Page 107 - AIT0921_E-Paper

Entwurf • Design Smart & Green Design, ES-Madrid
Bauherr • Client Espacio Fundación Telefónica Madrid
Standort • Location Calle de Fuencarral 3, ES-Madrid
Nutzfläche • Floor space 900 m 2
Fotos • Photos Javier de Paz García, ES-Madrid
Mehr Infos auf Seite • More info on page 142

BUCKMINSTER FULLER

IN MADRID

One of Richard Buckminster Fuller’s declared aims has
been to structurally grasp the rules of geometry. An ele-
mentary basic form which served the architect for rea-
ching this goal was the triangle. Starting out from this,
Smart & Green Design have developed a simple archi-
tecture for a travelling exhibition which certainly provi-
des the appropriate setting for Fuller’s work.

F or many people, Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) is thought to be the
Leonardo da Vinci of the modern age. As did his predecessor from
the Renaissance period, the American architect, researcher and visio-
nary strove to conceive a structural order which was to be applicable to
architecture and society. Among Fuller’s essential contents was the reali-
zation that every area and every volume – in short: the whole world –
can be measured with the help of a grid which consists of triangles. That
is why many architectural principles of the designer are based on the tri-
gon, as for instance are the famous geodetic domes – ingenious, self-
supporting constructions which prove extreme stability and persistence
despite an amazingly small amount of materials which have been used.
In the travelling exhibition Radical Curiosity. In the Orbit of Buckminster
Fuller, these “Fuller Domes” can be studied on different models. The ex-
hibition focuses on the systemic reflectionsby the universal genius in the
mirror of our present time which is characterized by systemic crises and
was first shown in the Espacio Fundación Telefónica in Madrid. Consi-
stent with Fuller’s constructional pragmatism, the exhibition furnishings
can be quickly dismounted; the overall layout is based on the elemen-
tary form of the triangle. To achieve this, the architects around Fernando
Muñoz have divided an exhibition area measuring 900 square metres
into an unfolded icosahedron which is found again in the ceiling grid
and in the layout. The access to the exhibition is designed as an oversi-
zed, tapering tunnel where an extensive collection of Fuller’s personal
writings is shown on inclined screens. Three trigonally positioned pre-
sentation walls add rhythm to the exhibition space and guide the visi-
tors who meander through the show. Models, sketches and design draw-
ings by the grand master are displayed on triangularly shaped presen-
tation furniture or framed planning boards – they are painstakingly given
a graphic identity and immersed in the deep-blue dominant colour of
the exhibition. This results in a solid and plausible overall concept: a
red – in this case, a blue – line and a recurring, linking sign which quite
Grundriss • Floor plan naturally manages to cite the exhibition contents.

AIT 9.2021 • 107