Dymaxion House

← Dymaxion Equator | Dymaxion House →

Index Entry

Dymaxion House:

"The 1927 Dymaxion House was my first tensegrity. The hub of the wire bicycle just becomes the mast. And the bicycle wheel itself was a transfer of sea technology.

"The ceiling was translucent reflecting light from the central mast which was perforated to draw heat down over the warm lights. The walls were shutterable membranes; there were no partitions or space dividers to say: You shall not pass. There were just natural barriers, like a kitchen or a tree.

"Light cells replaced door knobs because I found that door knobs were a major contact point for the transfer of disease.

"Opaque walls are difficult to let light through. There are four kinds of privacy: aural, tactile, visual, and olfactory. Occulting-- cutting off the line of vision-- is better than opacity.

"Snelson gave me all the key, he gave me my great appreciation of how so much of tensegrity behaves; there is no thought of his 'stealing' my ideas."

Citations

1. RBF at Penn Bell videotaping, Philadelphia, 29 Jan'75