4D Dymaxion House (1927–1931)
Buckminster
Fuller’s first versions of the Dymaxion House were five-person family homes,
with hexagonal floor plans and a central supporting mast. The mast was anchored
to the ground by its base and offered the option of having an elevator
installed within its frame. Although the living quarters of these homes
only occupied one floor, they were raised off the ground by one story. In his
first take on the house, the ground level constituted of a deck with an
observation, garden, and recreation area, but by the time of the 1930 Dymaxion
House it had evolved into a more basic trim yard.
Altogether, the home weighed around 6000 pounds or 3 tons, and provided 1600 square feet of liveable floor space. All the versions produced between this time were constructed of durable materials – mainly aluminum. Fuller favoured aluminum for its natural qualities, recyclability, and lack of maintenance or painting. And even though the material had a high energy cost, it lasted indefinitely, outweighing this minimal drawback. The houses were designed so that each of their components was light enough to be carried by one man, ensuring comfortable and easy assembly, as well as transportation.
 |
| Hexagonal Plan of the 4D House |
Altogether, the home weighed around 6000 pounds or 3 tons, and provided 1600 square feet of liveable floor space. All the versions produced between this time were constructed of durable materials – mainly aluminum. Fuller favoured aluminum for its natural qualities, recyclability, and lack of maintenance or painting. And even though the material had a high energy cost, it lasted indefinitely, outweighing this minimal drawback. The houses were designed so that each of their components was light enough to be carried by one man, ensuring comfortable and easy assembly, as well as transportation.
Bucky explaining his first Dymaxion design in 1929
 |
| Hexagonal plan illustrating the synergy and tensegrity of the 4D design through triangular forms |
Other
common features of these homes were the inclusion of felt and septic tanks,
heat and power generators, air pumps and air filters, and water retrieved from
an artesian well. The homes were also all organized using triangular shapes –
they had floating floors of triangular inflated panels, optional triangular
elevators, triangular curtains (pulled up from the floor and down from the
ceiling), triangular window panels, and a triangular system of tension
dispersion. This was one of Buckminster’s concepts, in which he developed a
grid ranging out from the central mast, that would disperse the tension of the
structure it held as optimally as possible, ensuring a stable building that was
also lightweight and did not require any other supports. The homes were also
all demountable and easily transportable, meant to stand against various
climates without harm, and be quickly produced and constructed.
The
design of the Dymaxion House mainly progressed between 1927 and 1931 by gaining
feature slike greater energy-efficiency, self-ventilation, self-temperature
regulation, and self-cleaning. One of its goals seemed to be to become wholly
independent and be able to function without the need of outside energy or
services. By the time Fuller designed his second 4D House in 1928, the home
generated its own power, took care of its own waste, and had an independent
communication system.
 |
| Section and plan illustrating the 4D tension system |
This
second version also included an inflated tubular metal structure, with
transparent vacuum-sealed outer wall panels of recycled vegetable materials,
and a spongy inflated bladder floor. All of these features made it more
lightweight, sustainable, and sanitary than before. The 1928 version also
incorporated pneumatic partitions, inflatable furniture, glass tables suspended
by neon-lit cables, a moulded bathroom unit with atomized spray,
photo-electrically controlled revolving storage units, and pneumatic silver
balloon silk doors, non-existent in the earlier 1927 Dymaxion House. The
efficiency of features like climate control and heat distribution also
increased with the arrival of new technologies, to the point where in the last
iteration bed sheets were not a comfort requirement.
Painting of the third Dymaxion House by Anne Hewlett Fuller (1932)
With
time, Fuller also included the use of mirrors and dimmers to light the entire
house with a single source, and installed a filtered ventilation system into
the home. Wanting to minimize housework, he developed a washer and dryer system
that automatically put clothes away, working on details that would make the
house as efficient to the user as possible.
In his
third iteration, Fuller slightly altered the structure by adding clad double-panel
vacuum glazed walls. To further develop the sustainability of his design,
fuller gradually added a gardening area on the balcony surrounding the main
floor.
Fuller
decided to return to this version of the Dymaxion House after experimenting
with the towers described below, as people were more familiar with the
structure of a one story residential home, and weren’t as thrown off by its
abstraction.
......................................................................................................................
4D Tower
(1928)
Buckminster
Fuller designed the 4D Tower in the version of both a 12-floor, 8100 square
foot, and 25-floor hexagonal building. He
intended the 4D Tower to be transported by air and assembled within the span of
a single day. The building had only one entrance, optimizing resident security.
Spatially, it was organized so that the main living quarters were near
the top of the structure, surrounded by cleaner air and a better view. The base
of the building housed a swimming pool, which helped stabilize the base of the
mast used to anchor the entire structure – as with his earlier Dymaxion House
designs.
 |
| Painting of the 4D Tower (1928) |
The 4D Tower was constructed out of plastic and aluminum, and similarly to the 4D Houses was very light in weight. One of Fuller’s undeniable objectives in these designs was to create housing that was as lightweight as possible, and so within the two decades during which he developed the Dymaxion Dwelling Machine, his consequent prototypes took advantage of the availability of lighter materials and structural systems that did not require sturdy, and heavy, support.
 |
| Elevation illustrating the central mast |
In terms
of sustainability, the tower maximized daylight by projecting sunray light
through the mast and bouncing it off mirror and prisms inside the apartments.
The 4D Tower also had its own water tanks, septic systems, and clean energy
sources. The tower had a windmill or turbine on top of its central mast, which
was to generate electricity for the structure.
 |
| Elevation illustrating the tower's streamlined form |
 |
| Highlighted area indicates the communal living area at the top of the tower |
It also had inflatable flagstone apartments (airtight sealed units) on each level complete with inflatable doors that provided optimal sanitation and a dust free environment. As mentioned in the biographical section of this blog, the death of Buckminster’s daughter on account of a preventable disease initiated his desire to create clean environments, as seen in the 4D Tower and iterations of the Dymaxion home.
Other
features of the tower were its centralized air circulation system, used for
ventilation and heating, and a vacuum and compression air system used for
automatized cleaning of the tower. Its streamline faring qualities eliminated
the need for any insulation system, avoiding environmental harm and extra
weight.
......................................................................................................................
The
Light Tower’s main distinguishing feature from the earlier 4D Tower was that it
had 10 floors as opposed to 12, and was 55 meters tall. It was also constructed
out of glass and steel, instead of the earlier plastic and aluminum. One of
Fuller’s most radical ideas introduced in this phase of the design was the use
of zeppelins for the maintenance and installation of the building. According to
his calculations, the edifice could be carried, wholly assembled, 275 meters
under the airship. He envisioned that zeppelins would install the tower into
its location by dropping a bomb to form the foundation and then dropping the
building directly into the hole. Once standing, the building would also be
maintained and services by zeppelin crews, which would fly to one of its
stories whenever needed. He also saw the building as portable, able to be
lifted and taken anywhere by the zeppelin that brought it to its current
location. If it were not for its tension (as opposed to compression) system of
construction, the structure would not have been theoretically light enough to
make zeppelin transportation possible.
The
height of both the towers also supported Fuller’s idea of conservative design,
by minimizing the land needed for each building. Fuller also incorporated a
windbreaker around the tower, which eliminated the heat loss caused by the drag
of wind passed the building and acted as an insulating barrier.
......................................................................................................................
Dymaxion
Mobile Dormitory/Worker Shelter (1932)
The
Dymaxion Mobile Dormitory was an iteration of the Dymaxion House designed for
migrant farm and factory workers in new industrialized towns, during the 1930s,
as Russia was undergoing industrialization. Their design was inspired by
Fuller’s visit to Ural mountains, in which crude conditions were universal,
metal was scarce, and wood was the main local material. Fuller decided to build
a shelter for these workers that would use the materials they had to work with
and offer them the more comfortable lifestyle they deserved.
The
shelter was built of basic materials, with floor netting made of fibre rope,
packed grass insulation, and compressed sawdust hardboard for surfacing. The
walls were hollow operable ‘petals’, covered with fabric panels, and
constructed in a similar manner to earlier aircraft.
 |
| Elevation of the Worker's Shelter highlighting its rudder |
Similarly
to the earlier Dymaxion dwelling units, Fuller used aluminum here as well, this
time as a surface materials used to distribute diffused sunlight and radiant heat
achieved by the skylight and white-flame kerosene air burner at the masthead.
Consequently, the shelter also used Fuller’s developed concept of a central
mast support and suspensions system, working off the same principles as the
previous houses and towers. It also maintained the same hexagonal shape and
triangular organization system. As with earlier designs, Fuller also
worked to make the shelter efficient and self-serviced by using the compressed
air in the worker’s tractors to power the heating and lighting units and to
carry fuel to the water tanks.
The
shelter had a ruddered roof-peak vent, used to control air circulation when the
petals were closed. It also introduced some of Fuller inventions, which he
carried onto consequent designs like the fog guns1 and packaging toilets2.
1. The fog guns
were used to wash dishes, clothes, and people. The mixed jet compressed air
(from the tractors) mixed with small amounts of finely atomized water to blast
dirt off various surfaces, without using any soap. Effectively they were able
to greatly minimize the use of water, utilizing only 1 cup of water for a
shower.
2. The packaging
toilets were another one of Fuller’s attempts to make his structures
completely self-reliant and sustainable. Outraged by the idea of wasting
drinkable water to flush, Fuller developed this water-free toilet with the help
of appliance engineer, Don Moore. The toilet sealed excrements into plastic
bags, eliminating disease-carrying aerosols associated with regular flushing,
addressing his desire to create sanitary living environments. The bags were to
be taken by a collective service, and their contents used for compost,
feedstock, mechanical processes, and methane gas fuel. The urine would be
caught and stored separately, and the whole situation was to be very neat,
clean, sanitary, and completely odour free. The collective services’ frequency
would also automatically increase with the growth of the inhabitants or family.
Although seemingly well thought out, this invention of Fuller’s never came to
life as the multimillion collective facilities were never formed or produced.
 |
| Elevation of the Worker's Shelter highlighting the feature wall panels |
Dymaxion
Bathroom (1936)
Although
not a rendition of the Dymaxion House on its own, the Dymaxion Bathroom was an
invention that impacted Fuller’s future designs significantly in plan, and
clearly reflected his many intentions in this project.
 |
| Axonometric of the bathroom highlighting the rounded corners |
The
bathroom included the packaging toilet and fog gun invented by Fuller in his preceding
design of the Worker Shelter, and was mainly compiled for four pieces. It was
either constructed of four rustproof sheet metal stampings or moulded plastic,
and enclosed 1.5 square meters of space. The individual pieces were very light
and small, able to be carried by two people each, and were bolted together in a
permanent and watertight manner when installed. They were narrow enough to fit
through a door and up a staircase. The total weight of the unit was 250 pounds.
Other
than the fog gun and packaging toilet, the bathroom also had a pre-plumbed
sink, shower (which used the fog gun), and tub. As a complete system, it
did not require any separate appliances.
 |
| Removable bathroom system |
All corners and edges had a radii of at least 5cm, for easy cleaning and therefore elevated sanitation. The bathroom was heated by electric heating strips in sound-deadened walls, keeping the room warm and dry – avoiding mould and bacteria growth. The bathroom also had a downdraft ventilation and fan system that sucks air down and below the sink, pulling steam and fumes out of the facility. The mirror was placed optimally inside the medicine cabinet door, avoiding fog.
The
bathroom was useable by two people at one time, with a factory-installed
manifold piping system separating the tub-shower area from the sink and commode
section of the space.
The tub
was deep enough for therapeutic purposes and fun, but also raised high enough
for the easy bathing and cleaning of children. Similarly, the sink nozzle had a
rim nearest the user, so that it would not splash people’s clothes.
The bath
had a floor drain that prevented potential floods and contributed to easy
mopping.
......................................................................................................................
Dymaxion
Deployment Unit (1940)
Visually,
the Dymaxion Deployment Unit mainly consisted of two adjacent units of
different sizes and uses that both resembled the Butler Company metal grain
bins with added round windows, after which they were modeled. Although, unlike
Fuller’s previous designs, the structure rather traditionally rested on the
ground, it also had a temporary central mast, from which the edifice was
suspended and kept stable. Also, unlike the previous versions, the unit was not
hexagonal but instead circular, incorporating new technologies in curved wall
production, developed by the aircraft industry of WWII.
 |
| Elevation highlighting the curved roof panels |
 |
| Plan of the Deployment Unit highlighting the new circular form |
.jpg) |
| Interior Views of the Deployment Unit (1940) |
The main
area of the shelter consisted of a living room and two bedrooms, while the
secondary, smaller, unit had a kitchen, Dymaxion bathroom, and spare bedroom.
However,
in the end, because Britain was spending so much money on weapons and other
defensive products the never actually produced these shelters for their people.
Fuller’s design was instead used by the US Army’s radar crews in the same war.
......................................................................................................................
Dymaxion Dwelling Machine (1944): Wichita House Prototype
They
Dymaxion Dwelling Machine was the prototype from which the Wichita House was
built. Fuller designed the home so that it had a changeable floor plan to suit
the needs of every user, which was taken advantage of and gone beyond in the
construction of the Wichita House.
 |
| Painting of the Dymaxion House by Anne Hewlett Fuller |
The
Dymaxion Dwelling Machine had a circular floor plan (as opposed to the earlier
hexagonal). It had bands of windows on thin-skinned walls, an airspace between
the ground and the main floor, and a ventilator on its roof. Its main shape was
domed, creating a structure that reduced the need of materials. Its round
corners, like in the Dymaxion bathroom, maximized sanitation by ensuring
optimal cleaning and stopping bacteria from being trapped in corners.
The
housed weighed 3000 pounds (in comparison to the earlier 6000), even though its
size did not greatly decrease from that of other, previous Dymaxion homes.
 |
| Axonometric of the Dwelling Machine |
The
house had two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, two Dymaxion bathrooms, a
revolving wardrobe on a vertical axis, and laundry unit. All the utilities were
grouped around the mast.
The
house was prefabricated and assembled on site. It was constructed so that no
single part weighed more than 10 pounds, and had an assembly feasible for one
person alone. When it was built, in the mid 1940’s, the cost of a unit was
$6,500 each.
 |
| Plan highlighting the divisions between rooms |
Only two
prototypes were ever constructed, and both were purchased and combined with one
another and additional pieces by William Graham in 1948. The prototypes were
the Barwise prototype – made in 1945 – and the Danbury prototype – made in
1946. Graham used Fuller’s prototypes to construct a two-story house of his own
in Wichita, where he lived with his family for the rest of his life. In 1992,
the house was disassembled and reconstructed in the Henry Ford Museum as
closely to Fuller’s intentions as possible, where it stands today. It has since
undergone restoration programs and maintenance. Graham’s purchase of the home
occurred, as described elsewhere in the blog, because of Fuller’s unwillingness
to finalize his design and the consequent failure of the mass housing’s success
on the public post-war market.
......................................................................................................................
Materials
All the
materials used to build the Dwelling Machine prototypes were deemed permanent
and required no maintenance. It was fabricated almost entirely out of
aircraft industry aluminum, taking the advantage of a surplus of such materials
and factories during this time. Unfinished aluminum panels were specifically
used for the walls and roof, while the windows were constructed out of plastic.
The bathroom, structure cage, deck, inner and outer skins , foundation, and
doors were also all made of this material.
The
house was made using aircraft industry production – specifically the factory,
engineering personnel, and tools, of the Beech Aircraft company. Aluminum was a
prime material for Fuller to use, on account of its lightness and strength.
Aluminum
first became available as a construction tool in 1855, and entered mass
production at the start of the 1900’s. Its production hugely increased during
the Second World War, on account of its popularity in the aircraft industry,
around the time the Dymaxion Dwelling Machine was constructed. Although the
production of aluminum was energetically and economically negatively
significant, its performance outweighed this in Fuller’s eyes. Another downfall
of the material was its lack of stiffness in relation to iron or steel, which
is why Fuller decided to use steel for the central mast, which was to bear the
entire weight and tension of the structure. Apart from being light and strong,
aluminum is also rust resistant (meaning low maintenance) and easily
manipulated in various construction methods – allowing for an easy formation of
Fuller’s curved shapes. It is also recyclable and its chemical properties allow
for adequate cooling and ventilation.
The
central mast was made of stainless steel. The prominent roof ventilator was
made out of aerodynamic sheet metal.
The
house itself was shipped in reusable stainless steel shipping tubes,
transportable by truck anywhere in the country.
......................................................................................................................
Structure
Structurally,
it integrated tensile members within the pitch of its roof, and had criss-crossing
elements with inherent resistance, showing the beginning signs of his geodesic
strut frame. The many spokes keep the rim from bending outward any further while
the load is suspended by central vertical spokes. The roof was shaped like an
umbrella, and had a lightweight skin covering curved panels underneath, just as
airplanes also had in their structures.
 |
| Elevation highlighting the curved roof |
 |
| Elevation highlighting the windows wrapping around the structure |
Similarly
to all other Dymaxion houses, the Dwelling Machine had a central mast and
utilized the principles of tension and suspension to keep whole and stable.
The
round shape of the building minimized heat loss and material use, making its
structure both environmentally and economically beneficial.
Based on
his time spent in the army, it is speculated that Fuller’s design objectives,
of creating a building that was light, mobile, and used materials to their
prime effectiveness, was influenced by his time amongst ships and planes while
in service.
The main
structure consisted of steel elements like the vertical mast (made of seven
tubes), tension cables, tubular rings that formed the outer shape, and aluminum
floor base. The shell of the house was made of aluminum sheets, plastic
windows, and a plywood floor deck atop aluminum beams.
As with
almost all earlier iterations of the design, the structure was elevated above
the ground, anchored only to it by tensile wires, its main form resting on a
foundation plate above ground level, held steady by the mast.
......................................................................................................................
Other Innovative Features
The
house was cooled and heated by natural means, and generated its own power. It
was earthquake and storm-proof, thanks to its shape and suspension system.
Its stability was also contributed to by the vent on its roof, which
regulated air pressure inside the building.
The
ventilator on the roof of the building worked by rotating like a wind tale,
creating a low-pressure zone which opened the ventilator tail, and pulling out
air from the house, effectively air conditioning the house in a natural manner.
When the ventilator drew in outside air, the windows became inoperable,
ensuring an efficient ventilation process.
As in
the previously invented Dymaxion Bathroom, this home also used downdraft
ventilation to draw dust to the baseboards and through filters, eliminating the
need for vacuuming and dusting, and creating a more sanitary, clean
environment.
Another
feature was the revolving shelves and rotating closets, which brought your
clothes to you.
The
house also had adjustable sun-blinds on windows and natural cork floors.
Meant to
be easily assembled and reassembled, the house had systems that firmly fit
together without the need of glue or nails, with the deck flooring as an
example. Altogether the building had approximately 2000 parts. It was designed
so that its layers were distinct from one another and could easily be formed
and then combined – divided into main categories of the structure, shell,
partitions, and installations. Thanks to this, the building was also easily
reparable, as a single part could be exchanged without at all impacting any
other features.
The house
also had carlins that collected, filtered, and recycled water.
......................................................................................................................
Wichita
House (1946)
When
Graham converted the prototypes of Fuller’s Dymaxion Dwelling Machine, he made
many significant changes to the inventor’s design. Graham built the house on a 600
acre site near Rose Hill, Kansas, along a steep waterfront in a rural setting. He abandoned the idea of suspending the structure by the mast over the
ground, and instead added a basement floor and permanent foundation. The family was also bothered by the eerie noises the metal frame of the house made every time its temperature changed, which was solved by the addition of the insulation system. Graham also took away Fuller’s moving-part design innovations like the o-volving closet, in favor of more traditional furniture.The house
retained the circular form of its prototypes, but made more changes like the
elimination of the rotating ventilator that so significantly embodied Fuller’s
concept of efficient, sanitary, and self-reliant design. The family was also bothered by the eerie noises the metal frame of the house made every time its temperature changed, which was solved by the addition of the insulation system. Graham also took away Fuller’s moving-part design innovations like the o-volving closet, in favor of more traditional furniture.Over the years,
Graham also added a porch and a building extension, completely grounding a
structure with an initial objective to be easily transportable and
reconstructable at any location. Although Fuller’s Dymaxion House was an undoubted success in the world of science and technology, the machine failed to appeal and be embraced by its intended users.
......................................................................................................................
Standard
of Living Package (1948)
The
Standard of Living Package was Fuller’s concept of a home that would unfold out
of almost nothing. The design no longer had any significant architecture, but
dealt more with elusive geometries of broadcast networks. Because the idea was
so far from anything materialistic and substantial, the Standard of Living
Package does not have any concrete recordings of form, geometry, or layout. It
is briefly described as a core set of travelling equipment for sustaining
domestic life, which could unfold in any place. Fuller envisioned that once the
home was unfolded, a helicopter would airlift a Skybreak dome that would be
placed over the house, protecting the inhabitants from weather, but not
breaking their connection with the outdoors. This project embodied the
direction of Fuller’s evolution of the Dymaxion home, highlighting his vision
of a house that was optimally light, transportable, and installable in any
location.
 |
| Interior and Exterior Axonometrics of the Standard of Living Package |
......................................................................................................................
General Statements
All the
forms of Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House relied on the leverage and tension
system of a central mast and surrounding triangle-organized structure. The
houses also commonly utilized the latest technological developments, used the
minimum amount of material possible in relation to current availability, were
easily assembled and transported, had minimal costs, and were built to resist
climactic stresses.
Upon
inspecting the stages of his design, there is an obvious shift from solid
object to a lighter structure, until materiality is completely abandoned and
the house becomes a compact mobile package of equipment.
His
other common goals seemed to be to create a structure with minimum surface area
and the last amount of material, referencing his movement towards more circular
forms with the development of technology. This was driven by his concept of
doing more with less, and conserving the world’s resources in everything we
produced. For these reasons, the Dymaxion houses are not especially luxurious
or spacious, but instead provide comfortable living in a minimal square
footage. He also wanted to create housing that was standardized, and
consequently cheap, on account of the massive fabrication of identical units.
It is further apparent that his designs were not meant to impress in
aesthetics, but instead were meant to act as the backdrop to the lives of their
users, making their lives as efficient and comfortable as possible, seen in
features like the self-cleaning bathroom and serviceable closet. Transportation
was another clear factor in the design of these homes, as well as versatility
in the aspect of location and climate.
Change
in Shape
The
common form and shape of the Dymaxion housing inventions was driven by Fuller’s
idea of following nature in forming a structure that revolved around a central
point (just as our universe does), and take advantage of the triangle’s
strength in construction by creating a hexagonal form. This use of triangles
and tetrahedrons was developed into a practical system of geometry and
mathematics he called synergetics.
Synergetics is commonly referred to as the study of systems with a strong
regard of total system behaviour, and the function of interlinked components,
just as Fuller did in building structures whose entire stability depended on
the central mast, and from which everything was linked in a radiating triangle
grid. All structure built under this theory were formed the inside out –
evolving around a central mast, which supported the entire structure, and
straying outward in a triangular grid. In comparison to other shapes, triangles
were known to distribute weight and volume much more evenly over a given area,
therefore creating a stronger and more stable structure. The repetition of the
triangular grid also aided Fuller in his desire to create standardized living
structures, as the components could be constructed in similar proportions and
geometries based on this outline, lowering manufacturing cost and elevating its
ease.
 |
| Plan of the Dymaxion prototype highlighting the rounded corners |
All the
materials Fuller used were utilized in their optimal state of tension – as
opposed to a less efficient compressive application. The central mast was the
only loadbearing part of all the houses, and the rest was supported by tensile
cables and held rigid by compression rings. This system, which dealt separately
with tension and compression, became known as tensegrity – formed by tensional
integrity. In short tensegrity is a structural principle in which
compression and tension are isolated, and the compressed members (bars or
struts) do not interact with one another, and the pre-stressed tensioned
components (cables or tendons) define the system’s spatial confines.
In
general, the Dymaxion House began as a hexagon but developed into a circular
form, once technology in the construction of framework and coverings allowed it
to do so. As described in other portions of this blog, the structure was held
back from taking the optimal circular form by an inability to form double
curved surfaced, but once the construction of such components was invented in
other fields (mainly aircraft), Fuller used the development to his advantage
and replaced the hexagon in his own design.
Authored by: Will Fu, Justyna Maleszyk and Isabel Ochoa
Edited by: Isabel Ochoa
Authored by: Will Fu, Justyna Maleszyk and Isabel Ochoa
Edited by: Isabel Ochoa