“Science and technology are conducted with mathematics that is non-conceptual and the 99 percent of humanity do not understand science or technology because they do not understand the mathematics, which it uses. I find then that society thinks of technology as something new and threatening and only connected with weapons and big business. The universe itself is nothing but the most beautiful technology.” – Buckminster Fuller
Several of the architectural courses that Professor Brakke has taught have questioned the predominance of the cube and have explored the basic geometry of the tetrahedron. The work of figures such as Buckminster Fuller and Frei Otto has sparked dialogues that are carried out in parallel with making. These inquiries have involved multi-scalar permutations and construction. Each has been completed with a different agenda linked with the course objectives. The undergraduate courses have developed domes with wood, PVC and plastic sheets. Some have been built to examine joinery; others have been taped up and inflated. In a graduate seminar, students used the base form of the dome and found materials to create an emergency shelter that could harness wind and harvest water. Each investigation has provoked more questions than answers and thus the exploration will continue.