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A nine week course exploring a new kind of practical geometry based on the work of R. Buckminster Fuller. Please note, this course took place in 2006 and has ended. This posting serves as an archive of the course and its objectives. |
Price: $27 per class ($250 total)
(a limited number of partial scholarships available)
BFI members: Please call Matt Barron at 718 290 9284 to receive your discount.
For further information or to register by phone please contact us at modelmaking (at) bfi (dot) org
T. +1 718 290 9284
It is possible to scientifically define and exactly measure nature's most-efficient-minimum-energy state: simplicity itself. Inside this "field order" can be found nature's basic patterns, structures, systems and states. This course will explore Fuller's fundamental design principle of doing more with less.
Using Fuller's exploration in Synergetic geometry we will examine — through hands-on modeling — design approaches which incorporate:
- The most economical use of material and space
- The least effort to realize and replicate
- The most accommodation to change
- A unified system
Nature's Design
Course Syllabus
Presented by: The Buckminster Fuller Institute
Instructor: Tom Miller
Introduction to Nature's Genealogy
- The Core of Fuller's Synergetics in a Glance - a Quick Walk-Through
- Locating the individual inside Biggest Big Picture Possible in its smallest-simplest form
- Basic design principles we will work with
- The simple rules-initial conditions that build the 13 simplest geometrical systems
- Unified measuring system explanation
- Using folded circles to model the Universal First Step to Initiate Growth
The Nucleus
- Self-correcting mass production of the triangle, square and sphere diamond
- Build models of tetrahedron, octahedron, cuboctahedron, rhombic dodecahedron, coupler and cube
The Not Nucleus
- Self-correcting mass production of bubble diamond and pentagon
- Build models of icosahedron, triacontahedron and dodecahedron
Smallest Energy Packages
- Energy Quanta -- Proof of Volume-in-Common Ordering
- Build models of the "a" module, "b" module, "s" module and "t" module
How to "Russian Doll" (one inside the other) the Genealogy
- Zeta Cube Hyper-Integration
Self-Directed Explorations of the Genealogy
- Practical Applications of the Genealogy
Materials Needed for the Class
You need to have the following materials on hand the first day of the class. You can bring your own, buy them yourself, or BFI will purchase them for you for a materials fee of $35 (BFI does not add any mark-up — price reflects actual cost).
- Metric Ruler: All measuring will be in centimeters (cm), 60 cm (24")
- Metal Straight Edges: 6" and 36" (Optional: 18" or 24")
- Mat Knife
- Protractor — 6" Circle
- Rubber Cement
- 1/4" Black Masking Tape
- Scissors
- Pocket Calculator
- 20 Sheets Railroad Board (Poster board)
- 4 sheets white
- 4 sheets yellow
- 4 sheets blue
- 4 sheets green
- 2 sheets red
- 2 sheets orange
Tom Miller
Course related highlights:
- 30 Years Studying Design in Nature
- 25 Years Studying Fuller's Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking, Synergetics I /II
- 20 Years Building Models of Fuller's Synergetics geometry
- 18 Years Building Nature's Genealogy from the Four Simplest Shapes
- 10 Years Translating Fuller's Ideas into Everyday Language/Experience
Biographical narrative (abbreviated version)
click here to read the full version
1970: at the age of 19, I dropped out of architectural school. I knew very little at the time but if I wanted to live out my childhood dream of being an architect, I knew I would have to educate myself from my own experience. The design of living spaces was in great need of original thinking.
One thought focused me, "There must be a better way."
1973: I bought an abandoned house in the mountains of Washington State to live as a hermit. I took a course on how to build stained glass windows, learned carpentry skills re-modeling the house and declared myself an artist. I earned income selling stained glass trinkets at street fairs with occasional window commissions.
1975: I studied at the Philchuck Glass School with the German glass-master, Ludwig Schaffrath. He connected me to the European traditions of stained glass so in 1976 I went to Europe to study the glass in medieval cathedrals
1978: I moved to New York City and plunged into the art world as a stained glass sculptor, starting my real art education. (By 1990 I had dropped out of the art world).
1980: everything in my life changed when I discovered the work of Buckminster Fuller. All of my vague design principles were clearly laid out in Bucky's explorations into Synergetics. He made practical to me the idea that one person can make a difference. The critical path of his life was the all-purpose prototype for mine. I devoured Synergetics I and II and took to heart his advice:
- Dare to be naïve
- Trust your own experience
- Build the models yourself, they will become your teacher
1980's: I had several gallery shows about my Fuller work. No one came. I tried to find other Fuller students, no luck. I tried to interest my artistic friends, their eyes rolled into the back of their heads. I realized I was on my own. I developed a sleep cycle of going to bed early to wake up at 2:00 in the morning to get many hours of Fuller work done before I went to work to earn money.
1985: I discovered Brasil. Through coincidence I met a couple from Sao Paulo and went to visit them. It was my first vacation since coming to New York, seven years of non-stop work — never leaving the island of Manhattan. It changed my life.
1988 - February 28: while visiting friends at a beach house on the coast of Brasil, I had that moment when the light bulb appears over your head. The Fuller geometrical systems I had been studying for 8 years suddenly aligned themselves into one whole system, what I've come to call nature's genealogy.
It has taken me 18 years to get the genealogy right.
1999: I decided to turn the apartment into a model home. It was a typical one-bedroom railroad apartment, 440 sq. ft., entrance into bedroom and a bathtub in the kitchen. I turned it into a commodious two bedroom with an eat-in kitchen and a walk-in closet. I have used it to develop a space efficiency consulting business.
2005: July — after 25 years of doing my Fuller work in isolation, I made my first presentation of my findings to a group of my peers. The Buckminster Fuller Institute had suggested I contact SNEC, the Synergetics Collaborative, a grass roots Fuller group.
The positive reaction to the presentation of my ideas was beyond my wildest expectations. Four of us decided to collaborate closely to help each other in our various projects. I would urge any person interested in Fuller's work to join.
In the seven months since my debut, the alignment of nature's genealogy has crystallized into its first most efficient-minimum form that is the basis of this class. It is the help of the Fuller grass roots community that has made this class possible. They are a living example of "Dare to be naïve" made real.
