Trimtab: The Monthly E-Newsletter of The Buckminster Fuller Institute

BFI Updates

Call for Entries: 2012 Buckminster Fuller Challenge

Now in its fifth cycle. The gates are open for your submissions to the 2012 Buckminster Fuller Challenge! Find the call for entries here.

Past Winners Update

This page will be updated whenever we hear latest news from past winners of the Buckminster Fuller Challenge. Have a look.

Savory Profile in Gaurdian UK

Last month, 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Winner Alan Savory's work was featured in Gaurdian UK.

Trends and Perspectives

Power From Thin Air

Researchers at Georgia Tech have discovered a way to capture and harness energy transmitted by ambient electromagnetic frequencies. Read on...

Good Looking vs. Responsible Design

Can designers stay socially responsible while still producing marketable goods and commodities? Compare and Contrast.

Spray-On Solar Energy

Quantum dots are seen as a promising route to low-cost solar cells because the particles can be sprayed onto surfaces much like paint.

Korean Textbooks Go Digital

Remember Fuller's vision of two-way visual interfaces for education? South Korea schools' textbooks will go completely digital by 2015. More...

Resources

NYT: Bucky More Relevant Than Ever

The mainstream re-emergence of urban planning has lead the New York Times to publish this article noting the significance of Bucky's legacy.

South Pole Dome Chronology

The Antarctic Sun has provided a detailed update to the history of the geodesic dome that sat at the South Pole for many years.

Bucky Fuller & Spaceship Earth: Exhibition Video

Watch Norman Foster speak about Bucky as a part of his exhibiton at the Marta Herford Museum in Germany.

'Cuboctohedron Revisited'

From scholarly journal, Design: Principles and Practices: a piece about precedents in ancient history that align with some of Bucky's biggest ideas. Download the PDF.

Events

Openings: 'Clouds'

Next month, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec's 'Clouds,' an installation that recalls Fuller's design opens at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Ecocity World Summit 2011

The 9th International Ecocity Conference convenes August 22-26th in Montreal Canada. More info.

Food & Farming @ Bioneers

Take a look at this agricultural preview of events taking place at Bioneers this year.

Vol. 12 No. 8

Support BFI

The opportunities to do more in extending Bucky's legacy have never been more abundant. Now is the time to get involved and help ensure the sustainability and continued growth of BFI. Your financial support, no matter the size, makes a huge difference. Please support our work today!

Featured Store Item

Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth

Back in stock! Initially published in 1969, and one of Fuller's most popular works, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth is a brilliant synthesis of his world view. In this very accessible volume, Fuller investigates the great challenges facing humanity, and the principles for avoiding extinction and "exercising our option to make it." How will humanity survive? How does automation influence individualization? How can we utilize our resources more effectively to realize our potential to end poverty in this generation? He questions the concept of specialization, calls for a design revolution of innovation, and offers advice on how to guide "spaceship earth" toward a sustainable future.

Purchase here

From the Idea Index

Watermill - Atmospheric Water Generator

The purpose of our initiative is to produce potable water by condensing atmospheric moisture in locations that do not have water, or that have water that is contaminated. The product is an intelegent "state of the art" appliance that can adapt to weather conditions to run at it's most efficient level. Another model of the watermill the "watermill cell" uses the same core technology,and is intended for use in underdeveloped countries. The cell can be used alone , or when a number of units are assembled.