A Necessary Ruin: The Story of Buckminster Fuller and the Union Tank Car Dome

Upon its completion in October 1958, the Union Tank Car Dome, located north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was the largest clear-span structure in the world. Based on the engineering principles of the visionary design scientist and philosopher Buckminster Fuller, this geodesic dome was, at 384 feet in diameter, the first large scale example of this building type. "A Necessary Ruin" relates the powerful, compelling narrative of the dome's history via interviews with architects, engineers, preservationists, media, and artists; animated sequences demonstrating the operation of the facility; and hundreds of rare photographs and video segments taken during the dome's construction, decline, and demolition.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• buckminster
• fuller
• baton
• rouge
• union
• tank
• car
• dome
• geodesic

[lobstertexas]

About ten years ago a friend I knew online lived in Baton Rouge and had mentioned vague knowledge of a hidden dome in ruins somewhere near his city; we had both set out to scour satellite photos and make various phone calls to learn of its whereabouts, resulting in his visit to the shuttered and rusting dome. He took several great photos of it, it was beautifully artistic in its decay. I had vowed to visit and trespass with him into the dome but it was not to be ... Excellent production, sir!

[kramer893]

Great doc! I loved the music and I thought it was very well paced. You should do one on the prestress in mandeville, I bet there's some interesting stories behind that place.