The Dymaxion Air-Ocean World [and] Fuller Projective Transformation

Mapping the revolutionary designs of Buckminster Fuller.

“Also known as the “Dymaxion Map,” the Fuller Projection Map is the only flat map of the entire surface of the Earth which reveals our planet as one island in one ocean, without any visually obvious distortion of the relative shapes and sizes of the land areas, and without splitting any continents. It was developed by R. Buckminster Fuller who “By 1954, after working on the map for several decades,” finally realized a “satisfactory deck plan of the six and one half sextillion tons Spaceship Earth.”” – Buckminster Fuller Institute.

This revolutionary depiction of the ‘globe’ is the result of a dedicated effort by Buckminster Fuller to present our planet in a more coherent and unbiased form. He used the term Spaceship Earth to frame humanity (the inhabitants) as a collective force preparing to confront the challenges of the future. The image omits political borders, identifying only select cities and geographic features. Several variants were issued in the decades following the first edition.

This is a scarce example of the Air-Ocean World Map copyrighted in 1967 and reflecting significant contributions by Japanese American architect Shoji Sadao. This edition lacks the vibrant color that approximates the world’s climates, though it retains the distinctive array of twenty mostly triangular pieces arranged as a modified icosahedron. The map is accompanied by a descriptive broadsheet titled “Fuller Projective Transformation” that outlines a history of the Dymaxion project and its various design elements.