Buckminster Fuller’s Round Dymaxion House

Buckminster Fuller was an inventor best known for his geodesic domes. He developed a design philosophy based on meeting the needs of everyman whilst conserving the world’s resources.



Conceived in the late 1920's but not actually built until 1945, the Dymaxion House was Fuller's solution to the need for a mass-produced, affordable, easily transportable and environmentally efficient house. The word "Dymaxion" was coined by combining parts of three of Bucky's favorite words: DY (dynamic), MAX (maximum), and ION (tension). The house used tension suspension from a central column or mast, sold for the price of a Cadillac, and could be shipped worldwide in its own metal tube. Fuller was attempting to create a new industry for mass-producing Dymaxion Houses.



Structure.

Fuller adopted the round shape to minimize heat loss and the amount of materials needed, while bestowing the strength to successfully fend off a 1964 tornado that missed by only a few hundred yards. And the Dymaxion only weighed about 3000 pounds versus the 150 tons of an average home!

It was made of permanent, engineered materials that required no periodic painting, reroofing, or other maintenance.

Services

The Dymaxion was a home that was heated and cooled by natural means and that made its own power.

There was to be a waterless packaging toilet that deftly shrink wrapped the shit for pickup and later composting. There was also to be an internal rain-gutter system.
The roof was designed to wick water inside and drip into the rain-gutter and then to the cistern, rather than have a difficult-to-fit, perfectly waterproof roof.

Interior Design

Downdraft ventilation drew dust to the baseboards and through filters, greatly reducing the need to vacuum and dust. O-Volving Shelves required no bending; rotating closets brought the clothes to you. One could easily change the floor plan as required - squeezing the bedrooms to make the living room bigger for a party, for instance.

Price

The Dymaxion House was to be engineered, mass-produced and sold like cars. Something to be leased and paid off within five years.

Text and Images: wikipedia.org www.thirteen.org www.hfmgv.org Related Post: The Celtic Round House

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