Dymaxion House project (Plan)

1920s

“Dymaxion sleep”: half an hour every six hours

Inspired by the sleep habits of dogs and cats, Fuller worked until he was tired and then took short naps, generally 30 minutes every six hours, which gave him “twenty-two thinking hours a day”. He gave up the routine after two years because it clashed with his business associates' habits; in 1943 he suggested that the United States adopt Dymaxion sleep as a strategy to win the Second World War.

autumn 1927

Lake Michigan: thoughts of suicide and an “epiphany”

In the autumn of 1927 Fuller contemplated drowning himself in Lake Michigan so that his family could collect his life insurance. By his own account he suddenly felt suspended above the ground in a white sphere of light, and a voice told him that he did not belong to himself but to the Universe and should apply his experience to the benefit of others. Fuller resolved to conduct an “experiment”: to find what a single individual could do to change the world and benefit all humanity.

1927

Loses the presidency of Stockade

In 1927, at the age of 32, Fuller lost his job as president of Stockade; the family had no savings, and the birth of their daughter Allegra that year added to their financial troubles. He drank heavily and sought a way out on long walks around Chicago.

28. august 1927

Daughter born: Allegra Fuller Snyder

1928

Greenwich Village: lectures at Romany Marie's café

By 1928 Fuller was living in Greenwich Village and spending much of his time at the popular café Romany Marie's: he took a job decorating its interior in exchange for meals, gave informal lectures several times a week, and models of the Dymaxion house were exhibited there.

1929

Friendship with Isamu Noguchi

Isamu Noguchi arrived at Romany Marie's café in 1929, directed there by Constantin Brâncuși, an old friend of Marie's. The two soon collaborated on several projects, including the modelling of the Dymaxion car based on recent work by Aurel Persu; it was the beginning of their lifelong friendship.