3 ms·

Buckminster Fuller was the architect who envisioned a new kind of house, called the Dymaxion House. Fortunately it didn’t pick up. It was a great engineering ex

Buckminster Fuller was the architect who envisioned a new kind of house, called the Dymaxion House. Fortunately it didn’t pick up. It was a great engineering exercise, as the house was quite simple and efficient, but on the other hand it had no soul. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_house https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymaxion_house

frozenport 9y ago
It was actually tiny, about 2/3 of even the smallest homes of the time: For the last prototype of the Dymaxion House, Buckminster Fuller settled at just over 1000 square feet. Although this is would presently be considered meagre in size, it was approximately the size of the average single family home at the time. [1] BUT apparently not: Williams targeting the small home appeared right after World War II. In the early 1950s popular designer/developer Cliff May compressed the sprawling ranch house concept into his Low-Cost Ranch House idea, which was typically 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in 1,675 sq. ft. [2] [1] http://b2dymaxionhouse.blogspot.com/p/mass-production.html http://b2dymaxionhouse.blogspot.com/p/mass-production.html [2] https://blog.houseplans.com/article/whats-a-typical-house-size-today https://blog.houseplans.com/article/whats-a-typical-house-si...
officialchicken 9y ago
He popularized the geodesic dome. While no doubt an eccentric genius and early advocate of systems theory, I can't really give him a pass after coining the term "synergetics" [0]. The common form of the word used today is - synergy. He also coined the terms "cloud nine", "tensegrity", and "dymaxion". "Experience with synergetics encourages a new way of approaching and solving problems." - R. Buckminster Fuller Reader beware: much of his writings are either math heavy or word salad. Or both. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetics_(Fuller) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetics_(Fuller) Edit: corrected spelling of his name
wu-ikkyu 9y ago
Not having a "soul" seems like a poor reason to rejoice in the failure of such an affordable and efficient home, especially considering how many people live in "cookie cutter" houses, bland apartments, not to mention outrageous prices, and the effect on the environment of building such inefficient homes. "The severest blow of all was that both the national electricians and plumber's organizations said they would have to be paid to take apart all the prefabricated and pre-installed wiring and plumbing, and put it together again, else they would not connect the otherwise "ready to live in" house to the town's or city's electrical lines and water mains. They held exclusively the official license to do this by long-time politically enacted laws." -Fuller
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

frozenport 9y ago

It was actually tiny, about 2/3 of even the smallest homes of the time: For the last prototype of the Dymaxion House, Buckminster Fuller settled at just over 1000 square feet. Although this is would presently be considered meagre in size, it was approximately the size of the average single family home at the time. [1] BUT apparently not: Williams targeting the small home appeared right after World War II. In the early 1950s popular designer/developer Cliff May compressed the sprawling ranch house concept into his Low-Cost Ranch House idea, which was typically 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in 1,675 sq. ft. [2] [1] http://b2dymaxionhouse.blogspot.com/p/mass-production.html http://b2dymaxionhouse.blogspot.com/p/mass-production.html [2] https://blog.houseplans.com/article/whats-a-typical-house-size-today https://blog.houseplans.com/article/whats-a-typical-house-si...

officialchicken 9y ago

He popularized the geodesic dome. While no doubt an eccentric genius and early advocate of systems theory, I can't really give him a pass after coining the term "synergetics" [0]. The common form of the word used today is - synergy. He also coined the terms "cloud nine", "tensegrity", and "dymaxion". "Experience with synergetics encourages a new way of approaching and solving problems." - R. Buckminster Fuller Reader beware: much of his writings are either math heavy or word salad. Or both. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetics_(Fuller) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synergetics_(Fuller) Edit: corrected spelling of his name

wu-ikkyu 9y ago

Not having a "soul" seems like a poor reason to rejoice in the failure of such an affordable and efficient home, especially considering how many people live in "cookie cutter" houses, bland apartments, not to mention outrageous prices, and the effect on the environment of building such inefficient homes. "The severest blow of all was that both the national electricians and plumber's organizations said they would have to be paid to take apart all the prefabricated and pre-installed wiring and plumbing, and put it together again, else they would not connect the otherwise "ready to live in" house to the town's or city's electrical lines and water mains. They held exclusively the official license to do this by long-time politically enacted laws." -Fuller

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]