R. Buckminster Fuller: Pattern-Thinking
By Daniel López-Pérez
R. Buckminster Fuller’s (1895–1983) work is among the most outstanding and innovative in twentieth-century design and architecture, not least because it combines a variety of intellectual and technical disciplines. “Engineer, inventor, mathematician, architect, cartographer, philosopher, poet, cosmogonist, exhaustive designer, and choreographer,” Fuller characterised himself.
R. Buckminster Fuller Pattern-Fuller: Thinking examines Fuller’s singular vision of new conceptual models for design and architecture, as well as his thoughts on their potentially world-altering implications, in a significant reassessment of his legacy in the context of design. The book follows Fuller’s explorations of geometry, language, and intellectual property concerning design concepts and paedagogy, drawing heavily on his archive and featuring over 300 photographs. It organises its survey of Fuller’s work through parallel conceptual threads rather than a linear chronology of his career.
Daniel López-Pérez is an associate professor and a founding faculty member of the University of San Diego’s Architecture Program. López-Pérez has established himself as a Fuller expert through several publications and curatorial projects, including Fuller in Mexico (2015) and R. Buckminster Fuller: World Man (2013), the latter of which was named Design Book of the Year by Architect magazine. In 2014, he was the curator of a week of Fuller lectures and exhibitions at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
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