The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area

The Bay Area has long attracted dreamers, progressives, nonconformists, and designers. Buckminster Fuller was all of these, and although he never lived in San Francisco, his ideas have spawned many local experiments in technology, design, and sustainability. The first to consider Fuller’s Bay Area legacy, this exhibition features some of his most iconic projects as …

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Skip to content Main navigation Menu What’s On View Stories Art + Artists Visit Events Become a Member For Members Ways to Give For Educators Press Room Shop Membership Tickets Search Search Close Search for: Visit Exhibitions Events Membership Art & Artists Museum Store Press Room Join Our Team The Utopian Impulse Exhibition March 31–July 29, 2012 share The Bay Area has long attracted dreamers, progressives, nonconformists, and designers. Buckminster Fuller was all of these, and although he never lived in San Francisco, his ideas have spawned many local experiments in technology, design, and sustainability. The first to consider Fuller’s Bay Area legacy, this exhibition features some of his most iconic projects as represented in a print portfolio recently acquired by SFMOMA, Inventions: Twelve Around One . Along with Fuller inventions like the 4D House, Geodesic Dome, World Game, and Dymaxion car, the exhibition presents Bay Area endeavors — from Ant Farm’s 1972 domed Convention City proposal to a North Face tent, and from The Plastiki boat to One Laptop Per Child — inspired by Fuller’s radical idealism and his visionary designs informed by technology, ecology, and social responsibility. The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area is made possible through generous support from the Gensler Family Foundation and Obscura Digital. Buckminster Fuller and Chuck Byrne, Non-Symetrical Tension-Integrity Structures, United States Patent Office no. 3,866,366 , from the portfolio Inventions: Twelve Around One , 1981; collection SFMOMA, gift of Chuck and Elizabeth Byrne; © The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller, All Rights reserved. Published by Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati Buckminster Fuller and Chuck Byrne, Motor Vehicle-Dymaxion Car , United States Patent Office no. 2,101,057 , from the portfolio Inventions: Twelve Around One , 1981; collection SFMOMA, gift of Chuck and Elizabeth Byrne; © The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller, All Rights reserved; Published by Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati Buckminster Fuller, Dymaxion Air-Ocean World Map , 1981; collection SFMOMA, gift of Elizabeth and Carl Solway in memory of Robert Fillmore Lovett, Jr.; © The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller, All Rights reserved Ant Farm, Convention City 1976 , 1972, printed 2012; collection SFMOMA, Accessions Committee Fund purchase; © Ant Farm Lloyd Kahn, Image of Pacific High School , 1968-1971; courtesy the designer; © Lloyd Kahn IwamotoScott Architecture with proces2, Jellyfish House , 2005-2006; collection SFMOMA, Accessions Committee Fund purchase and Gift of IwamotoScott Architecture; © IwamotoScott Architecture Buckminster Fuller and Chuck Byrne, Laminar Geodesic Dome , United States Patent Office no. 3,203,144 , from the portfolio Inventions: Twelve Around One , 1981; collection SFMOMA, gift of Chuck and Elizabeth Byrne; © The Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller, All Rights reserved. Published by Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati Also at SFMOMA Matisse's Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal Ways of Seeing: Fourteen Artists Events See all Exhibitions Footer San Francisco Museum of Modern Art SFMOMA 151 Third St San Francisco, CA 94103 About SFMOMA View on map 415.357.4000 Contact Us Hours Mon–Tue 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Wed Closed Thu Noon–8 p.m. Fri–Sun 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Visit Museum Store Hours Mon–Tue 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wed Closed Thu Noon–8 p.m. Fri–Sun 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Shop Learn More Our DEI Commitment Join Our Team Rental Events Library + Archives Dining Options Social media Newsletter Sign-up © 2026 San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Legal links Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Collections Management Policy | Health and Safety Plans