Design Revolutionary: Buckminster Fuller at SFMOMA
Forward thinking is an understatement. San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art shows just how inspiring Fuller's ideas were
There's really no good single word to describe Buckminster Fuller. He was an architect, an engineer, an author, a designer, a philosopher and more. Considered one of the last great American inventors, Fuller is credited with influencing many concepts in modern architecture — such as prefabricated housing, ecofriendly materials and living in a smaller footprint.
A new exhibit opening on March 31, 2012, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art celebrates Fuller's work. Titled "The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area," it includes 65 of Fuller's works, including prints, drawings, photos, documentary video, books, models and ephemera of his most iconic projects. These pieces are featured alongside the work of famous Bay Area designers that were inspired by his philosophies.
For more information, visit www.sfmoma.org.
A new exhibit opening on March 31, 2012, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art celebrates Fuller's work. Titled "The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area," it includes 65 of Fuller's works, including prints, drawings, photos, documentary video, books, models and ephemera of his most iconic projects. These pieces are featured alongside the work of famous Bay Area designers that were inspired by his philosophies.
For more information, visit www.sfmoma.org.
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| Many of the items in the exhibition are part of a portfolio that Fuller put together late in life, containing 13 designs to be sent to art collectors. Since his death, many artists, architects and scientists have come to view this portfolio less as a collection of designs and more as a manifesto for a way of life. The portfolio, titled "Inventions: Twelve Around One," includes the 4D House, a hexagonal structure planned to be resource efficient and mass produced from factory-made kits. Like a prefab home, it was designed to be shipped anywhere for a low cost and quickly assembled onsite. |
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| Fuller developed the concept of "tensegrity" (a combination of the words tension and integrity) as a solution for simple, mobile dwellings for people in the 1970s. It revolutionized the tent design industry: The North Face first used it in 1976, tent designers quickly caught on, and the result was a massive shift from the tents of the past to the tents we use today. |
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| The geodesic dome (think Epcot in Walt Disney World) is one of Fuller's most famous patented designs. The dome, made up of multiple triangles, is a lightweight structure that can support an incredible amount of weight. It's also inexpensive and ecofriendly. While rarely used in residences, geodesic domes have appeared in military radar stations, civic buildings and exhibitions. |
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| A large part of the exhibit focuses on Fuller's widespread influence on Bay Area design and culture. Fuller's ideals of environmental friendliness, social responsibility and improved living conditions are said to have greatly influenced San Francisco's alternative culture. The Federal Building in San Francisco, designed by Morphosis Architects, was directly inspired by Fuller's work. |
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| Fuller considered solutions for a day when our land may no longer be inhabitable. The famous Dymaxion house above is one of his designs for ocean-residing homes. It was designed to reduce water usage through a water filtration system and a "fogger" that would replace showers by using smaller water particles. Of course, Fuller's ideas still continue to work their way through the design world today. Producing the strongest and best structure with the least amount of materials was an idea often picked up on by well-known modern architects, such as Norman Foster. And it's especially relevant today as architects consider the impacts of using certain resources, building inexpensive but quality structures, and living in small but practical spaces. |
Ideabook published on March 21, 2012.
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At our workshop we just finished a mural tribute to the man. "Call me trim tab" is the epitaph on his grave marker.
Thanks for bringing him to light today.