Buckminster Fuller: (July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983)
In 1927, at the age of 32, Buckminster Fuller stood on the shores of Lake Michigan, prepared to throw himself into the freezing waters. His first child had died. He was bankrupt, discredited and jobless, and he had a wife and new-born daughter. On the verge of suicide, it suddenly struck him that his life belonged, not to himself, but to the universe. He chose at that moment to embark on what he called "an experiment to discover what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity." Over the next fifty-four years, he proved, time and again, that his most controversial ideas were practical and workable. During the course of his remarkable experiment he:
- was awarded 28 U.S. patents,
- authored 28 books,
- received 47 honorary doctorates in the arts, science, engineering and the humanities,
- received dozens of major architectural and design awards including, among many others, the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects and the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects,
- created work which was gathered into the permanent collections of museums around the world,
- circled the globe 57 times, reaching millions through his public lectures and interviews.
Buckminster Fuller is best known for the invention of the geodesic dome – the lightest, strongest, and most cost-effective structure ever devised. The geodesic dome is able to cover more space without internal supports than any other enclosure. It becomes proportionally lighter and stronger as it grows larger. The geodesic dome is a breakthrough in shelter, not only in cost-effectiveness, but in ease of construction. In 1957, a geodesic dome auditorium in Honolulu was put up so quickly that 22 hours after the parts were delivered, a full house was comfortably seated inside enjoying a concert. Today more than 300,000 domes dot the globe. – Buckminster Fuller Institute
