The 42-foot paperboard Geodesic was installed in old Sforza garden in Milan and came away with the highest award, the Gran Premio. Fuller's domes gained world wide attention upon his Italian premiere and by that time the U.S. military had already begun to explore the options of using domes in their military projects because they needed speedy but strong housing for soldiers overseas. With the interest of the military and coming away from the 1954 Triennale with the Gran Premio, domes began to gain in public appeal and exposure. In 1927 Buckminster Fuller began a 50-year experiment using himself as the guinea pig. A major barrier to the success of this experiment is society's persistent assumption that needed human resources are scarce.
Warfare is society's most destructive way to defend a group's existing resources and acquire others.
Fuller sought to shift humanity's focus away from applying its best resources to creating and refining weaponry. His goal was to bring on this shift by changing the environment, not people. Advanced technology allows people and goods to move freely around the world, increasing mobility and decreasing the traditional rootedness of human cultures. Fuller wanted to use the techniques of mass production in creating efficient affordable shelter for the millions of people who needed it around the world.