Christian Menn
Swiss engineer specializing in the construction of prestressed and reinforced concrete bridges of high aesthetic value.
Biographical Information
| Name: | Christian Menn |
|---|---|
| Born in | 1927 in Meiringen, Berne, Switzerland, Europe |
| 1950 | Graduates from the Federal Technological Institute (ETH) Zurich after 4 years of studies |
| 1953 | Becomes assistant to Professor Pierre Lardy after being cured of a tuberculosis infection |
| 1956 | Doctorate |
| 1957 | Opens his own design office in Chur, Graubünden (Switzerland) |
| 1960 | Builds his first bridges at Cröt and Letziwald where he is influenced by Robert Maillart's work |
| 1964 | Reichenau Bridge |
| 1965 - 1967 | Nanin and Cascella Bridges |
| 1970 | Wins design competition for the Felsenau Bridge with engineers Emsch and Berger of Bern |
| 1971 | Elected professor of statics and construction at the ETH Zürich |
| 1980 | Completion of Ganter Bridge |
| 1990 | Freyssinet Medal |
| 1996 | Honorary doctorate from the University of Stuttgart |
Structures and Projects
Participation in the following structures & large-scale projects:
consulting engineer
designer
-
Averserrhein Bridge at Cröt
- Averserrhein Bridge at Letziwald
- Bad Ragaz Bridge
- Bad Ragaz Bridge
-
Cascella Bridge
-
Chandoline Bridge
-
Crestawald Bridge
-
Felsenau Bridge
-
Great Viamala Bridge
- Grimsel Lake Bridge
- Grüne Bridge
-
Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge
-
Nanin Bridge
- New Peace Bridge
- Pregorda Bridge
-
Reichenau Bridge
- Reuss Bridge
- Reussbrücke Wattingen
-
Streicker Bridge
- Valserrheinbrücke
- Veveyse Bridge
Bibliography
- Felsenau-Brücke in Bern, in "Beton- und Stahlbetonbau", April 1976, n. 4 v. 71; pp. 81-84
- Zwang und Mindestbewehrung, in "Beton- und Stahlbetonbau", April 1986, n. 4 v. 81; pp. 94-99
- Ingenieur- oder Architekturbrücken?, in "Beton- und Stahlbetonbau", October 2003, n. 10 v. 98; pp. 615-622
- Der Einfluß von Rissen auf die Bewehrungskorrosion, in "Beton- und Stahlbetonbau", January 1993, n. 1 v. 88; pp. 16-20, 47-51
- Conceptual design of cable-stayed bridges, presented at Ponts suspendus et à haubans. Cable-stayed and suspension bridges, Deauville, 12.-15.10.1994.
- Die Entwicklung des Konzeptes für die Charles-River-Bridge in Boston, presented at 8. Dresdner Brückenbausymposium, Dresden, 12. März 1998.
- Conceptual Design of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, Boston, MA, USA, in "Structural Engineering International", February 2004, n. 1 v. 14; pp. 42-45
- Die Bedeutung der Kreativität beim Brückenentwurf, presented at 16. Dresdner Brückenbausymposium, Dresden, 14. März 2006.
- Ganterbrücke, in "Schweizer Ingenieur und Architekt", n. 38 v. 97; pp. 733-739
- Baukultur im Brückenbau, in "Baukultur", 1998, n. 3; pp. 25-29
- The Place of Aesthetics in Bridge Design, in "Structural Engineering International", May 1996, n. 2 v. 6
- Sunniberg Bridge, Klosters, Switzerland, in "Structural Engineering International", February 1997, n. 1 v. 7
- Prestressed Concrete Bridges, Birkhäuser Verlag, Bâle (Suisse), ISBN 0817624147, 1990
- Failed Bridges, Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn Verlag für Architektur und technische Wissenschaften GmbH, Berlin (Deutschland), ISBN 3433029512, 2010; pp. 307
- Functional Shaping of Piers and Pylons, in "Structural Engineering International", November 1998, n. 4 v. 8
- Stahlbetonbrücken (3rd edition), Springer, Wien (Österreich), ISBN 3211835830, 2003; pp. 551
- The Art of Bridge Design, in Seven Structural Engineers; pp. 122-139
- Breaking Barriers of Scale: A Concept for Extremely Long Span Bridges, in "Structural Engineering International", February 1995, n. 1 v. 5
- Charles River Crossing: a gateway to Boston, presented at IABSE Conference, Malmö 1999 - Cable-stayed bridges. Past, present and future.
Relevant Websites
Relevant Publications
- Christian Menn 75 Jahre, in "Bautechnik", March 2002, n. 3 v. 79
- Der Brückenbauer Christian Menn - 85 Jahre, in "Beton- und Stahlbetonbau", April 2012, n. 4 v. 107
- The Art of Structural Design: A Swiss Legacy, Yale University Press, New Haven (USA), ISBN 0300097867, 2003
- Christian Menns Brückenentwürfe in den USA, in "Beton- und Stahlbetonbau", July 2007, n. 7 v. 102
- Christian Menn - 80 Jahre, in "Beton- und Stahlbetonbau", July 2007, n. 7 v. 102
- Prestressed Concrete Bridges, Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel (Switzerland), ISBN 0817624147, 1990
- L'art de l'ingénieur, Éditions du Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (France), ISBN 2858509115, 1997; pp. 295
- Christian Menn: bridge builder, in "Bridge Design & Engineering", 2nd Quarter 1999, n. 15 v. 5
- Christiann Menn, Birkhäuser Verlag (Basel, Boston, Berlin), Basel (Switzerland), ISBN 3764357525, 1997