Buckminster's Brain

Dyson Unveils "bladeless" Fan

2009-10-26T09:34:00.003-04:00

That vacuum-cleaner guy (no, not David Oreck, the other guy, the Brit) Dyson has come up with what's being called a bladeless fan. Actually the blades are in the base. Like the rollerball vacuum, I think it is more gimmick than gadget. It's a thing of beauty, but selling for upwards of 300 bucks, it's more like Dyson's Segway.

Apparently it is pretty noisy, but I wonder, if it really moves air efficiently, maybe it will find a place in industrial settings. It would be kind of ironic if the sleeker and more beautiful version of a product were the industrial version. How often does that happen?

If this thing gets any attention at all, you can be sure there will soon be knockoffs selling for far, far less. See it for yourself here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6306352/James-Dysons-latest-invention-bladeless-fan.html#postComment

Amazing Homes and Offices Built from Shipping Containers

2009-09-13T08:20:00.002-04:00

The site The Daily Green seems to have a lot of ideas that involve creative re-use of objects small and large. I am particularly enthused with the re-use of shipping containers --having seen them repurposed as anything from offices to horse barns-- but these ambitious projects are especially impressive.

Check them out. And take a minute to check out these incredible floating homes, too.

ReBurbia Finalists Inspiring

2009-08-12T22:14:00.003-04:00

Sponsored by Dwell Magazine and Inhabitat.com, ReBurbia is "a design competition dedicated to re-envisioning the suburbs."

Channeling the spirits of Bucky and other great futurists, the finalists have approached "reburbanization" from every angle. The proposals address water and air quality, better use of space, transportation, energy and other issues with creative solutions.

There are definitely some creative ideas here (although not all have merit: the one called "Vehiforce," for example) and you can vote for your favorite(s). I personally am partial to the container homes inside former "big box" stores, dubbed LivaBlox by its designer, Evan Collins. So far, this one has my vote, but I haven't finished looking through all these inspiring concepts.

Urban Farming in a Dome

2009-07-20T15:09:00.002-04:00

OK, not quite a dome but a sphere, built as a giant urban greenhouse, with farmland spiraling up in the middle to optimize growing space and use of sunlight. It's designed to be environmentally sustainable and, through sales of the farm production, economically self-sufficient as well.

http://www.gizmag.com/plantagon-vertical-farm/12267/

Bucky's Birthday

2009-07-12T15:09:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday, Bucky.
Richard Buckminster Fuller was born on July 12, 1895 in Milton, Massachusetts.

Non-Geodesic Dome Buildings

2009-06-11T21:27:00.002-04:00

While not a geodesic construction, these "monolithic domes" share many of the benefits of the Buckminster Fuller design. These are created over a tough, inflatable form, much like you may have shaped papier mache over a balloon at some point in your own past.

Among the challenges one faces in trying to build a dome home is the difficulty of efficiently using the space offered by a circular floor plan. Perhaps more daunting is the fact that the nontraditional appearance of the dome home is seen by many as "ugly." But, consider this alternative assessment of what constitutes "ugly" housing.

With these domes, the possibilities seem endless. And despite the difficulties in the US housing market, caused by our current financial troubles, around the world the need for affordable green housing will only expand.

Was Bucky an Architect?

2009-05-27T11:24:00.007-04:00

Apparently Philip Johnson didn't think so.

In an interview done for a public television production about Bucky, Philip Johnson said:

"Bucky Fuller was no architect and he kept pretending he was. It was very annoying. We all hated him because he really thought the profession was unnecessary, and he was a .. he knew everything, and he didn't see the need of any little artist wandering around on his tail because he was the great artist being the technical genius that he was. In his opinion."

It sounds like Johnson was making at least a backhanded admission that Bucky was a "technical genius." I think that Johnson (for no reason I can fathom) sounds bitter and maybe even jealous. But he nails what was lacking in Bucky's architectural abilities in a single sentence: "he didn't know anything at all about space, about details, about how you feel, about how you sat, how you walked, how you looked at at a building."

Buckminster Fuller was less than an architect and more than one at the same time. The best-fitting label for Bucky, in my mind, is "futurist."

I believe the world could really use a good new futurist about now.

The Guinea Pig Diaries

2009-05-23T09:39:00.002-04:00

The title of author and occasional NPR guest A J Jacobs's new book, The Guinea Pig Diaries, really caught my attention. Buckminster Fuller often referred to himself as "Guinea Pig B," signifying that his own life was an experiment ("B" was for Bucky).

Fuller's manuscript entitled "Guinea Pig B" was the last he finished before his death. To paraphrase Bucky, the hypothesis of his life experiment was that one ordinary man could make an extraordinary contribution to humanity in a way organizations, large or small, could not.

At first glance, the experiments Jacobs has performed seem mundane and gimmicky by comparison. But the insights gleaned from those experiences, which he shares in his earlier books like The Year of Living Biblically are brilliant and valuable. One of his previous "experiments" involved reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.

I'm looking forward to reading The Guinea Pig Diaries.

Bucky Fuller Challenge 2009

2009-05-19T12:48:00.003-04:00

There are over 280 ideas in the 2009 BFI Buckminster Fuller Challenge's Idea Index. The winner, announced on May 4th, is "Sustainable Personal Mobility: The CityCar, the RoboScooter, and Mobility-on-Demand Systems."

Descendant of the Dymaxion House

2009-05-09T14:26:00.003-04:00

The "manufactured home" maker Clayton has unveiled a descendant of Bucky's Dymaxion Living Unit, which they've dubbed the "i-house."
It combines the time-tested benefits of off-site, centralized manufacturing with a modern simplicity and "green" design concepts. The optional deck-topped "flex room" adds living space that's detached from the main structure, thus incorporating the outdoors in a way traditional homes never have.
First-time home buyers should take note: the $8,000 tax credit will go further towards the purchase of an i-house than any traditional option.
It's not exactly a "4D" home, but it's not your grandfather's "mobile home," by a long shot. I love it.

Bucky Fuller Fan Art?

2009-05-08T20:17:00.003-04:00

Buckminster Fuller Challenge

2009-05-07T09:24:00.000-04:00