Hasta La Ideas

Article by Curt McNamara, courtesy of MCAD

Suddenly Bucky is everywhere. The Buckminster Fuller Challenge, a show at the Whitney, books evaluating his work, and an overview in Wired. What is going on?

The time is ripe for his ideas. Sustainable design was a new concept when he started in the 1930’s, and even by the 1970’s it was part of the creative edge rather than the mainstream. Bucky famously said that he worked 50 years ahead of his time. In that way he didn’t experience a reaction against changing the present.

We live in a reputation economy
If the time is right, what are we to make of him and his work?
Are we ready for mass-produced recyclable housing?
Can we really design to ensure success for everyone?
What are the deep principles underlying his designs?

Student work by Vinit Jain

Why Bucky?
There are his designs, commitment to integrity, life-long goal of success for all humanity, universal principles, and the realization that Universe is endlessly regenerative. His designs include high efficiency cars, low flow showerheads, and houses with high performance. He emphasized that “Only Integrity Is Going To Count” and saw what the world is realizing now: we live in a reputation economy.

Bucky taught that universal or generalized principles are true everywhere and every-when. They include not just the laws of physics but also the laws of relationships, and how the Universe consists of both physical and metaphysical.

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