COSMOS Leonardo Da Vinci & Buckminster Fuller
Edited by: David Gurita Executive Coordination: Jaques Morelenbaum Graphic Designer: Jorge Alves Revision: Paulo Maldonado Pedro Silva
ISBN: 9729894310162 Printing: Eyeimage Sponsors: Buckminster Fuller Institute Universal Leonardo 4
速 Cude Mine Publishers
The participants in this project would like to express their thanks to those responsible at the Buckminster Fuller Institute and at the Universal Leonardo for their ever greatest interest and participation in our project; and for their readiness to grant us access to their holdings.
Index COSMOS
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Leonardo da Vinci / Buckminster Fuller
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Exhibition
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Projects
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Bibliography
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Since the first atom of the first element up to our Solar System, the Universe expands, today ,exponentially. But it was the structure of that first atom that dictated what we now call COSMOS, by its immensity . This atom has reached perfection in its structure: the ideal balance between protons, neutrons and electrons, which gives rise to the elements, molecules, chemical compounds, matter and life - in fact, the entire COSMOS, all of us are descendants of this atom. Thus, the COSMOS represents the microscopic and the macroscopic, everything and nothing, what happened and what is to come - to perfection. Leonardo da Vinci and Richard Buckminster Fuller were successfully conceive visionary minds far beyond the limitations of their time , and far beyond what we did in his time ( and perhaps today ), reaching an unusual level of thinking and reasoning among mortals . Both cases, by their geniality, depth and scope, occurred at intervals of very distant time, but their desining method, based on the conception of the Universe, united them in their legacy, your COSMOS.
Self-portrait, red chalk, 1512-1515
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LEONARDO DA VINCI, 1452 - 1519 Leonardo da Vinci developed, throughout his life, skills and technical knowledge in several areas: although, in reality, it was through painting that he became widely recognized (having worked for many clients), his work is a reflection of his scope painting, sculpture, architecture, engineering, mathematics, geometry, astronomy, hydrodynamics, anatomy and optics. The depth of Leonardo’s studies was closely related with the way he pictured the universe - his main object of study . Through his drafts and manuscripts, Leonardo da Vinci could, with his determination, understand and analyze the complexity of the human anatomy, as well as the nature around him, and apply his bases in the production of ingenious works - trying to challenge the limits hitherto known . Although many of his projects were not materialized, there are now studies and reinterpretations of his great work. At this exhibition, his visionary nature is exalted by the innovations recognized in his time. Based mostly in engineering systems, that prior inventions long before its creation. The combination and concern for the aesthetic aspect of his work is also an important safeguard: Da Vinci didn't just wanted to create complex systems, but rather to adapt them to the daily life of his time. His work is a masterpiece of design, creativity , projecting, invention and innovation. Source: J.J. O’Connor e E.F. Robertson - www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk
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Photography by Hans Namuth, 1967
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R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER, 1895 - 1983 Hailed as one of the greatest minds of our time, Buckminster Fuller was distinguished for his comprehensive perspective on the problems of the world - developed, over more than five decades, pioneering solutions that reflected his commitment to the potential of innovative design, creating technology that does more with less. His interest in technology made him project his Dimaxion range: the House and the Dymaxion Car, the Dymaxion Map, among others, always with the intention of helping humanity to deal with the problems of the world, thinking comprehensively about the planet. The Geodesic Dome dominated the life and career of Fuller, a result of his revolutionary discoveries about balancing compression and tension forces in building - after his death, was discovered a carbon molecule with a structure similar to a geodesic dome, Buckminsterfulleren molecule. After being rejected at the beginning of his career, Fuller was later recognized with many major architecture, science, industry and design awards, and also published the magazine Shelter and has been a consultant on science and technology for Fortune magazine, professor at several universities and author of nearly 30 books . In this exhibition, his work will be exalted in parallel with the work of Leonardo da Vinci - Fuller has often been described as the Leonardo da Vinci of modern times - both wanted to innovate and provide solutions (due to the war, for example) that could potentially lead to a new way of being in the world: in communion with the Earth . Source: The Estate of Buckminster Fuller - www.bfi.org
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EXHIBITION This exhibition will take as a guiding principle the analogy between the chosen pieces and its design while existing structures in Nature / Universe - the point of connection between the authors. The helical arrangement will allow the completion of a course that gradually goes from the first studies to the first structures, from the first structures to the models, from the models to the completed works. In the middle of the space, the instalation with two objects emblematic of the authors - the Geodesic Dome and the Flying Machine - representing the ideal to accomplish more with less; also serving the guide lines. As each object is displayed, its relationship with the structure of Nature/Universe/Cosmos is also presented in order to engage the audience throughout the design of the pieces so that they are understood and seen as more than structures more than utilities more than utopia as ideal for representing the COSMOS.
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Flying Machine (1488-1489) - Leonardo da Vinci In his fascination with flying, Leonardo attempts to combine the dynamic potential of the human body with an imitation of natural flight. In the drawing for this flying machine Leonardo does not include the wings, as this is mainly a study of the mechanism for the folding of the wings. This occurs thanks to a system of pulleys and rods which is activated by the feet of the pilot.
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Geodesic Dome (1948) - Buckminster Fuller Fuller worked in the development what he termed "tensegrity," an engineering principle of continuous tension and discontinuous compression that allowed domes to deploy a lightweight lattice of interlocking icosahedrons that could be skinned with a protective cover. He developed the intrinsic mathematics of the dome, thereby allowing popularization of the idea. The geodesic dome appealed to Fuller because it was extremely strong for its weight, its "omnitriangulated" surface provided an inherently stable structure, and because a sphere encloses the greatest volume for the least surface area.
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Codex on the Flight of Birds (1490-1505) - Leonardo da Vinci As suggested by the name, this manuscript deals primarily with the flight of birds, which Leonardo analysed closely in his efforts to build a mechanical flying machine. Here the mechanics of flight, air resistance and the effects of wind on the wings and flight of birds are all considered in great detail. This codex consists of 13 pages out of an original 18 and was originally part of Manuscript B.
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Jitterbug Transformation (1940’s) - Buckminster Fuller Fuller had the suspicion that the development of natural forms operates with coordinates other than the Cartesian system. He was on the quest for a geometry “as Nature uses herself”. Circle designs of the world map first came to a breaktrough: that the half regular cuboctahedron, utilized for the map projection as a globe divider, has geometric properties that make the figure usable as a vector matrix. The cuboctahedron results as an invariable configuration form the “closest packing of spheres” around a nucleus - this was the begining of the studies around the Tensegrity structures, which resulted in the development of the Geodesic Dome.
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Codex Madrid I (1490’s) - Leonardo da Vinci The Codex Madrid I was rediscovered in 1966 together with the Codex Madrid II. This is a bound volume with precise, carefully worked drawings concerning mainly the science of mechanisms. Priority is given to the drawings, which are accompanied by a commentary or a caption. The care taken with the layout of each individual page and the finesse of the drawings indicates that the drawings are close to publishable form, either as a presentation manuscript or printed treatise.
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4D House and conventional architecture studies (1928) - Buckminster Fuller At first, Fuller did not in any way take it for granted taht the supporting structure of the 4D towers had to be a hanging construction. Sketches from the early planning stage show the initially uncertain exploration of hexagonal symmetry and the criterion of a cross-section that tapers off as it moves from the bottom to the top - the principle of the world of plants. The integratd construction crane that sticks out on either side is to install the hexagonal lfloors of either equal or varying size. The tower results out his sratification, in which the lowest floor nevertheless lies well above the ground on an enormous construction of props.
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Prisma (1478) - Leonardo da Vinci The three-dimensional figure is a icosahedron. Probably, it is a design exercise to then make the final one in the book of Luca Pacioli, De divina proportione.
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Tensegrity Icosahedron (1949) - Buckminster Fuller All polyhedrons can be modeled using tensegrity structures. Tensegrity is a concept whose terminology and theory derive from Fuller, but in whose formulation and constructive elaboration many others took part, especially Fuller’s students. Tensegrity is an anticlassical approach to structure and construction, and it implies a reversal in perception: what appears to be compactly standing and solid proves to be suspended and ephemeral.
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Self Supporting Bridge (1488) - Leonardo da Vinci The self-supporting arched bridge is a lightweight and strong standing thanks to the ingenious technique of interlocking designed by Leonardo. Built with wooden beams, due to its arcuate shape, distributes the forces of the load so that the longitudinal pieces one bind scissor on the transversal ones keeping standing the whole structure.
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Tensegrity Stucture (1960) - Buckminster Fuller Fuller was the first to notice this reversal in perception of standing with respect to the wire wheel, and he recognized it as a revolution in construction. However, for him, tensegrity is also a philosophical model of coherence. By what is something held together, then, if not the compact mass? By inincreasingly thin tensile members that border on the spiritual.
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Aerial Screw (1489) - Leonardo da Vinci Among the flying machines designed by Leonardo, the air screw is an alternative to the swing-wing models. The special feature of this machine is the technical-scientific premise upon which the possibility of flying: the huge propeller spinning candle had to be screwed into the air, lifting the machine. Leonardo refers here to the principle of the vine from which he was fascinated from an early age, when, in Florence, had seen the work equipment for lifting weights designed by Brunelleschi. This hypothesis presupposes the idea of flying that air has a certain thickness of the material, necessary because the screw can proceed through it. 28
Dirigible Spaceship (1928) - Buckminster Fuller Fuller gave himself the problem of delivering large structures by air. He thought that we could assemble large structures under preferred environmental and mechanical conditions as for instance we built airplanes at high advantage in the controlled environments witihn a factory and with a galaxy of efficiently arranjed jigs, fixtures, templates and powerful tools. He believed he could deliver an ocean ship from the “ways� into the sea with case and without obstructions. There would be nothing to obstruct the ship; he could deliver an airplane into the sky, nothing to obstruct it - impossible if he tried to make large buildings in a factory and tried to deliver them over highways. 29
Armoured Vessel (1487-89) - Leonardo da Vinci This drawing is based is for a light vessel fitted with a prow armoured with metal and used to ram the enemy. A rotating covering shield, which opens during the boarding phase of the attack, is also fitted. The covering shield provided protection against the enemy ships and allowed the vessel to get close to the enemy without the cannon being noticed. Once the vessel rammed the enemy, or got close to it, the shield would open to reveal a huge cannon. This machine, therefore, is provided with a number of functions: the ram, the cannon, the shields and an ingenious system for operating them. 30
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Dirigible Spaceship (1928) - Buckminster Fuller Fuller gave himself the problem of delivering large structures by air. He thought that we could assemble large structures under preferred environmental and mechanical conditions as for instance we built airplanes at high advantage in the controlled environments witihn a factory and with a galaxy of efficiently arranjed jigs, fixtures, templates and powerful tools. He believed he could deliver an ocean ship from the “ways� into the sea with case and without obstructions. There would be nothing to obstruct the ship; he could deliver an airplane into the sky, nothing to obstruct it - impossible if he tried to make large buildings in a factory and tried to deliver them over highways. 31
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Armoured Car (1485) - Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo’s armoured car contained many light cannons. These were arranged on a circular platform which was based on four wheels and provided a firing range of 360 degrees. The whole platform was surrounded by a conical cover with a sighting turret at the top. At the centre of the car, two cranks were used to set the machine in motion. The project is technically unrealisable and the drawing also contains a mechanical error which prevents the car from functioning – the cams as drawn would turn the wheels in opposing directions. But this is a demonstration piece, not a working drawing for technicians. Many consider this armoured car as the precursor to the modern tank. 36
Dimaxion Car (1933) - Buckminster Fuller Our forms of transportation carry us wherever we are going. Flying is best, but if not flying, then something as much like it as possible. The three-wheel Dymaxion Car developed from the idea of a means of transport guided by side rudders that would roll in front and fly in back. The form is sensational. The car causes a stir; it is unusually fascinating; it is “amazing�. The second coup for Dimaxion, even more resonant with a broad audience than the house was. Not a finished product, but a built sketch with a long life.
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