A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell lattice structure built from a geodesic polyhedron, whose rigid triangular elements distribute structural stress across the whole shell, letting it carry very heavy loads relative to its size and weight. Walther Bauersfeld, chief engineer at Carl Zeiss in Jena, Germany, designed the first geodesic dome after the First World War; the firm Dykerhoff and Wydmann patented and built an initial small dome on the roof of the Zeiss works, and a larger public dome, nicknamed the Wonder of Jena, opened on July 18, 1926. The American designer Buckminster Fuller, working with the artist Kenneth Snelson at Black Mountain College in 1948 and 1949, coined the term geodesic and popularized the form in the United States, patenting his own version on June 29, 1954, though the Zeiss dome predates his work by nearly three decades.
Facts
Patent or First-Use DateBuckminster Fuller's own U.S. patent 2682235A, distinct from the 1926 Zeiss dome the year fact above records. YearYear the first geodesic dome (the Zeiss Wonder of Jena, designed by Walther Bauersfeld) opened to the public; Buckminster Fuller's better-known independent popularization and patent followed in 1954, per this entity's own description. SignificanceThe rigid triangular elements of the dome distribute stress throughout the structure, making geodesic domes able to withstand very heavy loads for their size. 1 Connections
In Field
Source Geodesic Dome (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Sources
1. Geodesic Dome (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationHistory section
A larger dome, called 'The Wonder of Jena', opened to the public on July 18, 1926.
Lead section
The rigid triangular elements of the dome distribute stress throughout the structure, making geodesic domes able to withstand very heavy loads for their size.
Patents section
Although Fuller was not the original inventor, he is credited with the U.S. popularization of the idea for which he received U.S. patent 2682235A on 29 June 1954.
In Field: Civil Engineering, Categories
Architecture related to utopias
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Did Buckminster Fuller invent the geodesic dome?
No. Buckminster Fuller patented and popularized the geodesic dome in the United States, but German engineer Walther Bauersfeld designed and built the first one nearly three decades earlier.
Buckminster Fuller is widely credited with inventing the geodesic dome, and he did receive a United States patent for his version on June 29, 1954. But Fuller was not the original inventor. The first geodesic dome was designed after the First World War by Walther Bauersfeld, chief engineer of the optical company Carl Zeiss Jena, for a planetarium to house his projector. A larger public dome built on this design, known as the Wonder of Jena, opened on July 18, 1926, nearly thirty years before Fuller's patent. Fuller's real contribution was popularizing the idea in the United States.
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