New Views on R. Buckminster Fuller
A serious scholarly look at the work of R. Buckminster Fuller is long overdue. While Fuller himself wrote and published many volumes, and several biographies were written about him, there is little research that contributes to a critical understanding of his work and its historical significance. The 1,300-plus linear feet of material contained in the Fuller Archive at Stanford, including papers, photographs, audio and video recordings, and models, has been recently organized and described by the Department of Special Collections, and is ready to be explored by a new generation of scholars.

Fuller's work has often suffered from lopsided treatment. Some laud him as a planetary prophet whose design science work foretold sustainable architecture and nanotechnology; others dismiss him as a "delirious technician" with a talent for linguistic obfuscation. Between adulation and disdain must lie a balanced picture of Fuller's life and his work.

This volume paints that picture by taking a broader historical view, discussing Fuller and his work in the context of larger social and cultural patterns. Fuller is a common thread in a critical cultural history that will show him to be both a participant in and a product of his times. By placing Fuller and his work in a historical framework, we will arrive at a much richer understanding of both this self-made polymath and his times. This fresh, contextual look at Fuller's work from leading scholars in different fields is an important step toward filling the void of serious scholarship on Fuller.

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New Views on R. Buckminster Fuller
A serious scholarly look at the work of R. Buckminster Fuller is long overdue. While Fuller himself wrote and published many volumes, and several biographies were written about him, there is little research that contributes to a critical understanding of his work and its historical significance. The 1,300-plus linear feet of material contained in the Fuller Archive at Stanford, including papers, photographs, audio and video recordings, and models, has been recently organized and described by the Department of Special Collections, and is ready to be explored by a new generation of scholars.

Fuller's work has often suffered from lopsided treatment. Some laud him as a planetary prophet whose design science work foretold sustainable architecture and nanotechnology; others dismiss him as a "delirious technician" with a talent for linguistic obfuscation. Between adulation and disdain must lie a balanced picture of Fuller's life and his work.

This volume paints that picture by taking a broader historical view, discussing Fuller and his work in the context of larger social and cultural patterns. Fuller is a common thread in a critical cultural history that will show him to be both a participant in and a product of his times. By placing Fuller and his work in a historical framework, we will arrive at a much richer understanding of both this self-made polymath and his times. This fresh, contextual look at Fuller's work from leading scholars in different fields is an important step toward filling the void of serious scholarship on Fuller.

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New Views on R. Buckminster Fuller

New Views on R. Buckminster Fuller

New Views on R. Buckminster Fuller

New Views on R. Buckminster Fuller

Overview

A serious scholarly look at the work of R. Buckminster Fuller is long overdue. While Fuller himself wrote and published many volumes, and several biographies were written about him, there is little research that contributes to a critical understanding of his work and its historical significance. The 1,300-plus linear feet of material contained in the Fuller Archive at Stanford, including papers, photographs, audio and video recordings, and models, has been recently organized and described by the Department of Special Collections, and is ready to be explored by a new generation of scholars.

Fuller's work has often suffered from lopsided treatment. Some laud him as a planetary prophet whose design science work foretold sustainable architecture and nanotechnology; others dismiss him as a "delirious technician" with a talent for linguistic obfuscation. Between adulation and disdain must lie a balanced picture of Fuller's life and his work.

This volume paints that picture by taking a broader historical view, discussing Fuller and his work in the context of larger social and cultural patterns. Fuller is a common thread in a critical cultural history that will show him to be both a participant in and a product of his times. By placing Fuller and his work in a historical framework, we will arrive at a much richer understanding of both this self-made polymath and his times. This fresh, contextual look at Fuller's work from leading scholars in different fields is an important step toward filling the void of serious scholarship on Fuller.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780804762793
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication date: 05/08/2009
Pages: 248
Product dimensions: 6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Hsiao-Yun Chu is Assistant Professor in the Department of Design and Industry at San Francisco State University. Prior to this position, she was Assistant Curator of the R. Buckminster Fuller Collection at Stanford University. Roberto Trujillo is Head of Special Collections at the Stanford Library.

Table of Contents

Contributors vii

Preface Roberto G. Trujillo xi

Introduction Hsiao-Yun Chu 1

1 Paper Mausoleum: The Archive of R. Buckminster Fuller Hsiao-Yun Chu 6

2 1927, Bucky's Annus Mirabilis Barry M. Katz 23

3 R. Buckminster Fuller: America's Last Genuine Utopian? Howard P. Segal 36

4 Thinking and Building: The Formation of R. Buckminster Fuller's Key Concepts in "Lightful Houses" Joachim Krausse 53

5 "Spirit-House" and "Steppenwolf" Avant-Garde: American Origins in the Dymaxion House Concept Claude Lichtenstein 76

6 Energy in the Thought and Design of R. Buckminster Fuller David E. Nye 86

7 Necessary Beauty: Fuller's Sumptuary Aesthetic Jonathan Massey 99

8 Backyard Landing: Three Structures by Buckminster Fuller Maria Gough 125

9 R. Buckminster Fuller: A Technocrat for the Counterculture Fred Turner 146

10 Fluid Geographies: Politics and the Revolution by Design Felicity D. Scott 160

11 Fuller's Futures Reinhold Martin 176

Notes 191

Index 219

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