Buckminster Fuller: Designing for Mobility

Hailed as one of the greatest minds of our times, Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) is known as an American visionary. Designer, architect, engineer, inventor, and philosopher, he was undeniably one of the key innovators of the 20th century.This volume provides a visually rich and complete overview of Fuller's design and architectural production, situating Fuller's projects in their historical context. The book features never-before-published material from the Fuller archives that were recently donated to Stanford University.Michael John Gorman's essay offers an in-depth analysis of Fuller's work-focusing more attention on his innovative architectural projects than to other aspects of Fuller's "design science"-as well as an interesting perspective on post-war American society and architectural culture. Chapters include concepts of Fuller's philosophy, his manifesto for mass-produced housing, the role of mobile shelter in transforming behavior, geodesic domes, and Fuller's early experiments. Fuller's achievements, astonishing design, and production are fully documented using original and often unknown archival materials.

Michael John Gorman has published widely on the history of science and technology in journals including Nature, Science and Leonardo. Gorman has held fellowships at MIT's Dibner Institute, Harvard University, and the Museum of History of Science in Florence, and holds a B.A. in Physics and Philosophy from Oxford University and a Ph.D. in History from the European University Institute in Florence. He is author, with Nick Wilding, of La Technica Curiosa di Kaspar Schott (Edizioni dell'Elefante, 2000) and was Associate Curator of the Buckminster Fuller Collection at Stanford University Libraries.