Man Is a Creature of the Universe - Essay Example

? RICHARD BUCKMINSTER FULLER (A Final Term Paper for Interior Design) ID number: of of University (affiliation) Location of University: Date of Submission: December 12, 2013 Estimated Word Count = 1,500 (text only) Introduction Man is a creature of the Universe and as such should live in harmony with Nature. This means Man is required or Mandated to use Nature’s resources at his disposal to the best possible benefit, in terms of conservation and preservation. In quite a few cases, he should try to conserve the pristine state of Nature and leave it at that virginal state by not touching it altogether while in other instances, Man should strive to preserve the natural resources so the use is sustainable and the said natural resources are not depleted from abuse, over-exploitation, or pollution. Natural resources like water supplies, fisheries, forests, mineral products, timber, and even the air should be maintained sustainably so these resources can recover and be renewable for years to come. It is an imperative need to use natural resources in a wise and prudent way for survival. Richard Buckminster Fuller is a famous inventor, systems theorist, designer, architect, and more notably, also a futurist who once remarked that “normal Man is designed to be a success and the Universe gets designed to support that success. Man is essential to the success of the Universe itself” (Fuller, 1967). From Fuller’s perspective, Man and Universe are co-existent and need each other for support and success. Man should achieve success via the Universe and the Universe requires Man to make it a better place. The Universe and Man exist in synergy and through their interaction each becomes successful; there is a mutually beneficial relationship and this Fuller quote indicates or implies a symbiosis. In other words, it connotes the impression Man is designed for success and it is only up to him to secure that success. The default mode for Man is to be successful and any failure is again up to him only; there is no one to blame but Man if something goes horribly wrong. Fuller’s thinking is Manifested in his architectural designs. Discussion Although Richard Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) has Many great contributions to science, design, engineering, and architecture, his most famous and iconic design is the geodesic dome which is composed of a shell- or lattice-structure superimposed with a network of spheres or circles on the surface of a much larger sphere. This design is reminiscent of an eggshell which is considered as one of Nature’s most efficient designs ever because it maximizes its utility and at the same minimizes the use of raw materials or natural resources to achieve a utilitarian design. In other words, it extracts and exploits natural resources at Man’s disposal but minimizes damage to the environment by using only what is required as absolutely necessary. The Universe provides Man with the natural resources he or she requires for survival and success. The Universe provides Man for all his basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing by providing him with all forms of material things and the energy required to transform these things. Natural resources such as water and land enable Man to become creative in ways so he or she can make use of them to become socially and economically successful. A normal Man would take advantage of the resources offered by the Universe to catapult him or her to success but this is to be taken not literally but only figuratively. Man should use his or her resources wisely. The wise of use of resources is conceptualized and evidenced by the development of geodesics which is the scientific and academic discipline involving the study of how to form an enclosed space that is strong, lightweight, curved or spherical in shape that gives a rare stability to a structure and more importantly, provides or encloses the greatest volume with a least surface area required; in other words, this design makes good use of the maximality principle. The vision of Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller is Manifested in his famous phrase of referring to Earth not as Planet Earth but as Spaceship Earth by emphasizing the fragility of the Earth like a spaceship traveling through space indefinitely and should be taken care of by all its inhabitants. In fact, this concept has been the overriding principle of Fuller in most of his own architectural designs that showcase how life on Earth is largely intricately dependent on the use of limited and finite natural resources in a prudent and wise way so these can last for a long time. This means any design must avoid wastes while optimizing the utility of the structure. Fuller must have been concerned about over-exploitation of natural resources to build the structures required for modern living such as high-rise buildings for office and residential use due to a growing human population. At that time, environmental degradation was not yet a buzz word used by environmentalists to advocate for preservation and conservation but he was a real visionary to have foreseen these developments many decades ahead. Now, people have to deal with global warming and the resultant effects such as climate change and rising sea levels. His concern with the environment made him re-invent the term “biosphere” to make all people aware how planet Earth is an enclosed living sphere but as such, it can only take so much abuse beyond which it attains an irreversible degradation because it can no longer replenish itself in time and so a dangerous tipping point is reached such as carbon gas emissions had warmed the Earth to unprecedented levels never seen in millions of years. Earth’s ecosystem is an intricate and elaborate network of living organisms and their native habitats; alterations to this delicate balance will upset that equilibrium and may have tragic consequences too. In other words, engineering and architectural designs must take into account to preserve this balance. All people can take heed from this valuable lesson by Fuller whose ideas and forward thinking continues to influence professionals like engineers, architects, designers, and scientists to help preserve Planet Earth’s biosphere and make it sustainable for generations to come by the wise use of resources to help solve or alleviate global problems like in housing, transportation, poverty, energy, and ecological degradation (Buckminster Fuller Institute, 2010, para. 1). One of his ideas was to propagate synergetics which is the study of large ecological systems in process of transformation (constant transition to another phase) with an emphasis on humanity’s role in the process as observer and participant (Edmondson, 2007) with the aim of avoiding wastage. Another of Fuller’s enduring idea is that of ephemeralization (from the word ephemeral which means existing only for a short time) which advocates continuous efficiency such that at a certain point in time, technology will allow Man to use less and less raw materials to accomplish more. This idea finds practical applications in engineering and architecture today such as in the new field of tectonics or the art of designing really big structures using the concept of space-time compression utilizing concrete and steel (Collins, 1960). The same idea can be found in the green building designs (Kibert 2012) of today which promote energy efficiency through proper use of natural light or in various applications in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems), the use of indigenous materials, and recycling of still usable materials from old-building demolitions. This had led to the development and widespread adoption of LEED (or leadership in energy and environmental designs) and the LCC (life cycle costing). Many of these ideas are now taken for granted although designing and making a structure into a green building will considerably add costs to it due to additional complexity and higher expenses. Conclusion In my opinion, Fuller’s quote is true. His postulation in simpler terms is that both Man and the Universe require each other for their success. The relationship between Man and the Universe should be symbiotic in the sense that each gets to benefit from the other’s existence. In ancient cultures like the Chinese, they harmonize interior design with the Universe through feng shui (literally means wind and water), which was derived and improved upon from the original ideas of the ancient Vedic civilization of India which is called as vaastu shastra. The ancient art of feng shui intends to achieve harmony by design in a literal sense by arranging objects to promote peace of mind, health, and wealth (Pietro & Lin, 1996) with right use of a combination in colors to enhance the moods, emotions, and feelings of its occupants (Albert 2007). Fuller used these same ancient ideas but added a scientific aspect to it to build more stable, stronger, and more efficient structures through innovative architectural interior designs to be in harmony with the Universe and make Earth a sustainable place by not depleting its resources and averting a catastrophe despite a growing population to disprove and contradict the Malthusian theory. Man should exercise good stewardship of all common natural resources (Ostrom et al., 1999) and avoid what is euphemistically termed as the “tragedy of the commons.” The natural resources is more than enough for everybody and can support its population. References Albert, A. (2007). Color hue and mood: The effect of variation of red hues on positive and negative mood states. Journal of the Behavioral Sciences, 1, 19-26. Buckminster Fuller Institute (2010). About Bucky. Retrieved December 11, 2013 from http://bfi.org/about-bucky Colllins, P. (1960). Tectonics. Journal of Architectural Education, 15, 31-33. Edmondson, A. (2007). A Fuller explanation: The synergetic geometry of R. Buckminster Fuller. Pueblo, CO: Emergent World Press. Fuller, R. B. (1967). Comprehensive Design Strategy. World Resources Inventory, 1-40. Kibert, C. J. (2012). Sustainable construction: Green building design and delivery (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Ostrom, E. & et al. (1999, April 9). Revisiting the commons: Local lessons, global challenges. Science, 284(5412), 278-282. Pietro, N. S. & Lin, Y. (1996). Feng shui: Harmony by design. New York, NY: Berkley Publishing Group. Read More