If  R. Buckminster Fuller had been pulling the strings of corporate America, what a wonderful would it would be. We'd be driving three-wheel cars, living in aluminum houses, and populating domed cities.

Bucky's been gone almost twenty years but he's still ahead of his time. A maverick thinker who spent much of his life (from 1895 to 1983) trying to advance "humanity's option for success," the common denominator found in Bucky's greatest work was doing more with less. 

In 1930s, he designed a "house of tomorrow" called the 4D Dymaxion House which challenged nearly every assumption about housing construction. Bucky's design revolved around a central "mast" that contained plumbing and other essentials. Beyond the futuristic styling and name, was a radical re-conception of home design.

Bucky addressed questions of self-sustainability, mass-production, pre-fabrication, and automation in the unique-looking structure. Mobility was another component -the 4D Dymaxion was literally a mobile home, built with light aluminum allowing it to be transported by dirigible. 

But the 4D Dymaxion House never did fly. Several prototypes were produced but nothing on the scale that Bucky had imagined. Only the Dymaxion Bathroom-a sheet-metal stamped curiosity-managed to sell a few units in a limited production. The biggest problem, beyond technical glitches, were wary bankers who refused to lend money to the venture.

In 1933, Bucky dedicated himself to building the Dymaxion car, a three-wheeled automobile which allowed a driver to make a 360 degree turn on a dime. Modeled after the rudder on a ship, the rearwheel steering mechanism provided amazing maneuverability. It was possible to move sideways into a parking spot if necessary. 

Any lingering hope the Dymaxion might go into full-scale production was dashed when the car was involved in a fatal accident at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The car's design was later exonerated but the negative publicity proved fatal.

Bucky was already busy at work on Dymaxion World Map. Using his self-taught skills as a cartographer, Bucky had fashioned a unique "flat" view of Earth which demonstrated how the geometry of geodesic-or curved-surfaces provided navigators with the most efficient routes of voyages on the open seas. 

This intellectual exercise played a crucial role in Bucky's most famous creation: the geodesic dome. The map strengthened Bucky's resolve that geodesic lines-the shortest line between two points that lies on a given surface-were the most efficient way of enclosing space. After experimenting with a pattern of tetrahedrons (triangular pyramids), Bucky discovered a dome whose structural integrity was extraordinary.

The geodesic dome was incredibly striking. An instantly recognizable icon, it made a particular splash (see above photo) at the Expo '67 World's Fair in Montreal. It has been estimated that 200,000 geodesic domes have been created since Bucky's breakthrough, which means, to this day, his buildings occupy more space than any other living architect.

The phenomenon of geodesic domes elevated Bucky's status and he became, in his elder years, a familiar face on college campuses, an animated figure talking in a rapid clip to spellbound audiences. "The planet's friendly genius" proved that a self-taught architect, engineer, map-maker, car-builder, and house-designer could earn 47 honorary doctorates despite never earning a real college degree!

Towards the end of his life, Bucky offered this thought: "Whether humanity is to comprehensively prosper...depends entirely on the integrity of the human individuals and not on the political and economic systems. The cosmic question has been asked: are humans a worthwhile to universe invention?"

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