Building values: Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House in context.
Item
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Title
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Building values: Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House in context.
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Identifier
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AAI3115269
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identifier
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3115269
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Creator
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Lorance, Loretta.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Rosemarie Haag Bletter
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Date
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2004
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Art History | Architecture
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Abstract
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Building Values: Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion House in Context is the first revisionist study of Buckminster Fuller's work in the 1920s and early 1930s. One goal is to trace Fuller's activities during this time to reveal how he decided to design and promote a manufactured house, the Dymaxion House. The other is to establish the Dymaxion House project as a serious proposal to use existing technology to manufacture houses instead of a futuristic project, as it is now considered. In order to achieve these objectives, it was necessary to approach the material from a new angle.;Therefore, most of the information in Building Values is taken from documents in Fuller's papers, especially his multi-volume scrapbook and diary, Chronofile, at Stanford University. These materials have been closely read and carefully analyzed to produce a new understanding of the background, development, and intentions of the Dymaxion House project. Access to the Fuller's papers led to a new interpretation and in-depth treatment of the project which means new knowledge will be acquired through Building Values by readers familiar and unfamiliar with it.;Included in Building Values is the first detailed study of the Stockade Building System, a company Fuller co-founded with his father-in-law, and his dismissal from the company. Stockade is argued as a precursor to the project and following its treatment is a thorough discussion of the Dymaxion House. This project is considered from its beginnings in late 1927 until Fuller no longer actively pursued its realization in the early 1930s. Discussed are Fuller's intentions to organize a corporation to manufacture houses, his desire to convince the American Institute of Architects to help him finance the project, and careful analysis of 4D Timelock, Fuller's combined business prospectus and architectural manifesto. In addition, the relationship of the project to existing types of manufactured houses, contemporary architecture, and architectural theory are examined. Finally, Fuller's biography and his manipulation of his life's story are analyzed to provide a better understanding of the person and his intentions. Thus, Building Values gives new insight into Fuller, the Stockade Building System, and the Dymaxion House project.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy Restricted.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.