by Robert L. Gisel
Quite a few ideas came out of R. Buckminister Fuller but he is known the most for his patent of the geodesic dome. That is so well known I once thought "geodesic" meant dome. It doesn't.
The word "geodesic" stands for "the straightest line between two points". What you get when you connect all the points on a dome with straight lines is what we call the geodesic dome.
The usual approach to making one is using a six receptacle joint holding pipes that stretch from that to other joint pieces and more pipes. By forming a hexagon then overlapping hexagons outward and around it all comes together as a dome. Or a globe if you keep going all the way around.
The triangulation structure formed into a full dome is immensely stronger than conventional constructions, spans greater distances, is lighter, erects faster and decidedly has energy saving and climate control advantages.
Geodesic Globe
Originally I was experimenting with prefab home designs that entailed forming a complete globe and placing that in any number of arrangements by itself or in combinations with other globes.
For instance I had the idea of the Dome of Domes. Get the idea of a very expansive translucent dome with Geodesic Globes interspersed into the fabric of the dome like a string of pearls spiraling around towards and over the top the dome. This a new twist on high rise as well as a solution in environmental control. Inside the dome is a controlled climate recreational park for the gated community. The individual condo globe homes are accessed by an air elevator, another invention of mine.
In my research of dome technology I was clearing some words and concepts on the general subject and got an inspirational idea.
Designer Geodesics
If you look at the accepted geodesic dome construction in a different light the design possibilities open immensely in what I do best in architecture: free shape construction. This breakthrough prefabrication idea handles what I objected to the most in geodesic dome homes: they lack aesthetic appeal or are even ugly. This is actually quite revolutionary as you will see.
The details of this new system make it possible to replace conventional homes and buildings cheaper, larger and stronger all the while creating aesthetically pleasing and unique living "geodes", a word meaning spaces. The breakthrough idea is thus dubbed Neo Geodes - Designer Geodesics.
In detailing handlings for the joints I took this one step farther and came up with a pressure lock system. This enhances the structural performance in extreme conditions not excluding underwater and outer space applications.
This is a new look. While the roll out is still happening at some point you will see this exciting new approach to architecture enhance living habitats and the beauty of the environment.
