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Historic Bucky Dome Needs Help

Posted by chrisd on from the cool-design-meets-bad-roofing-contractor dept.

Anonymous Coward writes "Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome is falling apart and one man hopes to save it. Read more at http://www.msnbc.com/news/748889.asp?0bl=-0" The Buckminster Fuller Institute has a page on the dome, which has contact info for donations.

4 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. Re:For those who are into into chemistry... by Qwerpafw · · Score: 3, Insightful

    its the other way around.

    Buckminster Fuller designed the geodesic dome, which is supposed to be an ultra-stable, aesthetically pleasing dome structure.

    Then they discovered C60, which looked remerkably like of of buckminsterfuller's domes. And, being fans, the researchers named it after him. Its a cooler name than "diamond." :) (diamond is another form of carbon. Graphite is, too. Its all about how the carbon is arranged)

    Of course, considering how crucial C60's formation and structure is to carbon nanotubules research, one would think that all the companies making money off (or planning to) it would at least be generous enough to support its namesake. But thats neither here nor there.

  2. where's the positive stuff? by dbrower · · Score: 3, Insightful

    bucky domes are/were the perfect thing for protecting radar antennas from the elements, and for covering the tops of large otherwise open tanks.

    they're not so good for building houses, though, as a retrospective shows -- the labor to fit drywall, the impossibility of making windows and roofing that don't leak, the impedence mismatches of standard rectanglar building materials and furniture; all make life with a dome a pain and not very cost effective.

    but cool, man. the big dome in montreal for expo 70 was awsome; it too fell into disrepair.

    -dB

    --
    "It if was easy to do, we'd find someone cheaper than you to do it."
  3. Photos/Site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Well, I would take photos of the building then tear it down. Photos and a website will be good enough if somebody wants to know anything about it. It is obviously that it is not worth to keep it up with maintenance for next many years. I am assuming that this designer just want to build to "show" that it can be done, not for long-term purpose. If anyone wants something to last, someone would've done it better in first place.

  4. Re:Heh by Dyolf+Knip · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The funny thing about Geodesic domes is that the bigger you build it, the stronger it gets. From the picture in the article, this one is downright tiny. Small wonder it's 'only' lasted 48 years, 30 of them with little or no maintenance.

    --
    Dyolf Knip