The dymaxion house project

The Dymaxion aluminum house, a precursor to the geodesic dome, was designed in the 1920s by Buckminster Fuller. The name is an acronym for DYnamic MAXimum tensION, a phrase that described Fuller’s method of suspending the structure from a central mast by cables in tension as a way of supporting the open expanses contained within it. He and a group of other businessmen found a corporate partner in Beech Aircraft in Kansas. They planned to build Dymaxion houses as a solution to the post-war housing crisis in the 1940s. The group, led by Fuller, planned to build a lightweight (about 6000 pounds) aluminum house that would sell for the price of a Cadillac (about $1/lb), and could be shipped worldwide in its own metal tube. The advantage for Beech in supporting the development of the house was that it would give the aircraft factories another product when the wartime manufacturing lines were no longer needed. However, only one house was built, in 1945, on the grounds of the Beech Aircraft Company. Disagreements between backers and partners led to the dissolution and bankruptcy of the group. After the partnership ended, the only existing house, along with enough spare parts for a second house, ended up in the possession of the William Graham *Fellow of ASM International family. The family installed the house in a Kansas field, built an addition, and lived there until 1971, after which it was unoccupied for twenty years. In 1991, the house was dismantled and stored in a warehouse. It was subsequently donated to the Henry Ford Museum, where a program to restore and reassemble the house in the museum was developed and funded. A primary concern for the museum conservator, James Ashby, was the condition of the aluminum parts, some of which were severely corroded. Nearly all parts exhibited some corrosion. Only a few of the parts, including those that were ‘spare’ parts, were in the as-produced condition. Historical conservators have a very definite role in this situation: they are charged with maintaining the integrity of the structure. In addition, conservators, unlike engineers, want to restore as many original parts as possible. They also like to have parts in the original condition, or as close as posThe Dymaxion house was an aluminum structure designed by Buckminster Fuller, who also designed the ASM International geodesic dome. This article is Part I of a two-part series about efforts to restore the 1945 structure to its original condition.