Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was a true polymath, dipping into fields as diverse as poetry and architecture. It is for the latter that he is best known and, in particular, for the geodesic dome. Many geodesic domes have been built around the world, including the Epcot Center in Disneyworld, Florida, and the Eden Project in Cornwall, England.
Geodesic domes come in many shapes and sizes, but they're basically a sphere made from self-reinforcing triangular sections. The dome has a number of advantages: It maximizes volume to surface ratio, it is very strong for its weight, it is quick to assemble, and it is aerodynamic, allowing it to stand up to strong winds. Although Fuller received the U.S. patent on the concept, he was actually building on earlier work by the German Walther Bauersfeld, who constructed a planetarium along these principles in 1922.
Fuller's dome had a remarkable renaissance in 1985,
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