His geodesic domes, lattices of triangles that provide maximum strength for a minimum expenditure of materials, dot landscapes around the globe. He was skilled as an engineer, architect, scientist, mathematician and cartographer, and was admired and esteemed as a poet, environmentalist, world planner and educator. Fuller styled himself a comprehensivist, and his talents and versatility reminded some of a latter-day Leonardo da Vinci. Fuller was the author of 25 books, the holder of 26 patents, and a continual conceiver of new ideas and of new connections between existing ones. Fuller had a heart attack while visiting the hospital bedside of his critically ill wife, Anne.Ī prolific writer and startlingly innovative thinker, Mr. Buckminster Fuller, 87, a modern Renaissance man who was known for designing the geodesic dome, for preaching salvation through technology, and for his gentle, glittering and multifaceted genius, died Friday in Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. Efficiencies of scale, reducing waste and minimizing resources were ideas that Fuller proposed to make homes not only more affordable but also better suited to the environment.R. The Wichita House was one of a series of concept houses that explored mass production and industrialized processes to re-imagine how housing was developed. Perhaps these notions are encapsulated best in his patent designs for the (Dymaxion) Wichita House. His notion of ‘spaceship Earth’ continues to be a popular means to remind humanity of our role in caring for our planet through intelligent design. Fuller's focus on sustainability and environment in his design work was not just ahead of the curve but has properly identified the central issue animating the dialogue in 21st century design and architecture and many other fields. His cross disciplinary approach is particularly relevant today especially in light of the growing environmental crises. In the words of Edward Cella: “Fuller remains an influential figure in many arenas and fields as he was first and foremost an interdisciplinary thinker. Fuller operated as a practical philosopher, shaping his positions into inventions, the Artifacts: the exhibition points out the role of these formulations within a global trans-disciplinary debate.

Richard buckminster fuller