TC Howard – Trying to Understand his Anonymity

I am writing this to set the record straight.  I am the daughter of Thomas C. Howard.  I grew up in Raleigh surrounded by modern architecture, mainly domes.  TC is a very modest man and more importantly, a family man.

From a very early age, I can remember running around and playing at my father’s office Synergetics.  I helped him build his amazing models and often accompanied him on his job sites, even tried erecting some of the smaller portable domes.  I would sit in awe of him as he drew and still do.  When I was older, I worked at Synergetics, mainly as his personal assistant.   TC’s work took him all over the world.  Most of his domes were for exhibits and fairs. He loved to work, and always got his hands dirty.  He climbed and erected the domes as they were being built.  He never wanted to retire, always said he was just getting good at what he did.

Poor health caused TC to retire and close Synergetics after 50 years of dedicated work and design.   The office building was sold and the daunting task of storing, sorting and archiving all of Synergetics’ records and drawings and models and paperwork, and books fell on the shoulders of the family.  Where to begin.  Unfortunately, everything cannot be kept.  And thus, my journey began.

I decided to take my younger children to see the Climatron in St. Louis, so they could see one of  TC Howard’s most famous domes.  I had grown up hearing about the Climatron, but had never been myself.  It was built before I was born.  TC was in his twenties when he designed this greenhouse dome.  It had recently become 50 years old and became a national historical site.  My girls and I were thrilled when we arrived at the Missouri Botanical Garden and saw the dome.

As we were waiting for the doors to open,  my youngest daughter proudly told the ticket man that her grandfather had designed the dome.  After hearing our story, he graciously let us in for free and made us feel very welcomed.  Inside were plaques of Buckminster Fuller and Gene Mackey.

My daughter asked where her grandfather’s plaque was.  Sadly, there was not one.  In the gift shop I found a newly published book  ‘Climatron 50 A Celebration of 50 Years’ and saw that Synergetics was mentioned, so I bought two copies and left.  On our way home, we stopped in Raleigh to visit.  I reluctantly gave my father the book.  As we read the book,  I saw the look in my father’s eyes.  The look of anonymity.  How could  the book be so wrong!

I had to right the wrong.  I had to tell my father’s story.   Thomas C. Howard of Synergetics, Inc.  is too brilliant to be left out of the history of great architecture.  I started my quest by contacting the author of the book and the president and the archivist of the garden, only to be told that my father was as they recorded only a draftsman.  After months of relentless e-mails and phone calls,  they agreed to put a plaque up citing Synergetics as the dome engineers.  I was very rudely dealt with and I truly doubt TC Howard will ever be given credit.

 

Next came the internet searches.  Every one of the domes I researched that I knew TC had designed, was given credit to Buckminster Fuller.  No mention of TC Howard and rarely any mention of Synergetics.  The Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI) has very little on TC or Synergetics.  When I looked up the Union Tank Car Dome in Baton Rouge, Louisiana I came across a film  ‘A Necessary Ruin – The Story of Buckminster Fuller and the Union Tank Car Dome” by Evan Mather.

Bucky’s daughter was interviewed in the film, but no one from Synergetics.  When I wrote Mr. Mather,  he quickly responded, apologized and changed his advertisement of the film.  I attended a viewing of this film in Asheville, NC where it was being introduced by a BFI member.  I introduced myself as the daughter of the architect who designed the dome in the film.  Someone asked if I was Allegra Fuller.  No one knew TC Howard had designed the dome.   The BFI member introduced me and told the audience that Bucky had not designed the dome himself.  Finally, I was reaching someone.

Here are some facts that are so widely misunderstood.

• Buckminster Fuller obtained a patent for geodesic domes.  Duncan Stuart was instrumental in the mathematics of this.  Buckminster Fuller was not an architect or an engineer.  He did not design any of the buildings by Synergetics.

• Buckminster Fuller co-founded Synergetics, Inc. in 1955 but later sold it to TC Howard, J. Forrest Barnwell and James Fitzgibbon, all licensed architects.  Fitzgibbon later sold his share of the company when he moved to St. Louis to teach at Washington University.

• All designs by Synergetics, Inc. are designs by Thomas C. Howard.
  

• TC Howard is both an architect and an engineer.

• Synergetics, Inc was a collaborative.  Fitzgibbon managed Synergetics, TC designed the buildings and Barnwell was the site manager during construction.  Barnwell became president of Charter Industries  and TC became president of Synergetics.

• Charter Industries was a leasing and manufacturing company for Synergetics’ domes.

• Not all domes are geodesic.

• TC Howard invented the Charter-sphere dome.  Named for Charter Industries, the leasing firm.

 

Famous Domes designed by TC Howard of Synergetics, Inc.:

 

The Union Tank Car Dome in Baton Rouge, Louisiana -1958

  

 

The ASM Headquarter Dome near Cleveland, Ohio – 1958

 

The Climatron in St. Louis, Missouri – 1959

 

The Queens Zoo Aviary – originally designed for the 1964 NY World’s Fair

  

 

The Poliedro de Caracas in Venezuela -1972-4

  

 

It is with great love and devotion that I tell the history of Synergetics and TC Howard.  To me, they are synonymous.  TC never cared about public recognition and rarely got it.  He just wanted to work.  Solving the problem at hand,  designing the next building.  Buckminster Fuller and TC met  when Bucky was lecturing at NC State College.  They became good friends despite their age difference of 36 years.  The summer of 1952 TC  went to NY to intern with George Nelson during the day and Bucky at night.  And thus the interest of domes became TC’ s main career.  It was a natural fit.  Bucky traveled the world lecturing and got people excited about building domes.  When asked to design these domes, he usually turned to Synergetics and TC.

No matter where he was, Bucky would call TC to ask him a design question and TC would always respond.  I  met Bucky twice.  Once as a child and once at one of his last lectures before he died.  It intrigued me how my father and Bucky interacted.  They had not seen each other in over ten years, yet they spoke as if they were family.  Each admired the other, much like father and son.  I think this is why there is so little written about my father and so much about Bucky.

TC Howard  should be remembered in the history of modern architecture.  Just because no one has written about him or the press has gotten the facts wrong, does not mean he did not design the domes.  It just means no one cared to read the blueprints.  This is why TC Howard has kept every blueprint of every building he has ever designed.  And I have all of his detailed work diaries.  Yes,  dates and names. So, for all of those  people that write about these beautiful buildings, read the blueprints.  At least give Synergetics, Inc the recognition.

I would love to hear and share any stories of TC’s.

Katrina Howard Fairley

katrinahfairley@gmail.com

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