Charas: The Improbable Dome Builders documents how six ex-gang members from New York's Lower East Side met Buckminster Fuller in 1970 and channelled his geodesic teachings into a radical act of community self-determination.
About This Book
In 1970, six former gang members from the Lower East Side encountered R. Buckminster Fuller and left with something unexpected: a blueprint for change. Undertaking rigorous self-directed study in solid geometry and spherical trigonometry, the group known as CHARAS broke ground on a geodesic dome on a vacant Manhattan lot beneath the shadow of the Manhattan Bridge. Originally published in 1973 and republished in 2017, this book is both historical document and urgent provocation. As gentrification continues to hollow out the communities it displaces, CHARAS stands as a model of grassroots spatial activism — proof that architecture can be a tool for neighbourhood autonomy and the reclamation of public space.
Key Features
- 239 pages of stories, profiles, interviews, and documentary photography tracing the CHARAS project from study to construction
- By Syeus Mottel, originally published in 1973
- Features the involvement of R. Buckminster Fuller and the CHARAS collective, Lower East Side, New York
- Published by Pioneer Works Press in partnership with The Song Cave, 2017
What You'll Discover
- How Buckminster Fuller's principles of geodesic design were absorbed and applied by a group with no formal architectural training
- The specific intellectual journey CHARAS undertook — from solid geometry and spherical trigonometry to the physical act of dome construction
- The obstacles the group faced in realising the dome on a vacant Lower East Side lot, documented through first-hand accounts and imagery
- Why this 1973 project remains a pointed reference point for debates around gentrification, community autonomy, and the activation of empty urban space
About the Author
Syeus Mottel was the author and documentarian behind the original 1973 publication of Charas: The Improbable Dome Builders, recording the CHARAS project in the Lower East Side through interviews, profiles, and photography. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 239
- Dimensions: 266 x 203 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781945711053
- Publisher: Pioneer Works Press
- Publication Date: 2017
Perfect For: Architects and designers interested in Buckminster Fuller and geodesic structures, urban researchers and community planners working with questions of gentrification and spatial justice, and readers drawn to the intersection of countercultural history and built form.