Tagged: dymaxion

Here we see the well-known icosahedral version of R. Buckminster Fuller's dymaxion map projection of the earth's surface. A similar projection can be created by mapping the globe onto any other convex polyhedron, and unfolding it into a flat net of polygons. This particular icosahedral net has become widely used due to its relatively contiguous and undivided treatment of the earth's land mass, which for general cartographic purposes is often seen as useful. However, other nets—icosahedral and otherwise—exist that accentuate and prioritize other aspects of the earth's surface, such as the oceans.