, 22; over Manhattan, 95,95, 134--36,135,138, 182; patent for, 139,155; plastics in, 172--73; as post-Euclidean, 88; precursors to Fuller’s, 173,202n32; publications about, 171--73; sources of Fuller’s work on, 3--4; structural efficiency of, 89,110; tensegrity mast associated with, 143; triangular form of, 90; unified, homogenous way of life dictated by, 169; United States Department of Commerce dome, Kabul, 184,184; as utopian, 43; where to put windows and doors, 187; in Whole Earth Catalog, 158; World Game distinguished from use of, 169--70. See also Expo 67 dome Geodesic Rigid Radome, 125,129--31,130, 140
123 Geodesics, Inc., 139
124 Geometries, Inc., 139
125 Georges, Alexandre, 132,133 geoscopes: constructed by Fuller and McHale, 121,121; information displays, 102; planned for Expo 67 dome, 161,180,184,185,185
126 Gibbins, Tom, 203nl2,205n33
127 Giedion, Siegfried, 176
128 Gilbreth, Frank and Lillian, 204n21 Glimpses of the USA (Eames and Eames), 132,185
129 Global Energy Network International (GENI), 91--92
130 globalization, 47,50,183 Gordon, William, 202n28 Gough, Maria, 4
131 Green, Wilder, 137,208n34 Greenberg, Clement, 177 Greenough, Horatio, 90 Grimshaw, Nicholas, 69 Gropius, Walter, 77,79 Grunch of Giants (Fuller), 39 Guinea Pig B, 8,12,27,104 ‘‘Guinea Pig B’’ (manuscript), 1,52
132 Haeckel, Ernst, 104 Hardt, Michael, 169 Harvard Society for Contemporary Art, 31,111
133 Harvard University, 9,11,14,25,33 Hewlett, James Monroe, 12,25,33,78, 204nl8
134 Hewlett-Packard, 50 Higgins, Brian, 145 High Frontier, The: Human Colonies in
135Space (O’Neill), 45 high-tech, 48,50,85 Hilton, James, 41 Hinton, Charles Howard, 105,106,115,117
136 Hitchcock, Henry Russell, 125 Homage to New York (Tingueley), 131, 132
137Hopeful View of the Human Future, A (O’Neill), 45
138 houses: custom home as symbol of success, 77; European versus American conception of, 80; Fuller on house habits of thought, 57,59; Fuller’s free- market approach to rationalization of, 110; industrialized as disciplining consumption, 113,124; as machines, 29,87,93; mass-production of, 29--32, 78,92,107; mobile, 92,93,101; service concept of housing, 81,82; shelter provided by, 80. See also Dymaxion house
139 Howard, Thomas C., 139
140 ‘‘How It Came About (World Game)’’ (Fuller), 161
141 humanity, universalizing, 168--69
142 Humboldt, Alexander von, 58
143 Huxley, Aldous, 46
144 Huxley, Thomas, 89
145 Huxtable, Ada Louise, 136,142 hyperspace, 105,115,117,121
146Ideas and Integrities (Fuller), 73--74,146, 149--50,151,157
147Image of the City (Lynch), 178
148 industrial revolution, 33,37,40,104,108, 165
149 ‘‘Influences on My Work’’ (Fuller), 73, 74; Inventions: The Patented Works ofR. Buckminster Fuller, 52
150 influenza epidemic of 1918,103 information, 151--52,165
151International Exhibition of Modern Architecture (1932), 125
152Inventions: The Patented Works ofR. Buckminster Fuller (Fuller), 52
153 inventory of world resources, 13,16,160, 170
154 loganson, Karl, 208n33
155 Jameson, Fredric, 177--79,181,183--84
156 Jencks, Charles, 177
157 Johnson, Philip, 125,127,177
158 Jones, Cranston, 125
159 Kahn, Albert, 84
160 Kahn, Herman, 39
161 Kahn, Lloyd, 171--73,174--75
162 Kahn, Louis, 212n4
163 Katz, Barry, 3
164 Kelvin, Lord, 88
165 Keniston, Kenneth, 147
166 Kennedy, John, 50
167 Kenner, Hugh, 34,60
168 ‘‘killingry,’’ 85,151
169 Khrushchev, Nikita S., 34,148
170 Kirschenbaum, Bernie, 139--40
171 Klaus, Dale, 172
172 Krausse, Joachim, 3 Kroto, Harold W., 58 Kuhns, William, 58,191n6
173 Lama Foundation, 215n60
174 Langmuir, Irving, 109 language games, 179,217n20 Le Corbusier, see Corbusier, Le Le Guin, Ursula K., 178 leisure, 113
175 Lichtenstein, Claude, 4
176 ‘‘Lightful Houses’’ (Fuller), 60--75; on American skyscraper, 64; culminating passage of, 68; on designing from inside out, 66,68; in evolution of 4D Time Lock, 62; ‘‘fountain of life’’ image in, 68--70; on fourth dimension, 204nl7; on ‘‘Fuller’s Law of Economics,’’ 114,206n44; ideographic model of growth in, 67, 67; metaphors and images of thought in, 68,73--75; programmatic drawing in, 62--66,63; sketch of early 1928 for, 61
177 Lightful Houses project: complementary relationship between building and thinking in, 3; evolves into Dymaxion house, 3,29,101, 111; Ford’s ideas in, 92; in 4D Time Lock, 28--32,101; as house as machine, 29; mast in, 29,65, 66,68, 101; square ground plan of, 29,62,81,101, 111; support focus of, 64--65; technical infrastructure lacking for, 30. See also Dymaxion house (4D house)
178 lighthouses, 65, 80,119
179 Lincoln Laboratory (MIT), 138--39 Lissitzky, El, 78
180 ‘‘livingry,’’ 85,87,151, 161,166,175 Looking Backward: 2000--1887 (Bellamy), 41,42,43,45
181Los Angeles Free Press (newspaper), 160, 162
182Lost Horizon (Hilton), 41 Lowell, A. Lawrence, 33
183 Lynch, Kevin, 178
184 Lyotard, Jean-Francois, 179,183,217n20
185 ‘‘Major News Items about R. Buckminster Fuller’’ (graph), 13,14
186 Maldonado, Tomds, 162,213nl2
187 Manhattan, project for dome over, 95,95, 134--36,135,138,182
188Man the Square (Bragdon), 105
189 Marcuse, Herbert, 169
190 Marks, Robert, 60
191 Marshall Field department store (Chicago), 92,101, 111, 194nl2
192 Martin, Reinhold, 4 Marx, Karl, 38,52 Massey, Jonathan, 4 mass production: in design versus in architecture, 77; Ford in development of, 29,92,106--7; of houses, 29--32,78, 92,107
193 masts: American homestead and Fuller’s use of, 80; Bragdon and Fuller’s use of, 119; in Dymaxion house, 81,104; in Fuller’s architectural work, 65; in Fuller’s resolution of the skeleton, 69; in Lightful house, 29,65,66,68,101; mooring, 63--64; in ‘‘Spirit House’’ sketch, 81
194 Matisse, Henri, 133
195 May, Elaine Tyler, 147--48
196 McCoy, Ralph, 19,20
197 McHale, John, 73,121,170
198 McLuhan, Marshall, 91,213n8
199 McNamara, Robert, 48 mechanical jellyfish, 3 Mechanization Takes Command
200 (Giedion), 176
201 Microsoft, 50
202 Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig, 69 military, U.S., 4,22,34,48, 85,87,90, 92, 125,130,134,139,147--52,155, 161--63,166,169--70,212n4,216n2 military-industrial complex, 147,152,175 Mills, C. Wright, 148,162
203 Minkowski, Hermann, 105 modelability, 58 modernism: Bauhaus, 127,195n27;
204 Bragdon as modernist, 99; core idea of, 78--79; Fortune magazine associates Dymaxion house with, 79; Fuller’s conception of house in terms of energy moves beyond, 93; Fuller’s late, 177--78; in geodesic dome’s origins, 87; Giedion’s Space, Time, and Architecture on, 176; international breakthrough in 1927,74; International Exhibition of Modem Architecture of 1932,125; Mies van der Rohe, 69; sumptuary regulation in, 103. See also Corbusier, Le moon landings, 49,87 mooring masts, 63--64
205 More, Thomas, 36,38,40,41,42 Morris Library, 19--20,192n7 Morris, Delyte, 18,19 Motro, Renč, 142
206 Mumford, Lewis, 46,48,212n4 Museum of Modem Art (MoMA) exhibition (1959): Buckminster Fuller: Supplementary Exhibition of Models, Photographs, and Drawings exhibit, 126,137,137--38,141,145; Dymaxion Deployment Unit at, 125; International Exhibition of Modem Architecture of 1932,125; Three Structures by Buckminster Fuller exhibit, 4,125--45; Visionary Architecture exhibit of 1960, 136
207 Muthesius, Hermann, 195n26
208 Naisbitt, John, 39,42 nationalism: decline of nation states, 169;
209 expansionist ideology of nation states, 167; global electrical grid as weakening, 91; World Game seeks dissolution of nation states, 165
210 natural resources: come to be seen as infinite, 37--38; Fuller on finitude of, 39; Fuller on unequal distribution of, 150; inventory of world resources, 13,16, 160,170; war and insufficiency of, 166
211 Nef, Evelyn Schwartz, 196n32 Negri, Antonio, 169
212 Negroponte, Nicholas, 39,52 Neutra, Richard, 79 New Buffalo, 171
213 New Communalism, 153--56,21 ln26 New Communalists, see New Communalism
214 New Left, 153,154
215 New York World’s Fair (1939—40), 42 Nine Chains to the Moon (Fuller), 69,76, 106,107,108,117,119
2161984 (Orwell), 46,51
217 90% Automatic Cotton Mill (Fountain Factory), 71,71--72,110--11 Nixon, Richard, 47,148,173 Noah’s Ark #2 (Fuller), 66 North Carolina State College, 71,110 nuclear (atomic) energy, 47, 89 nuclear war, 147—48,166,167,174 Nye, David, 4
218 octet truss: in Fountain Factory, 71;
219Octet Truss at Museum of Modern Art exhibit, 125,127--28,128,136,139; in Union Tank Car Company dome, 138 oil shortages of 1970s, 86--87 Old Man River Project, 95--97,96,97 omnidirectionality, 56,63, 78,81 Oneida community, 43 O’Neill, Gerard, 45,50,196n8 Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth
220 (Fuller), 146,177,182,216n73 ornament, Bragdon’s universal system
221 of projective, 99--100,103,114--15, 119--24,206n46
222 Orwell, George, 46,51
223 Oud, J. J. P., 79
224 Ouspensky, P. D., 105--6,117 Owen, Robert, 38,42
225 Pacific Domes, 172 Pacific High School, 172 Pang, Alex Soojung-Kim, 138,145 Pansophists, 38
226 Paxton, Joseph, 84
227 Pelli, Cesar, 177
228 personalized decoration, 113
229 Piano, Renzo, 69
230 Plato, 36,41,45
231 Poe, Edgar Allan, 58
232 politics: comprehensive design and politics of consciousness, 153--58; Fuller misunderstands critical role of, 51--52; Fuller’s late works as postpolitical, 177; Fuller’s rejection of, 162,164--65,166, 213nl2; industrial potential hindered by finance capitalists and politicians, 107,108; revolution as replaced by evolution of technology, 164,174;
233 technology seen as antithesis of, 166, 168; war as extension of, 166--69;
234 World Game as postpolitical, 180 Portman, John, 183--84 positive thinking, 51 postmodernism: Fuller’s domes as postmodernist, 184—87; Fuller’s relationship to, 177--79; World Game and, 179--84
235 Postrel, Virginia, 39 precession, 3
236Primer of Higher Space, A (Bragdon), 105 progress: fourth dimension and promise of, 106--7; Fuller’s attitude toward, 77; skepticism toward, 47,48
237 property ownership, 81,82
238 Pruitt-Igoe project (St. Louis), 177
239 Rabbit, Peter, see Douthit, Peter radiolarians, 104 Ramo, Simon, 48
240 Ranci&re, Jacques, 214n44
241 Rautenstrauch, Walter, 108
242 R. Buckminster Fuller archive, 6--22; cataloging of, 22; for checking accuracy of Fuller’s statements, 60; as conceptual art, 9; contents of, 1; ephemera in, 6,7--8,9; expense of maintaining, 18--19,20; family history section of, 9; Fuller considers selling, 21--22; after Fuller’s death, 21; Fuller’s futures represented in, 181; Fuller’s personality reflected in, 16--17; Fuller withdraws from Southern Illinois University, 20; as legacy, 18--22; as objective, 8--9; organization of, 7--8; origins of, 8--11; reasons Fuller maintained, 6--7; as research tool, 8,20--21; size of, 6; at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 19; at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, 20; to Stanford University Libraries, 1,22; twenty-three series of, 10; weight of, 8. See also Dymaxion Chronofile
243Record of the Direct Parentage ofAllegra Fuller, 9
244 recycling, 94 regenerative circuits, 65 relativity, 88, 99,105,106,107,117, 204nl7,204nl8
245 Rendelman, John, 19 Republic (Plato), 36,41,45 resources, natural, see natural resources Riemann, G. B. E, 105,115,203nl5, 203nl6
246 risk society, 181--82
247 Romany Marie’s (restaurant), 109 Roszak, Theodore, 153--54 Roth, Emil, 78
248 Ruskin, John, 117
249 Russell, Bertrand, 33,74 Sachs, Charles, 21--22 Sadao, Shoji, 139,143 Saint-Simon, Henri de, 38 Schlaich, Jorg, 69
250 Schmidt, Hans, 78,79,199nl0 Schmitt, Carl, 166,168--69 Schuller, Robert, 51 scientific management, 99,107,204n21 Scott, Felicity D, 4
251 Scott, Howard, 108,109,205n30
252 Segal, Howard P 3 service concept of housing, 81,82 Shakers, 43,44,45
253 Shaw, George Bernard, 29
254 shelter: applying Ford’s timing system to, 107; roots of Fuller’s concepts of, 83; in rural American housing, 80. See also houses
255Shelter (journal), 109,205n30
256 Shyrock, Bernard, 19
257 Simon, Julian, 39
258 SIUC, see Southern Illinois University Smalley, Richard, 58
259 Snelson, Kenneth, 138,140,141,142--45, 208n33,208n34
260 Snyder, Jaime, 21
261 Southern Illinois University, 18--20,53 Spaceship Earth: concept’s resonance with the young, 87,162; Fuller’s naval service in origins of concept of, 210nl9; geodesic domes in stewardship of, 171; global scale of, 50; in integrated view of world, 47; Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, 146,177, 182,216n73; planetary-extraterrestrial perspective in, 62; reference of 1927 to, 27
262Space, Time, and Architecture (Giedion), 176
263 ‘‘Spirit House’’ sketch, 81--83
264 Stam, Mart, 78
265 Steinmetz, Charles, 91
266 Steinmetz, Clarence, 109 Stirling, James, 177
267 Stockade Building System (Stockade Corporation), 12,25--26,78,81,103, 192nl5
268 streamlining, 44,87,92
269 Structural Studies Associates (SSA), 109 Stuart, Duncan, 143
270 Suchov, Wladimir, 65 Sullivan, Louis, 68,90 sumptuary regulation, 102--3,113--14, 117,124
271 ‘‘sunrise,’’ 56
272 synergetics: fails to replace mechanical engineering and economics, 34; Fuller’s energetic-synergetic geometry, 203nl4; geodesic domes manifest, 98; task of, 56 Synergetics: Explorations in the Geometry of Thought (Fuller): architecture’s significance in, 59--60; central question is ‘‘how does nature coordinate, 62; complexity of discourse of, 56; as epistemography, 56; geodesic dome actualizes ideas of, 98; Lightful and Dymaxion house structure as seed of, 62; post-Euclidean view of world in, 88; subtitle’s significance, 55; on tetrahedron as prime unit of energy, 90
273 Synergetics, Inc., 139,140 synergy, 90 systems theory, 59,73,152,179,182--83, 210n20
274 Tacoma Dome, 22
275 Taylor, Mrs. Bertrand, III, 131,131 Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 99,107, 204n21
276 Technical Alliance, 108
277 Technocracy, Inc., 108,109,205n31, 205n33
278 Technocracy movement, 52, 103, 107--9, 124,203nl2,204n25
279Technological Utopianism in American Culture (Segal), 47
280 technology: belief in transformative power of, 41; counterculture and, 4,46, 147,149; decline in belief in progress through, 47--49; Enlightenment narrative of human liberation through, 166; Fuller as technological determinist, 38, 49,52,92; Fuller’s free-market approach to evolution of, 102,109--10; high-tech, 48,50,85; mixed blessings of, 49; political revolution replaced by evolution of, 164,174; politics seen as antithesis of, 166,168; small-scale of contemporary, 50; social construction of, 92; Technocracy movement, 52,103,107--9,124, 203nl2,204n25; technological utopianism, 37--39,40,47--48,49,162; in warfare, 168; World War I releases new wave of, 165. See also architecture teleology, 78,79
281 tensegrity: constructions, 53, 54,102; Early X Piece, 140,141,145,208n33; Fuller defends his role in development of, 143--45; inversion of tension and compression in, 66; meaning of term, 128; Snelson in development of principle of, 140,141,142--45, 208n33, 208n34; Tensegrity Mast at Museum of Modern Art exhibit, 125,128--29,129,
282 42,144 Tertium Organum (Ouspensky), 105--6, 117
283 Tesla, Nicola, 88 tetrahedron, 63,64,90,115,203nl4 Tetrahedronal City (1965), 136 theosophy, 105 ‘‘therblig,’’204n21 thermodynamics, second law of, 87 thinking: epistemography as geometry of, 56; as frequency modulation, 55--56; Fuller on complementary relationship between building and, 3,58,73; Fuller on geometry and, 55; Fuller on house habits of thought, 57,59; images of thought in ‘‘Lightful Houses,’’ 68, 73--75
284Three Structures by Buckminster Fuller exhibit, 125--45; attribution questions regarding, 4,138--45; catalog for, 132--34,133,134; curatorial purpose of, 136; exposure given to Fuller by, 145; Geodesic Rigid Radome, 125, 129--31,130,140; Huxtable’s review of, 136; introductory label for, 127; Octet Truss, 125,127--28,128,136,139; supplementary exhibition contextualizes, 138; Tensegrity Mast, 125,128--29, 42,144; Tinguele/s Homage to New York in radome, 131, 132; Town & Country magazine fashion shoot in radome, 131,131; view of, 126; as widely reviewed, 141 time-rate, 106
285 Tingueley, Jean, 131,132
286 Toffler, Alvin and Heidi, 39,40,42,52 Towards a New Architecture (Vers une architecture) (Corbusier), 74,119, 194nl7
287Town & Country (magazine), 131,131 transcendentalism: Margaret Fuller as transcendentalist, 3,9,40,42--43,73, 84,90; Fuller influenced by, 3,73,84, 90,98, 151--52; and Fuller’s renunciation of material wealth, 40; and utopian communities, 42--43
288 tree of life, 64
289 Turner, Fred, 4
290 Turner, Tom, 20,160
291 Union Tank Car Company dome, 138 United States Department of Commerce dome (Kabul, Afghanistan), 184,184 universal architecture, 57,107 University of California Berkeley, 165,170 Usonian houses, 191n5
292Utopia (More), 36,41
293Utopia or Oblivion: The Prospects for Humanity (Fuller), 173--74; and Beck’s risk society, 181; Le Corbusier’s ‘‘Architecture or Revolution’’ compared with, 178; on energy, 88; on flying blind, 160; on fourth dimension, 203nl4; influence on later visionaries, 42; manifesto for World Game in, 166; on politics and war, 168; on utopia as realizable, 41; Youngblood on, 216n73
294 utopias, 36--38; of Le Corbusier, 181; forms of, 43; Fuller as utopian, 3, 38--52; Fuller makes utopianism popular again, 45,47; objections to, 45--46; roots of European, 37; in science fiction of 1970s, 178; technological utopianism, 37--39,40,47--48,49, 162; that could be established, 41--42; utopian communities, 43--44,45,49; value of, 51--52
295 Veblen, Thorstein, 107
296 Velde, Henry van de, 195n26
297 ventilation: Beecher sisters on, 83,84; in Wichita House, 70,70--71,83
298 Verne, Jules, 42
299Vers une architecture (Towards a New Architecture) (Corbusier), 74,119, 194nl7
300 ‘‘Vertical Is to Live, Horizontal Is to Die’’ (Fuller), 65
301 Vietnam War: as context of World Game, 161,162; distrust of experts results from, 47,48; Fuller and helicopter use in, 41; Fuller sees as ‘‘experimental’’ war, 166; New Left protests against, 153; radicalization of youth by, 174; Southern Illinois University students protest, 19; Whole Earth Catalog and technocracy that spawned, 157
302Visionary Architecttire exhibit (1960), 136 Vitale, J. A., 138
303 von Neumann, John, 166,180
304 Wainwright, William, 140 Walker, Ralph T., 74 Wallis, Barnes, 64 war: as extension of politics, 166--69; increasing brutality of twentieth-century, 167; nuclear, 147--48,166,167,174; technology in, 168. See also Vietnam War
305 Warren, Waldo, 101,194nl9 We (Zamyatin), 46
306Whole Earth Catalog, 87,146,156, 156--58,171,172,173
307 Wichita Dwelling Machine: airplane technology in, 84; Beech aircraft approached regarding, 93; environment controlling in, 72; 4D house informs design of, 102; mast in, 65; military support for, 85; model displayed at Museum of Modern Art exhibition, 138; prototypes of, 202n28; ventilation flows in, 70,70--71,83
308 Wigley, Mark, 212n4
309 Wong,Yunn Chii, 130,143,207nl0
310Wooden Hex Pent Trussed Geodesic
311Sphere, 138
312 World Design Science Decade, 108 World Future Society, 51
313 World Game, 160—65; aporia of, 183; counterculture of 1960s and 1970s influenced by, 4; cybernetic infrastructure of, 160; demonstration at United Nations, 163; dissolution of nation states sought by, 165; Dotnebook and, 172; ‘‘everybody must win,’’ 167,180; Gabel on proof of, 13,16,192nl9; geodesic dome technology distinguished from, 169--70; ‘‘How It Came About (World Game),’’ 161; ‘‘how to make the world work’’ as question of, 161,174,180; as impossible to win, 180; as language game, 179,183,217n20; logic of war inverted by, 166--67; manifesto of, 166; military sources of, 212n4; objective of, 166; origins of, 161,184; planetary-extraterrestrial perspective in, 62; and postmodernism, 179--84; as postpolitical, 180; resources mapped and tracked in, 182; for social construction of technology, 92; stakes of, 181; turbulent political background of, 162; universalizing epistemology underlies, 169 World of Tomorrow exhibit (New York World’s Fair), 42
314 World Resources Institute, 108
315 World Resources Inventory, 13,16,160, 170
316 world’s fairs, 43,44,161--62,184 Wright, Frank Lloyd, 74,84,90,191n5
317 Yamasaki, Minoru, 177
318 Youngblood, Gene, 160,162,163--65, 169--70,174,213nl4,216n73
319 youth movement of 1960s and 1970s. See counterculture of 1960s and 1970s
320 Zamyatin, Eugene, 46 Zbllner, J. C. E, 105
321 Cultural Studies/Technology
322 ‘‘Buckminster Fuller was one of the 20th century’s greatest philosophers regarding human intention, anticipation, and design. His ideas were boundless in scope and fearless in aspiration, and have affected human thinking from the level of the molecule to the galaxies. This collection offers new glimpses into his universe of interests.’’
323—William McDonough, Fellow, American Institute of Architects