College of Architecture Departmental Records, R. Buckminster Fuller
Collection
Identifier: Series-0096
These records contain a composite of materials housed for a time within the College of Architecture and concern the work of R. Buckminster Fuller. A small portion of this collection is ephemeral in nature. Among these materials are memoranda from the Fuller Research Foundation, a lecture transcript published in vol. II of the 1967 edition of the Journal of environmental design, two news clippings [1956 and 1964] from local print media, two copies of original poems [one containing hand-written annotations by Fuller], as well as publications, promotional bulletins, and pamphlets that emphasize his many innovations. The bulk of this collection is a recorded lecture series [20 reel to reel tapes converted to cassette] that Fuller presented to the School of Architecture second year seminar students in February 1958.
R. Buckminster Fuller was born on July 12, 1895 in Milton, Massachusetts, the son of Richard B. and Caroline Wolcott (Andrews) Fuller. He attended Harvard, but was expelled on two separate occasions. Afterwards, for a time, he was employed with both a textile mill and a meat packing plant. He married in 1917, enlisting for service with the U.S. Navy later that same year during World War I. After the end of the war, Fuller once again was employed with the meat packing industry for a short time before establishing the Stockade Building System Company in 1922, which offered light-weight, weatherproof housing. The business was ultimately unsuccessful.
After a period of near bankruptcy, he accepted a position in 1948 at Black Mountain College located in North Carolina. While there, he began work on a project that would revolutionize the field of engineering--the geodesic dome. In effect, he had designed one of the first structures that could sustain its own weight with no practical limitations. The U.S. government quickly recognized that the system could be applied to their military field operations and employed Fuller in the mass production of the domes. He gained international recognition during the 1950s through the success of his domes, and began teaching at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1959. Fuller went on to contribute a wide range of ideas, designs, and inventions, particularly in the areas of practical, inexpensive shelter and transportation while working as a designer, scientist, developer, and writer. He was ultimately awarded twenty-five U.S. patents and received numerous honorary doctorates. Fuller died in 1983, aged 88.
1.55 Cubic Feet (5 document boxes)
English
The files are arranged in alphabetical order; the cassettes are arranged by lecture.
Received from Emery A. Gunnin Architecture Library, March 27 and July 25, 1985; May 5, 1987; June 17, 2005. Accessioned as 85-31, 85-73, 87-66, and 05-73.
This collection was processed by Project Archivist Carl Redd in February 2006 as part of a re-grant project from the South Carolina State Historical Records Advisory Board funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Part of the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives Repository