July the 12th was a significant day for R. Buckminster Fuller. Read why at synchronofile.com.

☂ Previously uncollected book and magazine blurbs by R. Buckminster Fuller, literary critic, at synchronofile.com.

☂ "Buckminster Fuller and the Homeless of New York." Fuller opened two homeless shelters in 1932 NYC.

My four blogs on synergetic structures:

poliedri.myblog.it
strutturereciproche.myblog.it
tensegrity.myblog.it
geodetiche.myblog.it

Biagio Di Carlo
biagiodicarlo.com

New essay The Lost Inventions of Buckminster Fuller Part 3 of 3 now online for free.

"Inventions, the Patented Works of R. Buckminster Fuller" is a good introduction to Fuller’s many inventions. It is the basis for this overview of Fuller’s patented work. But "Inventions" does not include all of Fuller’s inventions, nor are all the inventions in "Inventions" by Fuller. Some inventions relevant to Fuller’s work are not included in "Inventions." Part three this three-part essay features the lost inventions of Buckminster Fuller, works that were not patented or which do not appear in "Inventions," and works that should have been in "Inventions" but were not.

A new web site highlights kid-made domes. Log onto domebook.com to see some of their creations. The students start by constructing paper models (download models of two domes from the "Domes" page of the site), then construct the dome using cardboard or wooden dowels and plastic sheeting.

Buckminster Fuller sought patents for his works to document in an enduring form what an individual could invent for the betterment of humanity. A primary resource for Fuller’s patents is the book Inventions, the Patented Works of R. Buckminster Fuller. Part two of this three-part essay features patents in Inventions that were not assigned to Fuller and patents not that were filed by Fuller. What did Fuller claim, and how do these claims compare to the public record? What did Fuller invent that has not been recognized by the general public?

Introduction.
WE ARE MISSING THE POINT OF ECONOMICS & FINANCE

Are we going to do the same tired routine of fixing and rebuilding a financial system that keeps going through endless cycles of growth, recession, depression, bubbles, crashes and frauds, etc.? There are proposals to bail out the banks, builders and homeowners, make loans to the car companies, create more jobs, cut taxes, raise taxes, rebuild infrastructure, re-regulate the financial companies and give another taxpayer rebate. AND, NO ONE can say for sure if or when any of it is going to work. We don’t know what will work because we don’t: recognize basic facts; understand basic definitions; know how to appropriately measure economic activity; stand and act from the highest ideals.

We are in a new paradigm. We need to look from a different perspective on the entire issue. And as is true with all paradigm shifts, things that are unsolvable, unrecognized, unconnected and contradictory are suddenly simpler and capable of resolution. Climate change, extremes of wealth and poverty, working just to pay the bills no matter how unsatisfying the job, “saving money is good for the consumer, but might not be good for the economy”, jobs for everyone and free trade are some examples.

The Industrial Revolution began the rapid development of machines that can do what human beings can not do: concentrate large amounts of power, produce great quantities of an item, and pieces that are identical from one to the next. Another thing it is doing is to produce machines to do what human beings can do: wash clothes, do math calculations, assemble parts and perform repetitive functions.

The purpose of these machines is to increase the standard of living and to enable people to spend less time doing it. However, the standard of living is being reduced almost everywhere, now. Also the time that people spend working is not going down in many places, but in fact is rising. If we are not going to reduce the time that we all spend working, why did we bother to invent these machines?

In his book “Critical Path” Buckminster Fuller states: “…60% of all the jobs in the U.S.A. are not producing any real wealth - i.e., real life support”. If this is true, then it is quite clear that simply “putting people back to work” is not a truly feasible strategy.

In the United States we: get training; to do a job; to make money; to buy health insurance; to pay for health care. What we really want, and can actually provide if we so choose, is to simply have health care available when needed. The complex, wasteful and dehumanizing monetary systems that we currently use are not the only ways with which we can manage the economy. Monetary systems provide a “medium of exchange” that has become largely detached from the production, distribution & consumption of goods and services. Making money with money is an example of this detachment. A Direct-Access economic management system is now technically possible and desirable.

We have a financial and economic crisis in large part because we don’t understand the actual problem. The actual problem in this new paradigm is: How do we produce and make available to every human being the highest standard of life support, in the shortest time?

We are in the midst of an unprecedented opportunity for human beings and this planet. The technical hard part is complete. The single fact that we are sending people and machines into space is proof of that. The stage we are now in is a matter of education and choice, both individually and collectively.

First Principle.
THE CONDITION ON PLANET EARTH IS ABUNDANCE

The belief in either scarcity or abundance determines how financial, legal, political and military systems are set up or even exist at all. Scarcity and Abundance are foundational/contextual ideas. They each give rise to a distinct system of thought and a number of rules, characteristics and measures which only make sense within their own system. Only one of them can be the condition in which we exist. All current systems are based on the premise that the condition is scarcity. “There is not enough for everyone, therefore I am going to earn a living for myself and my family. I am going to be loyal to my country and my country’s allies. The rest of you are on your own. There is nothing I or we can do about it, that’s just the way it is.”

Looking at the pre-existing condition, before human beings lift a finger, we can see that nature (the universe) is extraordinarily abundant. In “Critical Path”, Buckminster Fuller states: ”The quantity of physical, cosmic energy wealth as radiation (sunlight) arriving aboard planet Earth each minute is greater than all the energy used annually by all humanity”. Oxygen for breathing has been available without effort for all human history. Plants produce plenty of seeds to expand their numbers and provide nourishment for animals and people. Human beings then observe and develop the technology of nature to produce more of certain desired results.

Right around the year 1900, there were 2 or 300 people who were the richest, most powerful people on the planet: kings, queens and heads of international businesses. Not one of them could: flip a switch to get clean, safe light; travel 3, 4, 500 miles in a single day in a vehicle sitting at their residence; speak instantaneously with their top generals and governors; fly to a place where they wanted to vacation; see events happening live in other parts of the world; process data rapidly; access large amounts of all the information known to man, from their desktop. Now, only 109 years later, electricity, automobiles, telephones, airplanes, televisions, computers and the internet are everyday features to a growing portion of all humanity.

As Bucky Fuller pointed out, know-how, the ability to do more with less, made this possible and in a shorter and shorter period of time for each successive item. The rate of growth of know-how is much greater than population growth. That is why the average standard of living for human beings keeps on increasing.

Since at least the 1950’s studies have been done that have compared the number of people on the planet with the amount of food produced. All of these studies have shown that we produce enough food to feed every single one of us. In the U.S. there is the Pez Museum, the Museum of Spam, the Barbed Wire Museum, the Museum of Trash and a registry where one can name a star after someone as a gift. A group of people in The Netherlands spent 8 weeks setting up 4.3 million dominos in order to break 8 world records when knocking them down. If all of these exist, then clearly the Condition is Abundance.

Applying the rules of scarcity in a condition of abundance actually causes scarcity for many people in the midst of abundance for others and undesirable side effects for everyone like pollution of the air, land and seas. There are lots of no longer financially viable, partially processed materials, that we ignorantly call trash, and then bury in landfills. Population has grown to the point where these merely undesirable side effects are now catastrophic side effects. The recognition of the True Condition (ABUNDANCE) will ease the task of making changes that will continue to result in increasing our standard of living despite population growth.

Second Principle.
FINANCE IS NOT ECONOMICS

Webster’s defines economics as “a social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services”. Contrary to popular belief, none of these take money. Nature has never demanded money for sunshine, oxygen, crude oil, water, growing plants or ANYTHING else that humans use in our economy. Nature DOES require that we observe it’s laws, and these laws don’t change. For example, plants need a certain amount of sunlight, moisture, nutrients, space, etc., and airplanes require a specific amount of lift for each ton of cargo. There is constant and recurrent upset in financial matters because it is not science and the rules are changed and violated continuously. Humans have tried slavery, feudalism, communism, socialism and capitalism. None of them have or can work long term. They are all out of sync with nature and therefore obsolete.

The economy is composed ONLY of technology. The resources of the economy are Materials, Energy, Time, Labor and Know-how. The purpose of the economy is to support life and do it to an ever increasing standard (standard of living). Buckminster Fuller looked at life support from seven aspects: Food, Shelter, Health care, Education, Communication, Transportation and Recreation. The only APPROPRIATE measure of the economy is “the sustainable increase in standard of living for ALL human beings”. Instead what we currently measure is how much money is made in various separate financial systems and what the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is in these systems. GDP includes making money with money and life taking activities. We have a space age, fact based, super abundant economy being managed by camel caravan, opinion, fear and confidence based ad hoc monetary systems.

Money/finance is used to manage the economy, gain access to goods and services and to make it easier to trade unequal things, for example, artwork made by one person for a car made by 1000 people. Money is also used for “winning”. It is used for control. Once most everyone is convinced “it takes money to live”, those who control the money control people, on both the societal and the interpersonal level. Some monetary wealth teachers and authors explicitly state that the golden rule of money is: He who controls the gold, rules”.

If the sun stopped shining or seeds stopped sprouting, the economy could not continue. Life itself would end. The reverse is not true. If money suddenly disappeared from the entire world, the economy could go on as before. There is a very revealing example that we can look at. The United States started a war with Iraq in 2003. There was no money to do it so it has never been in the budget. But this is a perfect proof that it doesn’t REALLY take money. It takes resources: Materials like bombs, guns, airplanes, tents and food; Energy like electricity, gasoline and nuclear power for ships; Time to move material and people around in order to accomplish the goal; Labor to develop all the weapons and strategies and carry them out; and Know-how to do all these things better than the enemy in order to win. Wars aren’t un-fought for lack of money, they are un-fought for lack of resources, period.

The idea that we can’t “afford” (don’t have the money) to feed everyone or provide shelter or health care is simply nonsensical when we look in this way, at facts. There are many people and organizations that are genuinely and actively working to bring about a higher standard of living for more people. These efforts will become far more successful when the clear difference between money and economics is recognized. It has been well said that: “We don’t ask for too much in life, but far too little”. Some people have fear of “spreading the wealth”. The opportunity we have before us is to “unleash the wealth”. This opportunity is truly about EVERYONE benefiting.

Third Principle.
YOU AND I AND EVERYONE HAVE EQUAL VALUE

The Declaration of Independence of the United States asserts: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal….”. Equal in what ways? Our understanding of the word equal has expanded since these words were written. We now understand that it means that slavery is not acceptable. We understand that equal includes women and all races, creeds and colors.

Perhaps it is time to accept that ALL human beings have equal VALUE. Perhaps it is time to accept that all human beings have equal value in all ways and in every aspect of life. This means that every human being has equal claim to all the resources and the highest quality of life support available on the planet. This is the way that Nature has set up the world. Oxygen for breathing, sunlight for energy, warmth and light, water for refreshment and for cleansing and plants that grow in the same way and produce food for everyone equally is the normal and natural way. Education is one way that we actually, already demonstrate the equal value of everyone. We give everyone, equally, an education to specific standards. AND, we have found that this is so valuable to society as a whole, that we not only give it we also require that everyone receive a minimum amount of it. This is a perfect model to duplicate for all the other aspects of life support and sustenance.

Some will say that “competition” and “survival of the fittest” are inherent attributes that make this idea of equality impossible. Actually, simply redirecting these tendencies will work quite well. Lets compete with previous generations and with the “me” and the “us” of yesterday to see how much better “I” and “we” can be and produce TODAY. Can’t we see that when we don’t value others that they don’t like it and that they eventually make trouble, sometimes big trouble, terrifying trouble?

If the Universe, as vast as it is, has seen fit to have you exist, you must be valid, you must have value. Whether I see it or not, you must have value. Whether you see it or not, you must have value. The same must be true about me.

It is common to think that the bigger the group, the less I matter. That is one way of looking at it. The other way, that the bigger the group the more people I interact with and the more influence I have is far more satisfying and expresses self-respect. I matter, I make a difference, I am important, and so do You matter, so do You make a difference, so are You important. Buckminster Fuller and Mother Theresa both said it, one way or another, and lived it. Are we?

It’s very stimulating to relate to each other as winners and losers (the ecstasy of victory, the agony of defeat). There is another experience available to everyone and that is the profoundly fulfilling experience one has when genuinely caring for ALL one’s brothers and sisters. It is the experience of what it is to truly be a Humane Being.

Millions among us are intuitively recognizing the value of each and all, and the great benefits that then result for each and all. This is both a call to fully accept and implement the idea, and an acknowledgement that this is what is happening all over the world. The sooner the better.

Fourth Principle.
WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

There is now enough interaction among people on board the planet that the fact of our interdependence and our impact on one another is obvious. We trade more products and have more peoples and cultures involved in the process. We see happenings from most everywhere on television. We experience other people and places firsthand through increased travel. Improvements in life support and life quality spread more rapidly than ever before.

The current multiple crises occurring all around our world, like climate change, financial breakdowns and corruption, food and water shortages and military buildups and their inevitable wars have consequences for all of us, also. Who among us is immune to pandemics, rising sea levels, polluted air, contaminated food or restricted freedom of movement because of security threats?

Bucky Fuller’s commitment was to developing an economic management system in which every human was better off, every human would have a higher standard of living. How could millionaires and billionaires have a higher standard of living? How about the freedom of reduced security for home, autos, businesses and loved ones? If I have all that I need, why would I even consider taking something from you or kidnapping your children and holding them for ransom?

Key to resolving all of these problems quickly and with great benefit for EVERYONE is to recognize that we are a single human family. We are a single species. We live on a relatively small planet. There is only one team. “All for one and one for all” is how teams achieve greatness. Every person has a different role and every role is important.

Why should I work for the benefit of everyone? Because when I do I have 6 ½ billion people on my team. All of you may not know it or accept it, but it’s a whole lot easier to relate with you when I know it and act accordingly. (Talk about stress relief!) Then I don’t have to placate, avoid or fight with you while I am going around caring only about my interests. I’m on your side!

It is said by some that greed and hunger for power are part of human nature, and that we will never be able to fully work together. That may or may not be accurate and is beside the point. What we have now are economic management systems (money, finance) that encourage greed and have power and control being exercised by a relative few. The systems are designed this way. Slavery was once designed into the system. Today there is no systemic slavery. We, the people of the world will not tolerate it. We are certainly capable of designing better economic management systems, in fact we have to because the financial systems are failing NOW. We may even surprise ourselves with how good we can make it and how wonderfully we can get along with each other. From cave dwelling to space traveling to democracy and human rights, that’s what we’ve been doing, one innovation after another.

PRINCIPLES INTO ACTIONS AND RESULTS

Get educated: Study “Critical Path” by Buckminster Fuller.
Study any of Buckminster Fuller’s work.
Participate with Buckminster Fuller Institute (bfi.org).
The Venus Project; Jacque Fresco; Resource based economy (thevenusproject.com).
“A Steady State Economy” by Herman Daly (theoildrum.com).
The U.S. Basic Income Guarantee Network (usbig.net) and the Basic Income Earth
Network (basicincome.org). The goal is actually Maximum income guarantee,
however the direction of these is right on.
“The Future of Money” by Bernard Lietaer (blietaer@earthlink.net).
Technocracy; Energy based economy (technocracyinc.org). This organization has done
remarkable work designing a Direct-Access economic management system.
More of my writings (BillionsofBillionaires.blogspot.com)

Educate others: Family, friends, co-workers, churches, politicians, economists, unions, service groups,
TV, radio, print and internet media:

1) THE CONDITION ON PLANET EARTH IS ABUNDANCE
2) FINANCE IS NOT ECONOMICS
3) YOU AND I AND EVERYONE HAVE EQUAL VALUE
4) WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

Volunteer: There are hundreds, thousands of existing groups and programs available to any of us to
participate with.

Demand action of ourselves and businesses and politicians.

Start a project or organization that is consistent with the principle of: “Success for All”.

Do an action like also giving a directory of services to people asking for money at street corners.

Forward the attached: “Open Letter to Barack Obama and Joe Biden”. Have others do the same.

Get in touch with me to: A) cooperate in sharing this message widely, and: B) to further develop the design of, and conversion to, a Direct-Access economic management system.

William Daniels Copyright. Please distribute this freely for non-commercial purposes.
503-314-6902 I am available to speak, write on specific topics, etc.
wdinpdx@yahoo.com
1/20/09

OPEN LETTER TO BARACK OBAMA AND JOE BIDEN

Thank you for running and Congratulations on your election! As you stated in your acceptance speech, it is “our” victory. “Our” includes people around the world who supported your campaign with their interest, their enthusiasm and their money, if not their vote. One of those people called you a “president for the world”. No country and no leader in history has had the support of so many people spread around the world. What an opportunity! The question is: For what?

Foreign policy changes were an important and welcome part of your proposals. You have already articulated your intent to get out of Iraq, shift from oil to sustainable energy and practice diplomacy and engagement with friend and foe. All of these are important to “we the people”.

There has been talk that, for many issues, we need to “think big” and we need a “game changer”. The founding of the United States itself was such an event and opened up new possibilities for all of humanity. What new possibility is available to us today?

What if you make “the End of Hunger and Starvation Everywhere in the World” a cornerstone of US foreign policy? It is a realistic opportunity. It is a new possibility for U.S. leadership and full international cooperation. And it is mandatory that this happen in order to have a truly safe and prosperous world community.

Buckminster Fuller’s research proved that we have the food and the capacity to deliver it. In 1977 The Hunger Project was founded, to end hunger and starvation on earth by 1997.
It said that the only thing missing was the political will.

The United States has accomplished mankind’s greatest technical challenge, that of sending humans to the moon and back, safely. Feeding everyone is not much of a technical challenge. What this requires is that we reach into our selves and stand and act from the highest ideal of what it is to be human, just as our founders did. Are we up to it yet? Will you be the President that declares: “No more hunger and starvation, anywhere in the world.”? If not to us, if not to you, then to whom shall we look for leadership?

If you agree, copy this, sign it yourself, tell others & send to: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/mypolicy

William Daniels Copyright. Please distribute this freely for non-commercial use.
503-314-6902
wdinpdx@yahoo.com
11/14/08

In Critical Path, pg. xviii, Bucky wrote: “Ninety-nine percent of humanity does not know that we have the option to “make it” economically on this planet and in the Universe. We do. It can only be accomplished, however, through a design science initiative and technological revolution”.
It seems that by these words, by his 28 books, his Chronofile, his lecturing and teaching, Bucky placed education before, or at least on par with accomplishment of specific tools.
Bucky also stated: “earning a living is obsolete” “60-70% of all jobs in America…not producing life support” and “earth has 4 billion billionaires who have yet to be informed of their good fortune”.
Since Critical Path was published in 1981 design science has produced and widely, not fully, distributed: digital technology, cell phones, personal computers and access to the internet. We have fully entered the Information Age. Specific technologies, however, have not and can not deliver on their full potential because they exist in a system or context that does not allow it. Financial systems are based on the belief in scarcity and then produce it when things become too abundant. Case in point: OPEC (The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) restricts the supply of oil in order to keep the price up. Financial systems value scarcity most. That is why an old Bugatti automobile, easily outperformed by millions of more practical vehicles, is valued in millions, and the practical vehicles are valued only in thousands.
At present, we are well into an obvious failure of all financial systems on the planet. What began in the United States as a high foreclosure rate in subprime mortgages, has led to a general credit freeze, a bailout of the financial industry, a loan to keep the Big Three automakers from bankruptcy and is leading to a high foreclosure rate in Alt-A, Ninja and Commercial loans. A $50 Billion investment fraud has been uncovered. Financial breakdown has spreading to Iceland, Europe, Russia, China, India, etc. The less obvious failures of financial systems: 20 million deaths EACH year due to starvation; pollution of the air, land and seas; we build “labor saving devices” and then labor more than ever; working to “earn a living” and never getting to do what we love to do.
And while the financial systems self-destruct, the ability, the know-how to produce life support (the economy) continues to expand. And while the economic management systems (finance) breakdown, human beings suffer because life support is not fully distributed. All this because, as Bucky said: “We have a crisis of ignorance”.
I urge the Challenge jury, and each and every one of us, to consider the possibility that education and implementation projects that will support the shift of economic management systems from finance (based on scarcity) to systems based on the actual condition of abundance, is the most effective design science trimtab currently available, that can positively impact all humanity and the environment. This is something that each one of us can participate in.

William Daniels Copyright. Please distribute this freely for non-commercial purposes.
503-314-6902 I am available to speak, write on specific topics, etc.
wdinpdx@yahoo.com see: BillionsofBillionaires.blogspot.com; BFI.org; “Critical Path” by
3/6/09 R. Buckminster Fuller

Buckminster Fuller sought patents for his works to document in an enduring form what an individual could invent for the betterment of humanity. A primary resource for Fuller’s patents is the book Inventions, the Patented Works of R. Buckminster Fuller. Inventions serves as the framework for this three-part essay. Comparing the description of Fuller’s work found in that book with this essay will be most instructive.

I was writing my resume and i was looking for some examples on the net. While looking for some samples i was looking for some innovation news and here is what i found out: "The passage of the stimulus bill last week instantly doubled the federal role in funding schools, with an unprecedented influx of $95 billion. The question is, in education, what will that money buy? Read more..."

The Wild Burro Rescue and Preservation Project is a non-profit 501(C)(3) animal protection organization. This sanctuary is necessary because the government land-management policy calls for the elimination of wild burros. Our sanctuary is one of the only safe places for them. It is also a place for mules, horses, dogs, and cats.

We are working hard on creating a modern, ecological, self sustaining homestead which is in balance with nature for our animals, and using solar energy to help the environment, organic gardening using burros’ manure, and compost as a fertilizer to grow crops, simultaneously promoting a healthy lifestyle and respect for all things living.

Our sanctuary is horticulturally oriented, and it is therefore our goal to have children and young adults learn the value and significance of being self sufficient. Our sanctuary provides field trips to students from our local schools and hands on training to both boy and girl scout troops. We also offer internships in the Horticulture Plant and Soil Sciences and Science in Agriculture fields to colleges and universities.

As for our budget, our income solely comes from donations. We do not have any financial reserves. We are depending and counting on our friends and supporters to help us succeed with our mission.

For more information, please visit our website at Wildburrorescue.org
or e-mail us at: WBRpublicrelations@yahoo.com

They say the only consistent in life is "CHANGE". And our professor asked us to write an essay about the innovation and changes that occurs on a place or country that we think is good as a topic. I found this Article about "How to Drive Innovation in Europe": In today's crisis there is an opportunity for change. It would be a crime to waste that chance. With the global economy in turmoil, a new administration in Washington and new leadership coming to Brussels this year, the rules for economic policy are being rewritten. Much of the thinking so far has been short-term, reacting to the immediate financial crisis or industrial dislocation. Read more...

I love arts and designs and so i tend to use it as a topic for some of my custom papers. "Continued investment into art and design education will make Britain design a world leader." That is a mantra i've read from TimesOnline.

"Sir, I am delighted that Sir James Dyson has made the extraordinarily generous and visionary decision to support the future of design education at the Royal College of Art. His reported landmark gift of £5 million will ensure that young designers will continue to push the boundaries of innovation. Over the past ten years, the creative sector has grown at twice the rate of the overall economy. Support for art and design education will fuel our economic recovery. Read more..."

Rova Saxophone Quartet returns to Kanbar Hall for another no-sounds-barred evening of improvisatory collaboration. Acclaimed Berlin-based multimedia artist/wunderkind Lillevan joins international music giants from the field of improvised music to perform Fissures, Futures, a set of pieces dedicated to the visionary genius that was Buckminster Fuller. Live music and digital animation will lock themselves into a continuous feedback loop – with the music influencing the real-time films’ creation and the film images inspiring the music. Not to be missed. Both shows will be recorded live for future DVD release.

When:
8PM, May 22-23, 2009

Where:
Kanbar Hall, Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
3200 California St.
San Francisco, CA 94118

Who:
Rova Saxophone Quartet (Larry Ochs, Jon Raskin, Bruce Ackley, Steve Adams)
Lillevan
Charlotte Hug
Lisle Ellis
Joan Jeanrenaud
Thomas Lehn
Carla Kihlstedt
Kjell Nordeson

Ticket Info:
415.292.1233 or www.jccsf.org
$24 regular; $21 JCCSF members; $16 students

Online:
http://rova.org/rovate2009/

Image Credits:
Lillevan Pobjoy

R. Buckminster Fuller (1895 - 1983) claimed that nature was efficient. Fuller claimed the efficiency of nature was the model he used for his inventions, inventions with which he attempted to ‘do more with less.’ As part of a critical analysis of Fuller and what he called comprehensive anticipatory design science, this essay will demonstrate that Fuller’s claim is false.

Linton HODSDON Architect 0416 426 218

Anybody wishing the full copy of this report ( with ALL the photographs of each stage ) or any further details of the project can contact me thru this site.

My path to understanding the geodesic dome started with building a cardboard soccer ball ( 3v geodesic sphere ). After meeting Laurence at Babinda ( QLD ) in 1998 and seeing the program he had written to design geodesic domes, I built a 1m dia. 6v dome frame using kebab skewers, plastic tube and cotton. That dome moved around my lounge room for 8 years ( the period of my experiment to apply ‘ livingry ’ to local government politics ) before the next stage began.

6.2m dia. GEODESIC DOME @ 13 Mann Street, Margaret River.

A building license for a 6m x 6m shed was issued and earthworks started in September 2006. With the help of Laurence’s 6v dome printout, manipulation by photocopier and traced off at 3v, working drawings were drafted for engineering purposes. Roger Pateman engineer advised that he would have to inspect the finished building before he could certify the structure.

The concept for the structure was based on a design for a 3.6m dia cardboard dome found on the BFI website. Triangular panels with a 50 mm tab along each edge, a waterproofing gasket and 5 tekscrews per edge joint … with no structural frame … seemed viable for a 6m+ dia. dome in 1mm thick steel. A 6.2m diameter was found to be the biggest 3v dome possible with panels cut from 1200 mm wide colorbond steel sheet, which also suited window / door heads at 2.2m high. The waterproofing at the apexes was addressed by ss eyebolts thru the inevitable hole at the junction of the 5 or 6 panels, with rubber grommets inside and outside – the eye of the bolt located on the inside to support a tensioned fabric ceiling.

After securing a 1.2 tonne supply of steel sheets ( in any colour I wanted, providing it was Wilderness Green ) and finding a willing fabricator ( Warren @ BVA, Bunbury ), a schedule of panels was drafted and a sample panel was fabricated ( the very accurate zincalume panel built into the south face ). The production run of panels resulted in atleast half being outside of ( anticipated ) acceptable tolerance and were sent back for re-folding.

Meanwhile, the siteworks for the square shed took on a circular theme – the FRC pipe in the centre of the sandpad, that had been ‘ hanging around with no particular purpose ’ for 20 years, ‘ just seemed opportune ’ for the centre of the floor slab. Thought on how to assemble the panels at 4m+ above ground level found the first application for the hole formed for the middle of the slab. The hole was dug down to 1m deep and a 5.4m long 200mm dia. bushpole was set into it. That is after nearly getting it up by hand with ladders, and putting my back out in the process, then calling on the wonderful simplicity of employing Leeuwin Engineering’s crane hire.

At this stage, the dimension creep due to variation of panel size and gasket compression was not known. Similar uncertainty existed about how to line up the panels in the assembly stage – so a jig was made for each of the 3 different edges to pre-drill the holes for the tekscrews. Although this did not fully address the problem of variations in panel size, the holes were vital to adjust the alignment of the panel edges ( with the use of 38 mm nails ) to achieve a satisfactory joint. Panels were put together with the nails and vice clamps to allow the joint to be opened up to fit the gasket, the nails were then used to lever the panels to the best alignment, then clamp next to the hole, remove the nail and tek it off… checking to make sure the gasket has not moved. Panels were assembled in sets of 3 ( easily done while standing the panels on edge ) and then the assembly rack was used to join 2 sets of 3, with the gasket fitted from the top and the tekscrewing being done sitting on the ground underneath. This was all easy ( and good exercise ) for one person, up to a total of 9 panels.

Setting the guide holes for the tekscrews close to each apex ( 50 mm ) did not allow enough room to get the drill in to drive the tekscrews. A flexible shaft for the drill helped get the tek started but a ratchet ring spanner was used to tighten them up properly. After breaking 3 flexible shafts, I relied more heavily on that trusty ring spanner.

After assembling several sets of panels; allowance for such creep was made, slab formwork was setup ( thanks Mick ) and steel door frames were welded up ( thanks Richo – particularly for introducing me to the hinge weld joint, that was vital to being able to adjust the outer roller door frame to fit the reality of the panels in place ). With the complex roller door frame weighing nearly 170 kg, the crane was again employed to move and locate the frame into place.

It became apparent that the best quality panel assembly was done near ground level and that the top of the dome
( above 3m high ) would need to be assembled on a 2m high pedestal and lifted on by crane. So 5 sets of nine panels were assembled and then lifted into place ( by hand … luckily all still with 5 fingers afterward ) each with temporary timber framework to hold them in place while connections were made.

With a continuous ring of panels above door head height, all just sitting on the slab formwork, the slab edge thickenings were dug ( after a trench ‘ cave in ’, the opportune placement of the FRC pipe found another vital application – to wedge against to realign the formwork with the 400 kg of steel panels resting there on ), slab reinforcement was laid, the door and window frames were hung from the panels and the concrete slab was poured.

At this moment the unique acoustics of the dome became apparent – amplification of sound within the dome, with greatest amplification at a particular distance from the centre.

By this stage it had become patently clear that this building was different to the issued Building License for a conventional shed. After a quick inspection, the engineer was happy to certify the structure for an amendment to the building license. 2 hours later, the Shire’s principal building surveyor rang to enquire about the anomaly. A few additional notes on the working drawings together with the engineer’s certificate were submitted for the amendment to the Building License - that was a Friday. The next day, I left for a 3 month trip to Europe and on the Monday, apparently without Planning department input, the amended license was issued making the structure legal.

JUNE 2007

Upon returning from Europe and starting assembly of the top of the dome, I had a nagging suspicion about the durability of the ‘ sponge chord ’ gasket used between the panel tabs. So I found a vacuum hose that should offer better resistance to weathering, reassembled the top panels with the new gasket and dismantled the most exposed panels already erected to replace ( and better fit ) the gasket. In the process, I actually found that the ‘ sponge chord ’ ( that sealed the joint between panels very well ) had weathered well over 6 months ( both summer heat and winter storms ) and, after release, recovered from the compression. The vacuum hose required more pressure to properly seal the joints ( 4 additional tekscrews per joint ) but was easier to install and hopefully will better resist weathering. In the end, the 4 additional tekscrews were also used on the joints with the sponge chord gasket.

Next came fitting the eyebolts at the apexes. A 23 mm dia. grommet either side of the colorbond did not seal the junction … a larger 29 mm dia. grommet was found … but that did not work either. Eventually, each eyebolt was fitted with 3 grommets, 2 custom 40 mm dia. rubber washers, 2 nuts, 2 ss washers and a generous dollop of silicone. The intention to avoid adhesives / silicone sealants ( a philosophical desire to make the structure cleanly demountable ) was thereby compromised … but that made it easier to use silicone for some of the leaks found when water testing the top before it was lifted into position. Once lifted on, outside of the top of the dome would be inaccessible.

The crane lifted the top into place on a timber lifting frame. An automotive scissor jack was located on top of the bushpole to raised the top off the lifting frame and then progressively lower the top as it was stitched to the lower panels. Fixings to the door frames had to be removed to release the lower panels to flex to mate with the top – the resulting mismatch between dome and door frames was covered by the gutters and opening trim panels. Although the top did not mate perfectly with the bottom, the misclose resulting from the variation in panel sizes created an even 11 mm gap along the last edge ( instead of the 3 – 4 mm margin for the gasket ). Rather than have a new panel fabricated to close this gap, a flashing was fabricated to create a weatherproof permanent vent.

The construction role of the bushpole was now finished and the method of removing the 5.4m high bushpole from the 4.7m high high dome was designed to preserve the bushpole for new gate posts with only 200mm of wastage. The bushpole was removed and the hole in the floor was capped with a plywood cover to await another opportune purpose ! The space within the dome could now be properly appreciated and the sound of their own speech at the focus of the sphere has spooked some people.

Any flex evident before the top was fitted off disappeared when the structure was complete. With the structure now totally rigid, the standard panels truncated by the PA door and window openings were modified, and the door and window frame side panels could be measured and fabricated. The reveals to the roller door opening were lined with ply wood, the gutter fitted and the roller door installed. The PA door and window side panels, gutters and window were fitted. A fixed plywood panel was fitted to the PA door opening as temporary closure. 25 mm dia. PVC electrical conduit was used for rainwater down pipes to the 50 x 50 colorbond gutters over the window and PA door.

Installing the ceiling, a proper PA door and fitting a TARDIS drive mechanism into the hole in the slab will be fun for the future. The construction of shed 3 reused the timber used for the slab formwork for floor framing, the other construction timber was reused for the wall and roof framing and the last 2 sheets of colorbond were used for external end wall cladding. For the moment, the dome is used as a lock up garage.

The finished weight of the building, excluding 10 tonne slab, is approximately 1 tonne.
Project cost Au$17,000 incl slab & siteworks but excluding Richo’s and my labour.
All the construction support timber ( $1,000 ) was reused and therefore did not present as a cost to this project.
AUGUST 2008

Below : Dec 2007 and Finished

ANDES SPROUTS SOCIETY (Andes, New York)
CALLING architects, artists, engineers to submit proposal
for sustainable studio/living units at ASsociety's meadow farmland.

ASsociety farm is looking for design submissions for 3 resident/studio
structures for its expanding artist in residency program. 3 free standing
structures will house resident artists as well as enhance existing farming
activities. ASsociety Resident artists will be engaged in developing media
art projects with crossover activities of emergent technologies and organic
farming.

This call out encourages collaboration between artists, architects
and engineers in order to demonstrate and promote unique, functional, and
inspiring approaches to sustainable design and post-crash housing
techniques.

ASsociety,a NYS not-for-profit entity, works toward the exchange of
knowledge and labor of urban gardening and field farming, the sustainability
of the land, the emergent media exploration, while engaging artists and the
international perspective on eco-bio issues.

For more information and submission
http://www.andessproutssociety.us
now |at| andessproutssociety.us

Have you ever heard of the traditional German drawing game "This is the House of Santa Claus"? It challenges players to draw a house in one line! Not lifting the pencil while drawing! And not repeating one of eight straight lines (Tradidional drawing game)!
What will happen if you transfer this drawing tradition into today's thinking? Fusion Innovation!
Based on the ideas of Walther Wilhelm Johannes Bauersfeld (1879-1959) and the geodesic structure of Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), the Zendome-team thought about it for some time and came up with "8 + 1"; simply draw a cupola with one line, add one more, and you are able to draw Santa's very own Dome-Home.
Its your turn now! Do you want to try drawing the geodesic house of Santa Claus yourself? A short-cut to how we did it can be found with the light-writing by Marcus Bläsing (New, geodesic drawing game).
To support your drawing, use one of the following sentences or make up your own:
"This geo-desic dome makes Santa feel at home."
Good luck and enjoy!
ZENDOME-Team

Synergetics was Buckminster Fuller’s attempt to bridge science and the humanities. Fuller employed many forms of communication to teach synergetics. He was the author or subject of dozens of books and hundreds of essays. He was a tireless public speaker, lecturing before hundreds of thousands in over one hundred globe-circling tours. Less known than these means of communication, Buckminster Fuller also used puppetry to teach synergetics through a long association with his friend and professional puppeteer Bil Baird (August 15, 1904 – March 18, 1987). Baird and Fuller crossed paths several times, and are known to have collaborated in several ways.

[Article continues at synchronofile.com.]

Buckminster Fuller was one of the first people to realize the importance of PRECESSION in human destiny. Properly understood it has the power to change your life and human society. This idea along with four others are explained in this concise article.

From the site http://ChangingNormal.com

CONCEPT 2 of 2:
Creating an Open Design Matrix for Realizing New Forms of Sustainable Innovation

The creation of 64 globally-aligned incubation centers are used to realize new and advanced forms of design and innovation relating to organizational practices and technologies that are symbiotic with natural rhythms and planetary culture. This innovation matrix will help to advance the design of communities using ‘whole system’ knowledge that is realized within the centers and shared world-wide. Ecological design principles and sustainable business practices are followed that adapt to the needs of a globally conscious society. An eighteen community domain learning framework is
used, along with a unique concentrix management process, to direct the centers within the innovation matrix. Collaborative learning methods are used to guide participants to create product and service solutions that support a diverse, interdependent, thriving world culture system.

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The web link below will show you draft concepts that will direct the manifestation of these amazing new 'learning communities' and 'sustainable innovation' networks. I believe that these approaches hold seeds for realizing a world culture that is based in reverence, peace, and awe to emerge. It will unfold an exciting new journey for all of us; a new way for humanity to live and evolve.

http://www.wholesysteminnovation.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?Inclu...

I want you to contact me for further dialog. Or build on this discussion. What are your thoughts, interests, ideas, suggestions, creations?

I can be reached as per below ...

Vic Desotelle
Facilitating Collaborative Design
831-454-8046
http://DiscoveryFuel.com]
http://WholeSystemInnovation.com/BLOG

http://www.wholesysteminnovation.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?Inclu...

Also see the following 'Discussion Title' subject:
Building a World-wide Network of Learning Communities

From http://ChangingNormal.com

Concept 1 of 2:
Building a World-wide Network of Learning Communities

I would like to see a unique form of collaboration and design network occur across the world. Its creation will be comprised of a model for bringing people together with common passions and interests who want to participate in the changes at hand, both at the visionary and practical levels of implementation. The frameworks for gathering and connecting people will be very open, allow for group and individual empowerment, be guided by principles of sustainability and collaborative learning, and allow those with knowledge and wisdom to lead rather than those with (so-called) power strength and money, and (rather than our present unhealthy forms for discussing and debating) it will be based on an open dialogue system for sharing and learning from a world of people who are wealthy with ideas. Together, from community-to-community, we will create a wonderful new reality.

---

The web link below will show you draft concepts that will direct the manifestation of these amazing new 'learning communities' and 'sustainable innovation' networks. I believe that these approaches hold seeds for realizing a world culture that is based in reverence, peace, and awe to emerge. It will unfold an exciting new journey for all of us; a new way for humanity to live and evolve.

http://www.wholesysteminnovation.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?Inclu...

I want you to contact me for further dialog. Or build on this discussion. What are your thoughts, interests, ideas, suggestions, creations?

I can be reached as per below ...

Vic Desotelle
Facilitating Collaborative Design
831-454-8046
http://DiscoveryFuel.com]
http://WholeSystemInnovation.com/BLOG

http://www.wholesysteminnovation.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?Inclu...

Also see the following 'Discussion Title' subject:
Creating an Open Design Matrix for Realizing New Forms of Sustainable Innovation

Economics is always and only about life support. It starts with the pre-existing cosmic or natural materials, energy and processes of the universe and solar system and includes all human life support activities. The ingredients of the human developed part of the economic system are materials, time, labor, energy and know-how. These are relatively easy to come to grips with. It does not take any great smarts or lengthy education to understand the basics. It’s because the economic system has a simplicity about it. There is common sense to it. Placing seeds in the ground, in springtime and keeping them watered is one example. Mixing certain metal ores together and heating them to a specific melting temperature to make steel for car bodies is another.

On the other hand, all financial systems become ridiculously complex. The rules keep changing. They require lots of study and effort. They lead to things like: making money with money; credit scoring; insurance and reinsurance companies; hedge funds; derivatives; stock values and profits going up when people lose their jobs through increased efficiency, but those people lose rather than share in the benefits; and the contamination of the air, land and seas. Financial systems become arbitrary, increasingly dysfunctional and irrational. They produce situations wherein we can build lots of cars and homes for people who need transportation and shelter, then within a few years they get repo’d, or foreclosed and evicted. People who raise and teach children are not well compensated. It is common for people to do anything they can to “make money” and “pay the bills” and never find what they really love to do and are really good at. These are clear failures of the financial system. All the “economist’s” supercomputer analyses have not and will not solve these problems. It’s telling that we don’t know for sure if we’re in a recession until after the fact.

How is the economy doing? This is the ever-present question. The economy is a rich source of material for all of us, for politicians, analysts, scholars, writers, TV shows, and talks at the water cooler and the kitchen table. It’s a question that could only be asked after we’ve confused a financial system with economics. It’s a question that could only be asked in a condition where people serve the system instead of the system serving the people.

How are the people doing? Does Everyone have food, shelter and health care, and to the highest standard? Is education available freely, and to Anyone? Is world around communication technology available to All? Are there fewer restrictions on moving around the planet today than there were last year? Is Everyone getting all the recreation they desire? How are All living beings doing? How is the environment doing? These are the questions that economics actually and appropriately addresses. The answers are usually straightforward and obvious. They are easy to comprehend.

William Daniels...... Copyright. Please distribute this freely for non-commercial purposes.
503-314-6902...... I am available to speak, write on specific topics, etc.
wdinpdx@yahoo.com...... See: BillionsofBillionaires.blogspot.com; BFI.org; “Critical Path” by R. Buckminster Fuller
11/14/08

Buckminster Fuller Bibliography by Trevor Blake and A Study of Shelter Logistics for Marine Corps Aviation by Col. Henry C. Lane now in print!

Buckminster Fuller Bibliography by Trevor Blake. Nearly one thousand printed works by and about R. Buckminster Fuller. Traces Fuller’s trajectory from outsider to globe-spanning public speaker to cultural icon. Includes information on Fuller found in no other book. 118 pages, 6" x 9", jacket-hardcover binding, cream interior paper (50# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink.

A Study of Shelter Logistics for Marine Corps Aviation by Col. Henry C. Lane. In the 1950s the US Marine Corps put the geodesic domes of Buckminster Fuller to the test. They concluded domes were "the first major basic improvement in mobile military shelters for the past 2,600 years." Rare and fifty years out of print, now with a new introduction. 144 pages, 8.25" x 10.75", casewrap-hardcover binding, white interior paper (50# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink.