Tracing an Architectural Lineage Backwards + For- Wards from Silent Running

135

Tracing an Architectural Lineage Backwards + For- wards From Silent Running

BETH WEINSTEIN University of Arizona

“Conservation Pledge: the main character, Lowell, who ultimately choos- I give my pledge as an American to save and faith- es to destroy himself and the main ship in order fully to defend from waste the natural resources for the last biome, the forest, to survive under the of my country – its soil and minerals, its forests, tender care of Dewey, the Drone. waters and wildlife”. 1 This paper examines the links between Silent This wishful statement adorns the wall adjacent Running and built works related through [1] plot/ to Lowell’s bunk in the Valley Forge space station. project agenda; [2] greenhouse iconography and/ Lowell, his three crew-mates, and a small sup- or morphology; and [3] available materials and/ port staff of “drones” tend the station and their or technologies. The constructed realities preced- precious cargo: six separate and sealed biomes ing and following Trumbull’s fi lm will include the of diverse fl ora, fauna and climate. The scene Osaka World Expo of 1970, Richard Buckminster is Douglas Trumbull’s low-budget eco-sci-fi fi lm Fuller’s Missouri Climatron [1957], the Biosphere Silent Running, released in 1971. The director, II [1989] and Sir Nicolas Grimshaw’s Eden Proj- a rookie, had gained his experience working on ect in St Austell, England [2000]. Beyond similari- the special effects for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 - a ties and differences in project intent, iconography Space Odyssey and The Andromeda Strain. That and material/technique, lies the question of how experience inspired Trumbull to create a different attitudes about the environment and the making kind of futuristic fi lm which would be “human and of these plant habitats, on earth or in space, has real”, without the hygienic portrayal of humanity changed? and machines as in 2001.2 The fi lm, in no subtle way, places the quest to conserve the ecosystems at the center of the plot, and makes a martyr of

Fig 1 136 SEEKING THE CITY

SILENT RUNNING, SATURN ORBIT To make the fi lm on the low budget Universal Stu- dios provided, Trumbull set up the entire fi lm’s “On this fi rst day of a new century we humbly beg production on a decommissioned aircraft carrier, forgiveness and dedicate these last forests of our called the Valley Forge, after which he’d name the once beautiful nation to the hope that they will one day return and grace our foul earth…”. An- fi ctional space-ship. This would be the production derson 3 offi ce, scene shop, and location for all of the shots, minus one set. In total, the fi lm presents four spa- The fi lm’s plot originated with an idea about a man tial experiences: the main spaceship chambers who fi nds himself alone in deep space as a result and corridors, the large earth storage room, the of some crisis, accompanied only by drones. This spaceship against the cosmos, and the bio-habitat organically evolved into the specifi c story of Free- interior. To transform this aircraft carrier’s interior man Lowell, his human crew-mates, the Drones, into a more futuristic spaceship, injection molded and the Valley Forge’s precious cargo. We learn plastic surfaces and thermo-, blow-, and vacuum- early in the fi lm that the earths’ citizens have at- formed sheets were applied to nearly all the walls tained a state of peace, free of poverty and illness, and doors of the vessel. This was accomplished but in so doing have somehow rendered the earth with a hefty donation of plastic polystyrene sheets a toxic, barren place, devoid of all other living from Dow, who felt that their support of this fi lm species - so toxic and barren that all that remains might improve their agent-orange smeared repu- of other life forms is contained in the biomes that tation. Large polyhedral plastic containers, which have been shipped into space, for preservation. we discover to be the containers of fertile soil, These diverse “natural” habitats are little appreci- create the atmosphere for the storage room which ated by Lowell’s human crew-mates who prefer the characters cross to get to one of the bio-habi- the manufactured nutrients over his home-grown tats. Along the way, the Dow logo is ironically ever melons. And when the orders are given to aban- present.4 don the mission to maintain the gardens, without fl inching, Lowell’s mates proceed to nuclear The primary space to the fi lm’s plot are the bio- destruct the gardens. Inadvertently at fi rst, Low- habitats - six distinct ecosystems, transported by ell does them in, in trying to prevent one from each of the three space ships on this mission. The planting bombs in the forest; the other two are Valley Forge carries the Alpine, Desert, Tropical, jettisoned along with one of the doomed biomes, and three other environments which go un-de- exploding in a red ball in deep space. Thus Lowell scribed but are seen in exterior shots of the space fi nds himself wounded, alone with three drones, ship. Looking for examples of built bio-habitats and one remaining bio-habitat to salvage at all for set ideas, Trumbull discovered the Missouri cost. Botanical Garden’s Climatron- a Buckminster Fuller “terrarium /rainforest inside a dome, (with)

Fig. 2 TRACING AN ARCHITECTURAL LINEAGE 137

waterfalls and rocks, trees and plants.” Shooting WORLD EXPO 1970, OSAKA, JAPAN on location would have been ideal, but beyond the budget. Ultimately they simulated three bio-habi- The form for the overall spaceship, of a truss with tats by combining projected still photography of discrete objects attached to it, was largely in- a model dome for the background behind the ac- spired by the Expo Tower, designed by Kiyonori tual garden set which the crew assembled within Kikutake, for the 1970 Osaka Expo.8 Peter Blake, an unoccupied airplane hanger. A technique called in his review of the Expo, referred to Kikutake’s “front projection” would allow the 2-D photo back- tower as being “straight out of Cape Canaveral, ground and 3D foreground and action to be com- via Archigram.”9 Kikutake’s tower organized clus- bined without costly post-production work.5 ters of small polyhedral viewing capsules around a slim space-frame mast. The steel ball and strut The simulated bio-habitat structure was directly frame made the structure appear to be expand- inspired by Fuller’s Climatron, where a geodesic able. Other pavilions, such as Kurokawa’s Ta- structure of aluminum rods and nodes surround- kara “Beautilion”, more blatantly communicated ed a clear acrylic enclosure.6 In the ﬁ lm, this an open-endedness and expandability through structure was simulated with three layers of cop- exposed connector joints and an overall irregu- per wire laced through two-foot diameter blow- lar silhouette. In the “making of” ﬁ lm, Trumbull formed plastic hemispheres.7 In addition to plastic makes no attempt to hide his fascination with the being the critical set and prop construction, it was Kikutake tower’s form and the ideas of metabolic also the material that allowed the “safe” overhead growth behind it. To situate the work of Kikutake enclosure of the Climatron. Six of these mini-cli- and his colleague Kurokawa at that time, these matrons were fabricated and cantilevered in a two were the emerging generation of Japanese cluster around the main truss of the space-ship architects, building what their Archigram contem- model; each of these represented an isolated, poraries only dreamed of. The Expo 70 globally self-sustaining biome under its own, clear, geo- exposed their ideas for an architectural ‘Metabo- desic dome. lism’, “a biological analogy meant to replace the

Fig. 3 138 SEEKING THE CITY

mechanical analogy of Orthodox Modernist Ar- the most sealed environment yet constructed on chitecture. It compared buildings and cities to earth, within which they would hold a two-year an energy process found in all life: the cycles of experiment. Could the diverse plant biomes and change, the constant renewal and destruction of their microbial, animal and human inhabitants all organic tissue.”10 survive AND be healthy within this closed system? Could this be a model for extended space explora- This fi t well with Trumbull’s humanist and anti- tion and even colonization? mechanistic agenda for the fi lm. Given the growth and adaptability agenda of the Metabolists, their The structure that sheltered, or rather hermeti- language largely employed systemic and geode- cally contained, this experiment, was developed sic principles, clip-on and plug-in elements. Ma- between Hawes, Augustine and a slew of consul- terials could be expendable, replaceable, with tants in every domain. Augustine, in her Ecotech- varying cycles of obsolescence. Trumbull’s crew nics leadership position, directed the development “photographed (the tower) extensively, studying of the project, establishing that its scientifi c and its geometry and architecture.”11 Based on these cultural importance called for an iconic building. studies of the structure, the fi lm-crew set about making a model of the Valley Forge spaceship, a In John Allen’s chronicle of the design’s devel- 26’ long space frame of nodes, balls and connec- opment, he describes the team’s pilgrimages to tors, with Kikutake inspired polyhedral capsules, many of the world’s architectural wonders and to distinct Bucky Bio-domes, and a stealth-ish mis- magical ancient cities. Ur, Hagia Sophia, Babylon, sion control inserted into the extreme end of the Teotihuacan as well as the Kennedy Space Center frame. and the Puerto Rican Radio Astronomy Telescope Center would be distilled into the design and im- BIOSPHERE 2, ORACLE, ARIZONA 1984-93 age for the Biosphere II. The ‘natural’ structural system for column free and greenhouse spaces, Fast-forward approximately ten years, to the Insti- given the Fuller / Synergist connection, would be tute of Ecotechnics Seventh [Galactic] Conference a space frame, but without the pure hemi-spheri- in Provençe, France. In attendance: Buckminster cal geometry. The resulting cluster of forms would Fuller [Synergist par excellence], Lynn Margulis evoke step pyramids, roman ruins, and a Jeffer- [microbiologist], Phil Hawes [Taliesin-trained ar- sonian manor. chitect], John Allen and Margret Augustine [Inst. of Ecotechnics ring leaders] and many more. This citation of ancient ruins and desire for an iconic presence brings forth just one of the utopi- Phil Hawes addressed the attendees with the an undercurrents of this project. In Miriam Eliav- question: “Why not look at life in space as a life Feldon’s book, Realistic Utopias, she identifi es instead of merely travel?… why not build a space- “Glorifi cation of a Primitive Golden Age” as one ship [earth] like the one we’ve been traveling on of the eight groupings of “realistic” literary uto- – along with all of its inhabitants?” He present- pias.12 To refer to a more specifi cally architectural ed his model of the Galactica– a plastic globe, of defi nition, Miles Lewis identifi es two of the catego- quasi De Stijl-ian infl uence, inside of which, he ries of utopian projects as the “nostalgic impulse”, explained, space travelers would enjoy “gardens, which sets utopia in the [frequently Gothic] in- housing units, a jogging track, research laborato- nocent and untainted past, and the “rustic im- ries, and a pool beneath a waterfall.” The presen- pulse”, which often is the agrarian dream of urban tation prompted Fuller to pose the catalytic chal- intellectuals. These models are seen in contrast lenge: “If you don’t do it, who will?” Responding to, for instance, the “geometric” or “technological to Bucky’s challenge, the core of eager synergists impulse”.13 The myth of the primitive hut would set off to test the dream of self- sustaining biomes be the architectural counterpart to the literature’s in space, with the backing of billionaire Ed Bass. primitive Golden Age, be that of spiritual inno- cence or a simpler, agrarian life. This was the beginning of the Biosphere II proj- The Biosphere’s design, as bricollage from the ect. On sun-soaked land just north of Tucson, world encyclopedia of architecture, is sadly a Arizona, the team prepared their plans to build post-modern nightmare come true; the clarity of TRACING AN ARCHITECTURAL LINEAGE 139

Bucky’s geodesic intelligence twisted into an icon- [plant or animal] populations.”15 The larger place ographically driven assemblage. However, look not would be sealed, but internally connected. These to the designer [Engineer/Fabricator] of the space internal boundaries and transition zones between frame, Peter Pearce, as the culprit; he was too biomes would be resolved through sectional or deeply familiar with Konrad Wachsmann, D’Arcy volumetric differentiation. Wentworth Thompson, and Fuller’s Synergetics to go this route, as he had edited and illustrated Looking at the larger picture, if this ecological ex- an early edition of Fuller’s tome. More likely the periment were to test the ability of the inhabitants Director’s goal of creating an iconographic build- to survive in a CLOSED loop, and to, as best pos- ing, through citation, steered the project in this sible, simulate sealed space life, the architectural direction. This, combined with a sloping site, con- solution would need to be the most tightly sealed tributed to the formal contortions and the visually habitable space ever constructed. A combina- persistent and dense space frame.14 tion of positive air pressure (with the assistance of two “lungs”), a stainless steel lined foundation BUCKY VERSUS THE BIOSPHERE and over 60 miles of silicon caulking would create a tighter environment than even the space If we compare the application of a space frame in shuttle.16 the Biosphere to that at the Climatron, program constraints will further explain the different mor- The story of the beings, ﬂ ora, fauna, and atmo- phologies. The Climatron contained a rain forest sphere inside that three-acre pressure cooker for in a single space. The Biosphere’s program re- two years is an interesting tale, but ﬁ rst the enclo- quired a diversity of biomes, similar to that in Si- sure to this pressure cooker. What the Biosphere lent Running. However, in the Biosphere, the four design team already knew from Fuller’s Climatron programmatically and climatically distinct areas and ‘67 Montreal Dome projects was that plastic would be aggregated as a single large space with (acrylic) alone was not a viable enclosure material. gradual transitions under one complex enclosure. Those skins had yellowed and become brittle with The make-up of the enclosed ecosystems would time. At the Climatron, a combination of defor- be less a Noah’s ark model or sampling of the en- mations to the aluminum frame and deterioration tire globe (Biosphere 1), and more of a complex of the acrylic caused leaking and condensation to “island ecosystem in that the residents could not occur. This lead to the plastic being removed, the leave, and new populations or individuals could original structure left intact, and a new, alumi- not migrate in to rejuvenate or replace resident num space frame, with larger cross-sections, was

Fig. 4 140 SEEKING THE CITY

erected inside to support what would be a four- in London while he was a student at the Archi- times heavier glass enclosure. As a worse acrylic tectural Association. Cedric Price and Peter Cook example still, a fi re during the Montreal dome’s were his tutors; Archigram’s work was in the ether renovation produced burning molten drops. The and, by association, one has to assume that any steel rods of this dome survived and today it re- curious student would have discovered the Metab- mains un-skinned with smaller independently en- olists who were building what the local Archigram closed structures tucked inside the skeleton. The guys were only dreaming of. He was already quite institute that inhabits these structures is, ironi- sensitized to the issues of growth and adaptation, cally, the Canadian Biosphère, a center for eco- energy and resources. action focused on the study of water.17 In 1995, Grimshaw was approached by Tim Smit, Glass, tempered or not, would not pass the safety a former rock and roll manager and proprietor of requirements nor maintain the seal; one broken England’s most-visited private garden estate, “the pane and the experiment would have been killed. Lost Gardens of Heligan”. He dreamt to create the Ultimately a glass/plastic laminated sandwich largest plant enclosure in the world dedicated to would be the dominant enclosure material, the creating awareness of our human dependence on weight of which contributing additional heaviness plant life for our survival and well-being. Smit’s to the contorted space-frame enclosure. agenda was part scientifi c, part entertainment, part education, and part economic and industrial The glass/plastic combination held up and the seal regeneration. Like the Biosphere II, this needed worked. Almost too well. Not all species survived to be a “Landmark”, an iconic structure. – bees did not do well given the reduced ultraviolet light allowed to pass through the laminated layers; Given Grimshaw’s interests from the time of his the few all-glass planes were the site of many a diploma project to his success with the then-re- bee suicidal attempt to catch rays. As for the hu- cent Waterloo International Terminal, Nicolas man inhabitants, they did not have the privilege Grimshaw and Partners (NGP) was a logical match of packages of astronaut food as either primary or for the attitude and ambition of Smit’s dream. The secondary source of nourishment as in Silent Run- primary structure which generally comes to mind ning. The “island ecosystem” model would man- when imagining the Eden Project is the second date that the plant-animal-moisture-atmosphere- phase building which organizes “the ‘biomes’, a food waste networks all function in a completely sequence of great transparent domes that encap- closed, balanced loop. Melons and the other crops sulate vast humid tropic and warm temperate re- they could grow would be their only sustenance. gions,…” 18 With unanticipated cloudiness due to El Niño and an imbalance of oxygen and CO2, the crop yields At the project’s outset, the structure was more were increasingly meager, meaning slimmer por- similar in nature, geometry and tectonic logic to tions for the hard-working Biospherians. Hunger the Waterloo terminal – telescopically variable plus profound differences of opinion as to how this arches, allowing accommodation to the changing growing atmospheric imbalance should be folded section and plan confi guration of that site. How- into the two year experiment, and imagine what ever, the enormity of the former clay pit and the transpired! Fortunately there were no off-ings on sectional differential ultimately made this solution the mission, as on the fi ctional Valley Forge, but be- unworkable for the Eden project.19 fore the end of the two years the group was divided into two factions of four, never to speak again. To achieve the great span, in the lightest and most economic manner possible, NGP turned to EDEN ACHIEVED the geometric and structural model of geodesic domes; the interlocking nature of such a structure Fast forward again to the turn of the millennium, would accommodate the scale and the extreme to St Austell, in Cornwall England. The architect irregularities of the site, which were shifting con- of this last biosphere of sorts, Nicolas Grimshaw, tinuously through out the project’s development. recalls being familiar with the writings of and im- Undeniably, the resultant form nods and winks at pressed by Buckminster Fuller, who came to speak one of Grimshaw’s heroes, R. Buckminster Fuller. TRACING AN ARCHITECTURAL LINEAGE 141

Fig. 5.

Even beyond the reference to the Climatron and on the appreciation of growing plants on earth the Expo ‘67 dome, Hugh Pearman, who has writ- and not have any outer-space agenda. Instead of ten extensively on NGP’s work, states that, “there grouping several biomes under a single volume, is indeed a not-so-subliminal fi lmic reference to at Eden several volumes enclose a single biome. Silent Running, where the last remnants of earth’s Instead of a sealed building, the Eden biomes’ in- forests are to be found orbiting…”20 NGP’s Andrew terior temperature and humidity would be regu- Whalley, who was one of the project’s principal lated through passive and mechanical exchange designers, acknowledges being a “Sci-Fi Buff” and with the exterior environment. inspired by the fi lm. The Eden skin, as well, would not be the tight, In discussing the development of the project’s sealed membrane of the Biosphere. Both however design, partner Vincent Chang shared that “we would employ positive interior air pressure as part [at NGP] naturally gravitate towards structural of the enclosure strategy. Prior to the use of ETFE form,… which is iconic form… However we are on the Eden Project, NGP had experimented with not purists… Pure geometry is more iconic (but) the material in a smaller interior application22. not as performative.” Chang continued to explain The material, in fact, had been in existence since that given the site section, and desire to maintain 1970, primarily as insulation for cables.23 ETFE is the heat sink benefi ts from this, pure geometry today’s wonder material – featherweight, allowing was not appropriate. Instead their design solu- higher light passage and greater insulation than tion would “employ geodesic principles in service glass and without the fi re/smoke and off-gassing of more complex programmatic requirements, of hazards of plastic enclosures of the past. Eden’s effi ciency”, while maintaining “iconic and didactic environment is contained below infl ated ETFE pil- legibility”. The geometric integrity and legibility lows of up to nine meters. would help visitors form a “mental picture” con- veying an understanding of the design as “enclos- Strangely, if we go back to 1970 Osaka Expo, ing nature with the structure of nature.”21 Struc- some ultra-thin sheet, possibly a primitive version ture citing nature’s logic, not, as in the Biosphere of ETFE, was the material used in Tange’s Space II design, architecture citing architecture. Frame roof over the Festival Plaza. A description The project ethos shares much in common with in Japan Architect from the time reads as follows: Biosphere II, but from there they diverge. Pro- “double membrane air cushions made up of multi- grammatically, fewer climactic regions were to be layers of transparent polyester fi lm… (creating a enclosed - two biomes separated by an interme- roof) transparent enough to permit visibility of diating entry building. Eden would strictly focus the sky and the clouds.”24 This early infl ated cush- 142 SEEKING THE CITY

ion system created an umbrella over, but not an orbit not become our only surviving “natural” en- enclosure of, a grand space. Although obviously vironments, and that these experiments will, like light-weight, the structure that supported these the Eden Project, only render more apparent the cushions was of a mega-monumental scale – the preciousness of the earth’s environment and the antithesis of the Eden Project’s expression or the urgency to take visionary actions towards the care Bucky domes that preceded the Osaka Expo. Ad- of what remains. vances in material technologies have fi nally caught up with Fuller’s structural vision. At last, there is ENDNOTES an enclosure material with a lightness proportion- 1. As seen on a wall plaque in the fi lm, adjacent to al to geodesic structural possibilities. Lowell’s bed in his quarters. 2. Silent Running by Director Douglas Trumbull. CONCLUSIONS 3. Mark Dowman has put together a site with a wealth of information about the props, including plans and Why then did these infl atable fi lm materials not digital re-constructions, and other general trivia about catch on? Returning to Silent Running’s represen- the fi lm. Much of his content was gleaned from the tation of space-life, in which bio-habitats intermi- two documentaries, The Making of Silent Running by nably fl oat in orbit, it is curious that the lure of in- Chuck Barbee and Silent Running by Director Douglas Trumbull, that appear on the 2002 re-release of the fl atable architecture, equally present at the Osaka Silent Running DVD. www.lunadude.com/pet_proj/val- Expo, was completely overlooked in favor of the ley_forge spatial language of space-frames, geodesics and 4. In the Feature Commentary with Director Douglas “metabolic” structures. Working with today’s tech- Trumbull and Cast Member Bruce Dern [2001 DVD] nologies, Silent Running could be re-made as sci- Trumbull and Dern discuss how Dow Chemical had a ence fact / near future. The lightness of geodesic “pretty bad reputation” because Dow was behind the production of agent-orange used in Vietnam. They sug- structures, working in tandem with infl ated fi lm gested to Dow that getting involved in this fi lm might enclosures, would make the constructing of the be a “good idea”. It appears that, in exchange for their Silent Running biomes quite believable – certainly material donations, the Dow, American Airlines, and more-so than attempting to construct the hulking other sponsors’ logos were permitted all over the set. They can be found on the space ship’s hull, the earth Biosphere II in space. containers, the space suits….

But beyond the technical ability to create light- 5. Silent Running by Director Douglas Trumbull. Trum- bull describes the technique: (front projection is)… weight and deployable greenhouse enclosures, “projecting photographs up onto a screen behind the what would today’s motive be? Global climactic actors to make them seem like they’re in a dome when swings may lead to many more species’ extinc- they’re really not. We shot it in the airplane hanger tion long before we reach the level of toxicity or in Van Nuys. And did it for very little money; rented plants from a local nursery, scaffolding, a 300 dollar infertility implied in the fi lm. Current searches for infl atable children’s pool…” water and life on Mars are likely to lead to lon- 6. The Climatron® geodesic dome and rainforest con- ger manned space missions, rendering the Bio- servatory was dedicated in October 1960... The struc- sphere II agenda of space-life/space-travel and, ture … was the fi rst application of geodesic engineering by association, Silent Running’s orbiting biomes, for a greenhouse. The dome is 70 feet high and 175 a present day / near future reality. For some, feet in diameter, permitting tall palm trees to tower more urgent is the need to create new means of majestically above the tropical vista of streams, waterfalls and 1,200 different species of exotic trees and feeding and fueling the earth’s growing popula- plants. Temperature ranges from 64 to 74 degrees and tion through space-agriculture. With that in mind, average humidity is 85 percent. http://www.slfp.com/ several prototypes for small lunar greenhouses Shaws081005.html It won the 1961 Reynolds Award are being developed by University of Arizona and for architectural excellence in aluminum. In 1976 it was named one of the 100 most signifi cant architectural other research institutions for NASA and use in achievements in United States history. http://www. other extreme “climates”25. These employ both in- mobot.org/hort/gardens/CLhistarchit.shtml fl atable enclosure technologies and the clip-on, kit 7. www.lunadude.com/pet_proj/valley_forge of parts structural systems now inseparable from 8. Editorial. “Space Frame Links Past with Future” De- the “metabolic” architectural vocabulary of space sign Journal, 1970. http://vads.ahds.ac.uk/diad/article. station design. php?title=259&year=1970&article=d.259.24 “… Ki- yonori Kikutake’s Expo Tower soars 120m into the air. A I would wish that the soon-likely bio-habitats in vertical space frame held inside three column clusters, TRACING AN ARCHITECTURAL LINEAGE 143

this is a near relative of Peter Cook’s exhibition tower 20. Pearman, Hugh, “This Other Eden.” The full-length project for Montreal. A cluster of viewing capsules, text of the piece was published in the Sunday Times bunched half way up the tower suggests possibilities Magazine, 25 Feb 2001. http://www.hughpearman. for extensions and disposability in the accepted Me- com/articles2/eden.html tabolist Archigram manner. But Kikutake’s pods have an architectural signifi cance for the clip-on theorists 21. Author’s interview with NGP Partner Vincent Chang which far outweighs their functional value as viewing and Senior Arch. Robert Garneau on Aug 6, 2007. stations…” 22. the Orange Call Center in Darlington, 1998 9. Kikutake’s tower heavily borrowed from Peter 23. Hugh Pearman states that it has been in existence Cook’s unrealized proposal for the Montreal Expo’s En- since the 60’s. On a pseudo Dupont site it states that tertainment Tower of 1963. Blake, Peter. “Expo 70: Im- “The Tefl on® trademark was coined by DuPont and ages of the Future,” Architectural Forum, April, 1970. registered in 1945; the fi rst products were sold com- pp 39. mercially under the trademark beginning in 1946. Ap- 10. From the “Introduction” by Charles Jenks to Kisho plications and product innovations snowballed quickly. Kurokawa’s Metabolism in Architecture. Westview Press Today, the family of Tefl on® fl uoropolymers from : Boulder CO. 1977. pp 8. DuPont consists of: PTFE, the original resin; FEP, in- troduced in 1960; Tefzel® ETFE in 1970; and PFA, in 11. Silent Running by Director Douglas Trumbull. 1972. http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Tefl on/Tefl on- HistoryDuPont.htm 12. The eight types listed are [1] good government, [2] idealization of existing societies, [3] design of ideal 24. Kamiya, Koji. “The Space Frame,” Japan Architect, cities, [4] glorifi cation of a primitive Golden Age, [5] May/June 1970. pp 51–55. secret societies [real or imaginary], 6 world empires and plans for universal eternal peace, [7] theocratic 25. Sorenson, Dan. “Greenhouses for the Moon and millennial kingdoms, and [8] utopias proper. Eliav- Mars”. Arizona Daily Star. Published 01.07.2007. www. Feldon, Miriam. Realistic Utopia: The Ideal Imaginary azstarnet.com. Societies of the Renaissance, 1516-1630. Clarendon Press: Oxford. 1982. pp 3-4. FIGURES 13. Lewis, Miles. “Architectural Utopias”, Utopias. pp Fig 1. Silent Running Model. Left: Detail shot of domes 117-27 connecting to truss; Image courtesy of American Cin- ematographer. Right: long view of truss with Biome- 14. Allen, John. Biosphere 2: The Human Experiment. dome. © Universal Pictures, 1972. both at www.lun- Space Biospheres Venture / Penguin. pp 62-3. adude.com/pet_proj/valley_forge. 15. Ibid. pp 35. Fig 2. “A construction worker assembles a portion of 16. They set the maximum allowable leak rate to 10% the Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Syn- per year, or 0.027% per day. Biospherian Jane Poynter ergetics, Inc., owned and operated by R. Buckminster points out that the “Space shuttle leaks at a rate of Fuller and James Fitzgibbon, was the engineering fi rm approximately 0.05 percent per day”. Poynter, Jane. for this well-known example of the geodesic dome. The Human Experiment: Two Years and Twenty Minute Halftone on promotional printed card by Synerget- Inside Biosphere 2. Thunder’s Mouth Press : NY, 2006. ics, Inc., 1958. James W. Fitzgibbon Papers, Missouri pp 70-71 Historical Society Archives. http://www.mohistory.org/ content/Fitzgibbon/scope.aspx 17. Access to the US Pavilion was banned from the time of the fi re in 1976 until 1990, when the Environ- Fig 3. Osaka World Expo 1970, Left: Space Frame ment Canada and the City of Montreal developed a plan [Kenzo Tange] and Right: Expo Tower [Kiyonori Ki- to convert the pavilion into the “Biosphère”. http://bio- kutake], from Japan Architect, May/June 1970. pp 69 sphere.ec.gc.ca/History-WS7DD2D209-1_En.htm and 71 18. http://www.grimshaw-architects.com/ Fig 4. Biosphere 2. L: Sealing glazing to Space Frame. Allen, pp 58 [image: C. Allen Morgan]; C + top R: Bio- 19. “Our fi rst proposals built upon our work at Water- sphere in 2007 [image by author]; lower R: Drawing loo with a series of diminishing primary steel trusses of Human + Wilderness Biomes. Allen, pp 34. [image: connected to each other with a secondary system, sup- Space Biosphere Ventures] porting a ridge and furrow glazing system that would have been familiar to Paxton. “The inevitable protract- Fig 5. Eden Project. L: image by Sumner, C + R: im- ed funding process (Millennium Commission Project) ages by Tessa Traeger. From The Architecture of Eden. gave us time to thoroughly evaluate our proposals. Eden Project Books, 2003, by Hugh Pearman and An- There were the logistical problems of transporting large drew Whalley. steel trusses to and around Cornwall. The quarry’s pro- fi le also continued to change as the last of the clay was extracted, effectively meaning that our ground terrain was constantly changing as we tried to complete our proposal.” From Vincent Chang’s Notes for A lecture on ETFE. Courtesy of NGP/VC.