The Geodesic Dome (圆顶层) — the House of the
Future R. Buckminster Fuller spent much of the early 20 th
century looking for ways to improve human shelter by applying modern
technological know-how to shelter construction, making shelter more comfortable
and efficient, and more economically available to a greater number of
people. After acquiring some experience in the building industry
and discovering the traditional practices and perceptions which severely limit
changes and improvements in construction practices, Fuller carefully examined
and improved interior structure equipment, including the toilet, the shower, and
the bathroom as a whole. He studied structure shells, and devised a number of
alternatives, each less expensive, lighter, and stronger than traditional wood,
brick, and stone buildings. In 1944, the United States suffered
a serious housing shortage. Government officials knew that Fuller had developed
a prototype of family dwelling which could be produced rapidly, using the same
equipment which had previously built war-time airplanes. They could be
"installed" anywhere, the way a telephone is installed, and with little
additional difficulty. When one official flew to Wichita, Kansas to see this
house, which Beech Aircraft and Fuller built, the man reportedly gasped, "My
God! This is the house of the future!" Soon, unsolicited checks
poured in from people who wanted to purchase this new kind of house, but Fuller
was never able to get it into full production. This was due to many obstacles
such as only union contractors were able to hook the houses up to water, power
and sewers in many cities. However, because the houses were already wired and
had the plumbing installed by the aircraft company, many construction trade
unions made it clear that they would not work on the houses. There were also
in-house differences between Fuller and the stockholders. Fuller did not feel
the house design was complete; there were problems he wanted to fix. But the
stockholders wanted to move ahead. However, the main obstruction was obtaining
the financing for the tooling costs, which were purposefully not included in the
negotiations with investors. No bank would finance the project with union
problems and stockholder battles. After the war, Fuller’s
efforts focused on the problem of how to build a shelter which is so lightweight
that it can be delivered by air. Shelter should be mobile which would require
great breakthroughs in the weight-reduction of the materials. Technology would
have to follow nature’s design as seen by the spider’s web which can float in a
hurricane because of its high strength-to-weight ratio. New shelter would have
to be designed that assimilates these principles and that was Fuller’s
intent. One of the ways Buckminster Fuller would describe the
differences in strength between a rectangle and a triangle would be apply
pressure to both structures. The rectangle would fold up and be unstable but the
triangle withstands the pressure and is much more rigid — in fact the triangle
is twice as strong. This principle directed his studies toward creating a new
architectural design, the geodesic dome, based also upon his idea of "doing more
with less". Fuller discovered that if a spherical structure was created from
triangles, it would have incomparable strength. The sphere uses
the "doing more with less" principle in that it encloses the largest volume of
interior space with the least amount of surface area thus saving on materials
and cost. Fuller reintroduced the idea that when the sphere’s diameter is
doubled it will quadruple its square footage and produce eight times the
volume. The spherical (球形的) structure of a dome is one of the
most efficient interior atmospheres for human dwellings because air and energy
are allowed to circulate without obstruction. This enables heating and cooling
to occur naturally. Geodesic shelters have been built all around the world in
different climates and temperatures and still they have proven to be the most
efficient human shelter one can find. More specifically, the
dome is energy efficient for many reasons: Its decreased surface area requires
less building materials; exposure to cold in the winter and heat in the summer
is decreased because, being spherical, there is the least surface area per unity
of volume per structure; the curved-in interior creates a natural airflow that
allows the hot or cool air to flow evenly throughout the dome with the help of
return air ducts; extreme wind turbulence is lessened because the winds that
contribute to heat loss flow smoothly around the dome; it acts like a type of
giant down-pointing headlight reflector and reflects and concentrates interior
heat. This helps prevent radiant heat loss. The net annual
energy savings for a dome owner is 30% more than normal rectilinear (直线的) homes
according to the Oregon Dome Co. This is quite an improvement and helps save the
environment from wasted energy. Domes have been designed by Fuller and others to
withstand high winds and extreme temperatures as seen in the Polar
Regions. Many dome manufacturers offer various designs in
geodesic dome housing with little assembly time required. Some houses can be
assembled in less than a day with others taking up to six months. Many also come
in dome kits that buyers can build themselves or with the help of
friends. R. Buckminster Fuller’s first worldwide acceptance by
the architectural community occurred with the 1954 Triennale where his cardboard
dome was displayed for the first time. The Milan Triennale was established to
stage international exhibitions aimed to present the most innovative
accomplishments in the fields of design, crafts, architecture and city
planning. The theme for 1954 was Life between Artifact and
Nature: Design and the Environmental Challenge, which fit in perfectly with
Fuller’s work. Fuller had begun efforts towards the development of a
Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Science, which he defined as, "the effective
application of the principles of science to the conscious design of our total
environment in order to help make the Earth’s limited resources meet the needs
of all humanity without disrupting the ecological processes of the planet." The
cardboard shelter that was part of his exhibit could be easily shipped and
assembled with the directions printed right on the cardboard. The 42-foot paper
board Geodesic was installed in old Sforza garden in Milan and came away with
the highest award, the Grand Premio.
(1,036 words) Fuller won ______ in 1954 for his achievement in the 42-foot cardboard shelter.