Every so often the world is graced with the presence of genius, people who can envision realities years or even decades away. These individuals often foresee issues that will affect humankind and propose solutions that are both unorthodox and well before their time. One such individual was Buckminster R. Fuller, known to his friends as “Bucky”.
Many of the principles he developed and the projects he undertook reveal a profound appreciation of, and desire to protect, the Earth and its limited resources. While recycling and reusing waste materials is necessary and can be done in more and more interesting ways, incorporating responsible consumption into the design process is more critical than ever.
We reached out to Elizabeth Thompson, Executive Director of the Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI) to find out more about Bucky and his legacy, which remains as relevant as ever.
Q: Can you briefly describe his “ephemeralization” principle and whether it is still relevant today?
‘Doing ever more with ever less’ is Fuller’s definition of ephemeralization as quoted in the World Game documents. He cites as an example the function a satellite performs with regard to enabling global communication vs hundreds of thousands of tons of oceanic cables. In essence, technology is constantly moving us to greater and greater degrees of ephemeralization.
Q: What else can you tell us about his interest in material efficiency?
For Fuller the basic unit of measurement of the Universe is energy. Energy events is how he described all material as well as metaphysical (non-material events taking place in the intellectual realm). Calculating energy inputs was fundamental to his design practice and informed every artefact he developed. The geodesic dome is a supreme example of this principle of doing more with less—a dome covers the most amount of space with the least amount of materials (energy inputs).
Q: Let’s talk about Synergetics. Can you explain the idea to us briefly? Is there any parallel to be made with the term ‘design thinking’ that is so popular today?
The essence of synergy as defined by Fuller is that the behaviour of the ‘whole’ is fundamentally unpredicted by the behaviour of the parts. Applied to design thinking this idea is about consideration of the whole system when engaging in design… the idea being that considering the parts of a solution in isolation will not inform you about the unexpected (both positive and negative) consequence of the interaction inherent between the parts that comprise the whole. In other words, factoring in synergetic advantage—going always from the whole to the particular, from macro to micro—is an essential principle in comprehensive design thinking. This is where Fuller’s emphasis on anticipatory thinking was also so crucial. Considering always the whole (macro) and the unpredictable behavior of its component parts means you are attempting to anticipate the future impact of your solution. As designers, we need to be looking at the positive as well as the un-intended consequences of our interventions down the line.
Above: Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Source: Wikipedia
Q: What can you tell us about how his principles and body of work have influenced the fields of architecture and design?
How much time do you have!?
Honestly, I think there are very few arenas of architecture and design that have not been directly or indirectly influenced by Fuller. From measuring building performance; to materials innovation; to advance structural systems; to mobile living systems; to advances in emergency shelter; to the whole idea of regenerative design… all of these ideas were deeply embedded in Fuller’s work.
Q: The website says that the Buckminster Fuller Challenge was reintroduced in 2007. What is the history of the award? Who should apply?
The Fuller Challenge was launched in 2007 as a tool to reignite Fuller’s challenge to the world’s architecture students in 1961 to make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time, through spontaneous cooperation, without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.
Through this annual award, we track the leading edge of comprehensive design and receive entries from around the world tackling some of the most entrenched issues facing us today. Architects, artists, scientists, designers, engineers, entrepreneurs and others all submit entries.
Q: Fuller’s tombstone says: “Call me trimtab”. What is a trimtab?
A trimtab refers to a very small steering mechanism found at the tail end of the rudder of a ship or plane. Its ability to engage a disproportionate amount of leverage to turn the ship or plane around—compared to its size—inspired Fuller to use this metaphor to describe the effect a single individual (small steering mechanism) can have on changing the course of the whole world. Through relentless testing and documentation, he set out to explore scientifically what a single individual could do on behalf of all humanity and referred to himself as “Guinea Pig B”, — B for Bucky.
Q: Fuller was by all accounts an optimist. How does the Buckminster Fuller Institute ensure that his personal legacy lives on and that his hopes for a better world “for 100% of humanity” might one day become reality?
Interestingly, Fuller described himself as an optionist. He was very clear that his was not just a fantastical vision of the future, but rather an articulation, based on evidence, that we have the option to succeed. We have the technology and knowhow to ensure everyone has a better standard of living than anyone has ever known. It is a design challenge to make this so. BFI sheds light on examples of solutions that are embodying this reality right now. In every winning solution, we see Fuller’s prescient vision alive and well.
