- Reception / Keynote / Lecture: Friday, 11 June 2010, 5:30PM - 8:00PM, American University, SIS (School of International Service) building
- Workshops: Saturday 12 June 2010, 8:30AM - 5PM, American University, SIS building
- Performance of R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE: Saturday 12 June 2010, 8 PM - 10:30 PM, Arena Stage in Crystal City
- Symposium: Sunday 13 June 2010, 9AM - 5PM, American University, SIS building
- Closing Reception: Sunday 13 June 2010, 7 PM - 9 PM
School of International Service (SIS)
Nebraska and New Mexico AVE NW
Washington, DC 20016
Directions to American University SIS
Arena Stage in Crystal City
1800 South Bell Street
Arlington, VA 22202
Directions to Arena Stage in Crystal City
The event will begin with a Friday evening reception at the new 70,000 square-foot, environmentally friendly SIS building that William McDonough designed. J. Marc Greuther, Chief Curator of Industry at The Henry Ford Museum (HFM), will deliver a keynote lecture. D.W. Jacobs, author and playwright of "R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE" at the Arena Stage will give a lecture.
On Saturday the program will involve three engaging hands-on & heads-on workshops building models to explore some of the basic principles of Fuller's Synergetics (a more complete description of the workshops is here).
- Joe Clinton will explain Bucky's Laminar Geodesic Dome and help us build a 14' diameter die-cut paper board model inspired by Bucky's patent (watch a video clip from Joe's 2007 RISD talk on Synergetics 100).
- Nick Tomlin, Professor John Belt, and Jack Higgins will lead a workshop on the Vector Equilibrium which will be featured in the play we will watch in the evening (in particular, Dennis Dreher's Octabug2 will be built and several other prototypes from SUNY Oswego will be available to study or purchase).
- Tim Havranek will lead a workshop to build models that help explain Bucky's closest packing of spheres and the isotropic vector matrix.
In building small artifacts on three of the most important parts of Synergetics (geodesics, the vector equilibrium, and the closest packing of spheres / isotropic vector matrix), participants will be primed to experience the performance at the Arena Stage in the evening with the benefit of a tactile physical experience of Buckminster Fuller's magnum opus, Synergetics. When you get home, be sure to show off your models to friends and family!
Saturday evening we will take an unforgettable journey inside one of the most remarkable minds of the 20th century by attending a performance at the Arena Stage of D. W. Jacobs' acclaimed play "R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE" (watch a video of D. W. Jacobs).
Thomas T.K. Zung
There will be space in the AU SIS Building to display your models or art work, so please bring them along. During the Show-n-Tell on Sunday afternoon, we would love to hear you talk about your work!In the afternoon we will hear presentations from Gus Jaccaci on "General Periodicity", Stephen M. Levin, MD on Bio-Tensegrity, and Martin Brennan (see a video of Martin with Harold Channer on YouTube) will talk about and demo his vision for the "Synergetics Exhibit Network". We will conclude the day by inviting participants to share their work with a "Show-N-Tell" (watch the video of Nick Tomlin's Show-N-Tell from our 2007 Symposium at RISD). The Show-N-Tell should lead into a discussion about Revisiting Bucky and Exploring Synergetics.
There will be a closing reception at Steve Levin's place in Virginia.
The event will offer an opportunity to discuss and share diverse viewpoints among the Synergetics community, the American University (AU), Georgetown University, and George Washington University (GWU), students, faculty, The American Institute of Architects (AIA), American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), and others looking to revisit Bucky and explore his magnum opus, Synergetics, in working to meet humanity's needs.
Please join the Synergetics Collaborative, American University, Arena Stage, AIA, ASID, GWU, Georetown University, students and others as we Revisit Bucky: Exploring Synergetics and work to understand how our world can be made to work for 100% of humanity at this special event on 11-13 June 2010.
"We have to recognize that every event and manifestation of nature is design, that to live within the laws of nature means to express our human intention as an interdependent species, aware and grateful that we are at the mercy of sacred forces larger than ourselves, and that we obey these laws in order to honor the sacred in each other and in all things. We must come to peace with and accept our place in the natural world."
--- William McDonough
The Workshops Description page provides more information about the three introductory model-building experiences for the 12 June 2010 program.
The event will be held at American University and at Arena Stage in Crystal City. So if you are travelling, you will want to find a place to stay that is close to both venues. American University has two documents on-line with lists of local hotels: Local Hotels and Hotels in the Metropolitan DC Area. We know that some early registrants are staying in Crystal City (which is closer to the Arena Stage since Saturday night's play will run until 10:30 PM) at the Crystal City Marriott at Reagan National Airport or the Crystal Gateway Marriott, The Americana Hotel, and the Hampton Inn & Suites Reagan National Airport Hotel
This site might help with finding parking in Crystal City for Sat night Dinner & Performance: Parking options in Crystal City.
Thanks to Nick Tomlin and Sunhae Layna Cho of Rhode Island School of Design, we have two flyers for the Revisit Bucky event: Flyer 1 (JPEG format) Flyer 1 (PDF format) Flyer 2 (JPEG format) Flyer 2 (PDF format). Please post these flyers where they may be seen by others who might want to learn about Bucky and Synergetics.
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- Synergetics Collaborative (SNEC) was founded in 2002
to bring together a diverse group of people with an interest in
Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics in face-to-face workshops, symposia,
seminars, and other meetings to educate and support research and
understanding of the many facets of Synergetics, its methods and principles.
Visit the Synergetics Collaborative on-line. - Under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Managing Director Edgar Dobie, Washington, D.C.-based Arena Stage has become the largest theater in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Founded in 1950 by Zelda Fichandler, Thomas Fichandler and Edward Mangum, Arena Stage was one of the nations original resident theaters and has a distinguished record of leadership and innovation in the field. With the opening of the new Mead Center for American Theater in 2010, Arena Stage will be a leading center for the production, development and study of American theater. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 200,000. For more information Visit the Arena Stage online.
- American University's School of International Service (SIS) is the largest school of international affairs in the United States, with more than 2500 students from 150 countries. While the School and its curriculum have grown and changed dramatically in the last 45 years, its core values remain true to the ideals of its founders: to create a community of scholars, students and professionals dedicated to educating citizens planning to be of service. It is the essence of what we do. Its eight areas of study offer students a wide range of possibilities in Comparative and Regional Studies, Global Environmental Politics, International Communication, International Development, International Economic Policy, International Politics, Peace and Conflict Resolution, and United States Foreign Policy. The programs combine both theory and practice, allowing our students to draw upon the resources of both our faculty and Washington, D.C. For more information visit SIS online.