R. Buckminster Fuller, outlaw designer
R. Buckminster Fuller (July 12th, 1895—July 1st, 1983), engineer, poet, philosopher, architect, inventor, and visionary was the quintessential modern Renaissance man. Among many other descriptions, he was called “the PR man to the Universe.” His original and profoundly individual way of thinking led to a catastrophic business failure and bankruptcy in 1927; he had been attempting to innovate in the very conservative business of construction, which has traditionally been strangled by regressive codes and territorial trade unions. Profoundly shaken, he chose to embark on a lifelong experiment as “Guinea Pig B” to find out what one individual could do to help all of humanity become an enduring success, in a manner which would be sustainable and environmentally sound. He worked ahead of his time and left an impressive legacy of tools and knowledge in mathematics, architecture, engineering, philosophy, etc. One of the highlights of his life’s work is that he understood the importance of working at the interfaces, of transcending the boundaries that exist between the fields of human endeavour. In this line of thought, he was inspired by Nature’s synergetic mechanisms, its systemic quality, which makes it difficult to understand if you look at only one aspect at a time. This philosophy led to unique and extremely valuable inventions, with the geodesic dome being the most recognized.
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