Originally conceived over 20 years ago by architect Buckminster Fuller, the Old Man River plan proposes a new paradigm for American cities and land ownership, to be located along the bank of the Mississippi River in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Proponents of the concept are still pursuing the effort, with features of the project including shared land ownership, an environmentally friendly power plant, an "Aquatron" (comparable to MoBot's Climatron - except based on fresh water science), affordable housing, and a cultural center building on the legacy of East St. Louisan Katherine Dunham.
The original concept featured a lightweight umbrella-type cover over roughly a 1 mile diameter crater-shaped area. The design would allow free flow of fresh air and water, while becoming a symbol of social progress around the world.
State Representative Yvetter Young is currently proposing Illinois House Bill 2352 in support of the project and draft organizational documents for the sponsoring entity are in legal review.
9 comments:
The top of my blueberry muffin looks like a dome. Blueberries! Maybe they can grow blueberries!
OMG, what a mess of an idea. Fuller was a creative genius but that does not mean we should live in spaces he conceived decades ago.
I'm liking the blueberry idea though....
Could this project include the architectural museum planned for the East St. Louis riverfront?
Fascinating. The whole thing looks like some crazy arcology in SimCity.
BTW, Fuller wrote a little about this plan in a 1981 book "Critical Path":
http://solutions.synearth.net/stories/storyReader$513
Why would anyone want to do this in East St. Louis?
Who knew this thing was still alive. Learn something new every day.
If you turned the dome over and buried it on this side of the river, it would be just about the right size to be Chouteau's Lake . . .
PE
it is like science fiction come to life. east st louis already looks like something out of a mad max movie, so why not build this thing. i think it would be cool.
Great minds come from East St. Louis. I have made it out and now I am here to help rebuild the town. I can say that if you have not visited lately, try visiting it now. In the near future we will arise and be on top again. We will become a model city once more. May God be with us as we try.
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