From utopia to realisation: Fuller’s experimental model as a potential method in contemporary architecture

Abstract

This paper presents the ideas of the neo-avant-garde architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller. Relying on observing the Universe and analysing microorganisms while using the available technology, Fuller experimented and designed new architectural structures. His ideas were based on the advantage of steel as a material which works best in tension, thus reducing its cross-section and the overall weight of a structure. A unique characteristic of Fuller’s opus is his utopian projects for flying structures and biospheres, with the idea of creating a new microclimate, which never fails to inspire architects and artists. Fuller’s utopian ideas should be reconsidered in the contemporary age, following innovations in materials and technologies. This paper questions the possibility of applying Fuller’s design methodology to contemporary structures, making them more lightweight, sustainable, and economical. The positioning of Buckminster Fuller’s utopian ideas in a contemporary frame also revises the effect on social changes created by this type of architecture. It is a fusion of visual art, inventive design model, mechanical activity, economy, and overall evolutionary strategy for a new society. Concluding remarks will open questions about the possibility of the realisation of utopian ideas for a better and sustainable world. Or is it all still a utopia?