Fuller Dome

Expo1967Montreal

The most eye-catching design atExpo 1967 Montreal was a 20-storey tall hugespherical structure that was the USA Pavilion designed by Buckminster Fuller, which was also the symbolic building of this Expo and was affectionately called as “Fuller Dome”.

Fuller Dome model is placed in Exhibition Hall 4 of the WEM

Now, we have also brought the model of Fuller Dome to the WEM and placed it in the Exhibition Hall 4. The visitors can shuttle inside the metal model, look at the pictures and watch audio-visual programs and 3D elements to learn the information related to Expo1967 Montreal.

With a diameter of 76meters and a height of 61 meters, theFuller Dome is a sphere rationally formed with triangular metal mesh structures. It is an innovative dome covering small city space. Contributed to the simple and creative design, it used less building materials to build a light but strong roof that covers the whole space. Shining in the sun in daytime and projecting light out of the dome at night time, the Fuller Dome was known as the most bright and gorgeous as well as World's largest grid spherical architecture at that time.

Who is Buckminster Fuller?

Why did people call him an“Alien”？

Ugly, poor and crazy

Going through all kinds of hardships in hislifelong

He had 48 honorary doctorate degree certificates and 26 patents and inventions

He was a architect, engineer, inventor, thinker, theoretician, mystic, and a design scientist with wide interest and foresightedness

Livingin poverty all his life, Fuller deduced numerous legends. Half a century ago, he designed a “super light building” that could be completed just in one day, a vehicle that could go under water and fly in the sky, and a “diamond over” that could save the entire city. The new concept of low carbon advocated by him inspired scientists and he eventually won the Nobel Prize. The concept has been benefiting the world ecology up to today.

Fuller lived in the last century, but what he thought about was associated with this century and even the next century.What makes us feel more precious is that all his designs integrated with the concept of "low carbon". He believedin “doing more with less resources”. Today when facing theshortage of resources and global warming, people are shocked to discover that this architect who lookedlike an alien left us a huge legacy.

How to use minimum materials to create a maximum space?

Fuller was awarded the gold medal of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) because of the construction of USA Pavilion. The reason for why Fuller was able to design such creative spherical “crystal sphere”was originated from his philosophy: the smallest and the largest physical structure in the world are circle and sphere. A circle is a fundamental shape that can be expanded infinitely, and it is also a shape for the smallest and largest objects to move around. A spherical building can create the largest internal space with the least material, the most reasonable structure and the smallest investment.

What is geodesic dome?

He applied to USPTO to design the dome to be a spherical shape, and named it “Geodesic Dome”. He said, “A good indicator to judge whether an architectural structure is good or not is the load that one square meter of floor can bear”. In the conventional wall top design, this figure is normally 2,500kg/sqm, while it is lonely 4kg/sqm in design of ‘geodesic dome’. I can use a piece of plastic sheet to make such a structure.”

Full Dome popular around the world

This architectural model with no need of column, bean, vault and other supports were doubted by many people at that time. When it was applied for the first time at radar station on the North Pole by USA Air Force, many engineers bet that the dome would be soon blown down by the wind. However, it was still standing safely on the ground after two years of testing.

Since the USA Pavilion was designed as a 20-storey tall hugespherical structure by Buckminster Fullerat Expo1967 Montreal, people affectionately calledit “Fuller Dome”. Just from then on, the spherical architecture began to become popular around the world, and is still on the rise now.

The Fuller Dome is low in cost and quick to build. An Indian company built hundreds of spherical tents for African farmers for local sustainable agricultural development. After Hurricane Katerina, the victims also lived in the makeshift tents built based on Fuller’s design principle.

Stop in front of this exhibit in the WEM, and recall the unlucky genius who lived 50 years ago but was not immersed in personal misery.That is animpressive experience to every visitor.

You can also find out the spherical architectures around you.
(Edited by:  Pan Yun, Lin Qiandie, Xiao Xiao)