Engineering is making things and studying, how to fix it. Science is like art in that it should not be sure how projects will end up.
In 2013, at the Eindhoven University of Technology, Justin van der Eerden wrote his thesis "Design & Optimization of Phyllotactic Domes". His research was based on the Stack-and-Drag Model and he concluded: "Although phyllotactic domes require more steel than geodetic (Buckminster Fuller's) domes, they provide an elegant and promising alternative for future constructions".
Since 2013, there was significant improvement of algorithms and extension of design capabilities in Apex.