Obsessed with sustainability, beloved futurist (and architect, designer, inventor, and all-around visionary) Buckminster Fuller spent his career dreaming of a Utopian future where the world would work  “for 100 percent of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone.” He drafted plans and built prototypes of devices and structures that would fulfill his dreams, and two of them are on view this year at "Architecting the Future," an installation going up in the Miami Design District's pedestrian plaza during the seventh edition of Design Miami.

Design wonks get to ogle mid-century marvel Fly's Eye Dome, a transparent, soccer ball-like dwelling. Meant to provide an air-deployable, completely off-the-grid shelter to its lucky inhabitants, its circular openings would have served as windows, doors, and solar and wind power collectors, with its exterior designed to channel rainwater into its cistern.  Fuller created three versions of a prototype in 12-, 24-, and 50-foot heights, the restored 24-foot model going on display. 

Right next to it, putting today's Prius to shame, will be the Dymaxion 4 car, lovingly reconstructed by Norman Foster for a double dose of starchitectural magic. Fuller's three-wheeler vehicle, which he intended to eventually give flight with jet engines, had a fuel efficiency far ahead of its time at 30 miles per gallon, while its aerodynamically efficient teardrop shape and rear-mounted Ford V-8 engine brought it to 120 miles per hour. With seating for 11, it would have been perfect for family road trips (had the safety precautions been more finely tuned — it unfortunately turned over and killed its driver at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair). 

While neither of these radical visions were ever brought into production, perhaps displaying them together for the first time in decades could inspire a modern day Bucky to put the plans in motion.