On the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, visitors can trace the diameter of a miniature planet Earth — all 40 feet of it. Built in 1971, the structure known as the Fuller Dome is just one of several examples of “Bucky balls,” or geodesic domes, designed by inventor and former SIUE professor R. Buckminster Fuller.
Today, the dome in Edwardsville is the only existing example of the inventor’s idea for a “geoscope,” explained Benjamin Lowder, director of the Fuller Dome Center for Spirituality and Sustainability. “He wanted to create a miniature Earth that you could go inside of, and have this vantage point of looking out from the heart of the planet.”
Like Earth itself, the miniature globe is facing its own kind of climate crisis: Its aging heating and cooling systems are on the brink of failure. With a GoFundMe campaign underway to save the Fuller Dome, replacing those systems “is really just the first step in a larger project of greening the dome,” Lowder said.
“We want to take this opportunity,” he continued, and added that the upgrades to make the dome more sustainable “would be in alignment with Bucky’s legacy.”
Related Event
What: Buckminster Fuller Architectural Tour
When: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 19
Where: Multiple locations, starting at Missouri Botanical Garden Climatron Dome (4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110) See event webpage for ticketing information.
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