Recent Fuller Scholarship and Developments (2020-2026)
Sources: SIU News, MoMA, Dey Street Books / HarperCollins, BFI, MAC Lyon, and others.
"Inventor of the Future" by Alec Nevala-Lee (2022)
The first authoritative biography covering all aspects of Buckminster Fuller's career, published by Dey Street Books / HarperCollins on August 2, 2022. At 672 pages, the book draws on thousands of previously unpublished documents from the Stanford archive to critically reassess Fuller's legacy, including his self-mythologizing tendencies, appropriation of student work, and tumultuous private life.
The biography received wide recognition: NYT Book Review Editors' Choice, inclusion in Esquire's 50 Best Biographies of All Time, and The Economist's Best Books of 2022.
MoMA "Emerging Ecologies" Exhibition (2023-2024)
"Emerging Ecologies: Architecture and the Rise of Environmentalism" ran from September 17, 2023 through January 20, 2024 at the Museum of Modern Art. It was the first major museum exhibition to survey the intersection of architecture and the environmental movement in the United States.
Fuller appeared in the "Enclosed Ecologies" section alongside architects Beverly Willis and Emilio Ambasz. The exhibition featured over 150 works spanning the 1930s through the 1990s. A published catalog was authored by Carson Chan and Matthew Wagstaffe.
Fuller Futures Festival 2026 (SIU Carbondale)
A five-day festival held April 22-26, 2026, co-organized by Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the Buckminster Fuller Institute. Highlights included:
- Relaunch of the World Game on a 50+ foot Dymaxion Map, led by Medard Gabel, who collaborated with Fuller on the original 1971 version
- Presentation by Thomas T.K. Zung, Fuller's sole remaining architectural partner
- Theater performance of "Buckminster Fuller: The History and Mystery of the Universe" by D.W. Jacobs
- Free admission for students
Fuller Dome Home 3D-Printed Visitor Center (Carbondale)
The restoration and expansion of Fuller's Carbondale dome home has progressed through multiple phases. Phase 1 (structural/exterior) and Phase 2 (interior) restoration are complete. A 2,400 square foot visitor center uses Mighty Buildings' 3D-printed parametric panels, reducing construction waste by 99% and using 60% recycled materials. It is one of only three 3D-printed buildings in the Midwest.
Phase 3, currently in progress, will add museum exhibits and an artist/scholar-in-residence program.
SIUE Fuller Dome Programming (2025-2026)
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Fuller Dome has hosted a growing program of Fuller-related events:
- "Five Days of Fuller" conference in March 2025
- Kool Koor "AXION SYMMETRA" exhibition, June through September 2026
- World Peace Game sessions on a 27-foot Dymaxion Map
BFI Design Lab Evolution
The Buckminster Fuller Institute has evolved beyond its traditional role as archive and educational organization into active design-science initiative work:
- BiOFi (Bioregional Financing Facilities) Project — designing financial infrastructure for bioregional economies
- Indigenous Rewilding Network — connecting Indigenous land stewardship with design science
- COBALT (Collaborative for Bioregional Action, Learning, and Transformation) — a collaborative initiative for bioregional organizing
- Regenerosity — transitioned to an independent nonprofit in 2025
- The original Buckminster Fuller Challenge ($100,000 prize, 2007-2017) has been archived as an educational resource
MAC Lyon Permanent Collection
The Musee d'Art Contemporain de Lyon acquired two Fuller domes for its permanent collection: the "Bear Island Dome" (1965) and the "Great Circle Dome" (1960), donated by the Fuller Estate. Reconstruction was supervised by Jaime Snyder, Fuller's grandson.
The museum frames the domes as simultaneously "architectural project, utopian form, work of art, sculpture and structure."