Fuller was most famous for his geodesic domes, which can be seen as part of military radar stations, civic buildings, and exhibition attractions. Their construction is based on extending some basic principles to build simple tensegrity structures (tetrahedron, octahedron, and the closest packing of spheres). Built in this way they are extremely lightweight and stable. The patent for geodesic domes was awarded in 1954, part of Fuller's decades-long efforts to explore nature's constructing principles to find design solutions.
Previously, Fuller had designed and built prototypes of what he hoped would be a safer, aerodynamic Dymaxion Car ("Dymaxion" is contracted from DYnamic MAXimum tensION). To this end he experimented with a radical new approach. He worked with professional colleagues over a period of three years, beginning in 1932. Based on a design idea Fuller had derived from that of aircraft, the three prototype cars were all quite different from anything on the market. For......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 2597
Approximate Pages: 10 (260 words per double-spaced page) |