TC Howard of Synergetics, Inc

[Katrina Howard Fairley]

To everyone who thinks Buckminster Fuller designed any of Synergetics,
Inc domes: He did not. Thomas C. Howard is and always has been the
primary designer, architect and, later the primary engineer for
Synergetics, Inc from 1955 until it closed in 2006. Bucky met James
Fitzgibbon an architect and professor at NC State in 1949 while he was
at Black Mountain. NC State's design school was new(1948).
Fitzgibbon invited Bucky to guest speak. The staff and students were
quite taken with Bucky's ideas and invited him back several times.
Duncan Stuart was also a professor at NC State. He began playing with
Bucky's mathematics for the geodesic dome. TC Howard was a student,
but Bucky considered him a colleague. Most of the early work on
geodesic domes was developed in Raleigh, NC. TC and Duncan helped
Bucky design the Ford Rotunda. In 1954, Fitzgibbon quit teaching and
opened Geodesics, Inc in Raleigh to design military work. In 1955,
when TC returned from the army, Synergetics, Inc was formed to design
commercial work. Bucky was President of both companies. The same
staff and the same offices. Bucky never lived in Raleigh, NC and
Bucky was not an architect. Most of the staff were architectural
students. Jim Fitzgibbon was a licensed architect. Dr. M. E. Uyanik
was a structural engineer at NC State; he was their consulting
engineer. Bucky did not design domes for Synergetics, Inc. He would
lecture around the world and people would ask him to design a dome and
he would send them to Synergetics, Inc.Synergetics, Inc designed the
US Information Agency domes that went to third world countries to
promote US democracy. (Kabul Dome) Then Bucky's friend at Union Tank
Car asked him to design a maintenance facility. Again, TC Howard and
Synergetics, Inc designed and built the world's largest geodesic dome
and Bucky took full credit.(1958). Bucky stepped down as president of
Synergetics, Inc and sold all of his stock to Fitzgibbon, TC and
Barnwell. Barnwell was Synergetics, Inc site representative at the
UTC dome in Baton Rouge. The ASM Headquarter Geodesic Dome in
Material Park was being designed by TC Howard (built dec 1958). The
Climatron was also around this same time. (Designed by TC Howard)
The Woods River dome was built from the design of the UTC dome ( Lehr
altered the design).
TC Howard switched majors from architecture to nuclear engineering in
1955. In 1958 TC passed the architectural boards and graduated at
NCSU with a BS in nuclear engineering. In 1961, Synergetics, Inc
designed the Ford Geodesic dome at the Seattle World's Fair. They
also designed the geodesic screen for the Boeing Spacearium and the
World of Tomorrow exhibit and Bubbleator. 1964, Synergetics, Inc
designed the Pavilion ageodesic dome for the NY World's Fair. It was
the Winston Churchill Pavilion in 1965. When the NY Fair closed the
dome was put in storage. In 1968, it was converted into the Queens Zoo
Aviary.
Other geodesic domes by TC Howard of Synergetics, Inc. are the
Oaxtepec Greenhouse. Very similar to the Climatron. And the largest
geodesic dome, the Poliedro de Caracas in Venezuela. (469' largest in
1974)

So please, when writing about geodesic domes, know that TC Howard was
Synergetics, Inc Primary designer, architect, engineer and owner; not
Buckminster Fuller.

[Gerry in Quebec]

Here's Katrina Howard Fairley's Facebook page about her father's work:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=178541418850855
- Gerry

On Oct 2, 1:24 pm, Katrina Howard Fairley <fairke...@cavtel.net>
wrote:

[Dick Fischbeck]

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/50-years-later-questions-over-who-designed-a-worlds-fair-dome/

[Blair Wolfram]

Gerry, who designed the Expo67 dome?

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Blair F. Wolfram
Founder, Dome Inc.

thedo...@domeincorporated.com

http://www.hurricanedomes.com

888-DOME-INC or 612-333-3663

[Gerry in Quebec]

Hi Blair,

Take a look at the attached jpg. It's an excerpt from one of the architectural sheets for the Expo '67 dome in Montreal. It includes the names of six architectural and engineering firms, all under the signature of "R. Buckminster Fuller". The actual drawings and component schedules were done by at least seven people. As for detailed geometric calculations of the spaceframe, I don't know who did those.

- Gerry

[Ken G. Brown]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the calculations were done manually with 10 decimal place logarithms and there was a certain amoount of fear of any error in there somewhere.

Cannot remember where I read that, does anyone know?

    Ken G. Brown

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<Expo'67-dome.jpg>

[Blair Wolfram]

I understand the designer of the Expo67 dome was Shoji Sadao, one of the founding members of the architecture firm, Buckminster Fuller, Sadao and Zung.

I fear the anti-Fuller force doesn't know the difference in definitions between DRAW and DESIGN.

Buckminster Fuller designed a plethora of domes as a self proclaimed DESIGN SCIENTIST. He didn't draw so much.

<Expo'67-dome.jpg>

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[Gerry in Quebec]

Ken:

I hadn't heard of any fears over the accuracy of the calculations, but you're right they were done manually. A former apprentice at Geometrics, Inc., which had its offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently told me: "This [Montreal] dome is particularly challenging in that it is a hybrid subdivision with transitions from one Class to another. Difficult to model and yet one thinks of Shoji's team doing it by hand (not to mention the connector geometry for the castings)."

 

Recently I used the internal symmetry of the dome to calculate, where possible, the theoretical node-to-node distances. These, of course, are greater than the actual strut lengths because hubs were used. The node-to-node lengths listed in the architects' strut schedules, given in feet, inches and sixteenths of an inch, were bang on. I have no idea how accurate the actual pipe cuts were -- but the end product is beautiful.

 

Blair:

I said earlier I didn't know who did the actual geometric calculations. But I have good reason to believe it was Shoji Sadao.

 

- Gerry in Quebec

On Thursday, May 8, 2014 12:39:37 PM UTC-4, Blair Wolfram wrote:

I understand the designer of the Expo67 dome was Shoji Sadao, one of the founding members of the architecture firm, Buckminster Fuller, Sadao and Zung.

I fear the anti-Fuller force doesn't know the difference in definitions between DRAW and DESIGN.

Buckminster Fuller designed a plethora of domes as a self proclaimed DESIGN SCIENTIST. He didn't draw so much.

On Thursday, May 8, 2014, Ken G. Brown wrote:

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the calculations were done manually with 10 decimal place logarithms and there was a certain amoount of fear of any error in there somewhere.

Cannot remember where I read that, does anyone know?

    Ken G. Brown

[Ken G. Brown]

Back in about 1984 or so, I visited the Expo 67 dome, crawled under the fence (shhhh..) and took some closeup pics of the hub castings.

I will try to find those pics and post.

Yes, the dome is indeed a marvel. As I recall 32 frequency on the outside, 16 frequency on the inside layer (maybe vice versa?), joined together with gridwork of angle cross struts making a 3D truss.

   Ken G. Brown

[Dick Fischbeck]

Same here.

[TaffGoch]

A couple of favorites from my image library:

I can appreciate how, on the ground, they built a large "dished" table, upon which to weld-up sections, before lifting into place:

-Taff

[Ken G. Brown]

Very cool…

Were you there? :)

   Ken

On May 8, 2014, at 15:32, TaffGoch <taff...@gmail.com> wrote:

A couple of favorites from my image library:

<Expo67hub.jpg>

I can appreciate how, on the ground, they built a large "dished" table, upon which to weld-up sections, before lifting into place:

<big_353149_7915_293.jpg>

-Taff

[TaffGoch]

Ken G. Brown wrote:
>
> Were you there? :)

​___________________________________

Nah -- In '67, I was 12 years old, and family vacations were economically-restricted to the "deep south."

-Taff

[Dick Fischbeck]

A virtual spherical IVM.

[Gerry in Quebec]

Going back three years and a bit in the group discussion …. Taff was right about the use of "Richter's Temcor" method in the Montreal dome, above the equator.

- Gerry

 

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/geodesichelp/Montreal/geodesichelp/x7S6Zw4NkkU/7l7RMJHv1UcJ

 

On Monday, January 17, 2011 1:05:14 PM UTC-5, TaffGoch wrote:

 

Ah-ha!

 

Another one of those drifting-off-to-sleep moments -- last night I was thinking of combining triacon (actually, Richter's Temcor) method, with the 2v-alternate. The 2v alternate will provide a level "equatorial" great circle, while Richter's method provides smooth crossovers (between icosa PPT boundaries.)

 

I'm starting a new model, to see how it works out.

 

-Taff

[Blair Wolfram]

My business will not benefit from association with the Katrina Fairy Tales.

On Thursday, May 8, 2014, Dick Fischbeck <dick.fi...@gmail.com> wrote:

Katrina   - PLEASE!

Like you say, TC AND Bucky are smart. My head will not explode.

To me and to the dictionary, design means to conceptualize and explain a thought. Draw means to commit to paper with the intent to convey the information to the builders.  Don't tell me TC did it all. TC was Bucky's student. Bucky could have drawn anything he wanted to draw. It was a matter of time. Or do you think Bucky could not have drawn plans like TC did?  Bucky, if he had the time your dad had, could have drawn the same thing TC drew. Bucky had bigger fish to fry.

Dick

On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 4:41 PM, Katrina Fairley <katrina...@gmail.com> wrote:

You and Blair are going to have your heads blown when you can't find any evidence that Bucky DESIGNED any domes.  Bucky did not draw any either.  Why you guys want to start that link under a TC Howard link in the NY Times is questionable.  Blair just wants his name in the paper for free publicity of his business.  What is your excuse?  Jaime said he has no evidence of Synergetics, Inc work, So he has NO PROOF that Bucky designed any of Synergetics, Inc domes.

Again Bucky did NOT DESIGN any of Synergetics, Inc Domes!!!

[Blair Wolfram]

[Curt McNamara]

One clarification that might help the two sides: to submit a building plan for approval, you need do the design work (or supervise it) and sign for it as a licensed architect. Bucky was not a licensed architect until quite late in his career, so he needed to work with licensed architects to get the plans approved.

            Curt

http://books.google.com/books?id=VWF_6f0UCkYC&pg=PR21&lpg=PR21&dq=bucky+fuller+licensed+architect&source=bl&ots=w7z9RgKBfC&sig=UO5qCovkgbw-lGhxJdZltxNaggE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=MFdsU7eBMYK2yATm6oH4BQ&ved=0CGcQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=bucky%20fuller%20licensed%20architect&f=false

[Blair Wolfram]

There aren't really two sides here. The WORLD recognizes Buckminster Fuller as the brilliant inventer and designer of multitudes of geodesic domes. And then there is Katrina, and only Katrina.

[Katrina Fairley]

TC Howard has generously donated some of his Synergetics, Inc drawings and designs to NC State Special Collections Libraries.  Just to name a few - Kabul Dome 1956, Octet truss for MOMA 1959, Union Tank Car Dome 1957, ASM Dome (on National Register of Historical Places) 1958, Climatron 1959, Erie County Arena (unbuilt), Queen Zoo Aviary, Tower of Light NY World's Fair 1964, Seattle World's Fair - Ford Dome, Bubbleator and cube cloud exhibit, Spacearium, The Poleidro de Caracas 1973, Charter-Vault, SC Tricentennial buildings, and all of Charter-Sphere Domes.  Again, these are TC Howard's designs (NOT Bucky's)

[Paul Kranz]

Katrina:

Is this not evidence that Bucky designed at least one geodesic dome?

Paul sends...

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Very high regards,

 

Paul sends...

ReviveTheFlame.com

[Katrina Fairley]

I did not read the article.  The pent-Hex patent is actually in Shoji Sadao of Fuller and Sadao name  and  TC and Shoji were designing pent-hex domes long before the patent.  TC's ASM dome is technically a pent-hex.  The truss system that TC developed is actually what hold the dome up.  Shoji designed and actually hand built the cardboard dome that won gran primo in Milan 1954  that Bucky wrote about.  Bucky got credit because he owned Geodesics, Inc and his patent. 

[Katrina Fairley]

http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00565/summary  TC Howard of Synergetics, Inc  drawings and designs.

On Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 1:24:06 PM UTC-4, Katrina Howard Fairley wrote:

[norm...@gmail.com]

Does that link work for anyone else?  I get a Oops! message and it doesn't load

[Dick Fischbeck]

Which link?

[norm...@gmail.com]

The link ncsu Katrina Fairly posted 

[Dick Fischbeck]

http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00565/summary

Works.

[norm...@gmail.com]

thanks, it loads over my phones internet but not my home internet.

At this point it is just a summary correct?

[Dick Fischbeck]

That's what I see.