We are often asked why we chose the name C60 for our practice, so we thought we would provide a brief explanation on where our name came from…

C60 is a nod to the visionary futurist, Buckminster Fuller. The name itself comes from ‘Carbon 60’ which is a spherical fullerene molecule called Buckminsterfullerene (or bucky-ball) in honour of the revolutionary Architect, due to the molecule’s structure which is the same as the geodesic structure’s for which Fuller became best known.

…the distilled wisdom of a lifetime spent contemplating the universe from angles and directions never before suspected.

Arthur C Clark on Buckminster Fuller

During his life spanning from 1895 to 1983, Fuller’s interests spanned Architecture, poetry, education, engineering, philosophy, environmentalism and humanitarianism. Constantly challenging the established order of things, Fuller was twice expelled from Harvard but resolved to focus his attentions on the major design problems of the world.

From the design of the ‘Dymaxion’ car in 1933 which could hold 12 passengers and travel up to 120 mph, to the pre-fabrication of housing following World War II, Fuller was not afraid to push the boundaries of design, often beyond the capabilities of his time. After struggling to find funding to put his designs into production, Fuller turned to education. His subsequent research into lightweight engineering led to a revolution in structural engineering and the birth of the Geodesic dome, a revolutionary building form which could support its own weight with no practical limit on total span.

“In reality, the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon are nothing else than a most fantastically well-designed and space-programmed team of vehicles. All of us are, always have been, and so long as we exist, always will be–nothing else but–astronauts.”

EARTH, INC. – Buckminster Fuller (1973)