Othmar Ammann (1879 - 1965)

Othmar Ammann

Swiss-American engineer and designer of the largest bridges of the city of New York.

Name:	Othmar Ammann
Full name:	Othmar Hermann Ammann
Born on	26 March 1879 in Feuerthalen, Zurich, Switzerland, Europe
Deceased on	22 September 1965 in Rye, Westchester County, New York, USA, North America
Student of	Wilhelm Ritter
Place(s) of activity:	Ammann & Whitney Port of New York Authority Triborough Bridge Authority
1898 - 1902	Studies at the Federal Technological Institue in Zurich (Switzerland) under Wilhelm Ritter and others.
1904	Immigrates to the United States, works for Joseph Meyer, New York
1905	Assistant to the chief engineer of Pennsylvania Steel Co., cooperates on the design of the Queensboro Bridge, New York
1909 - 1912	Works for F.C. Kunz and C.C. Schneider in Philadelphia
1912	Works for Gustav Lindenthal and helps with the construction of the Hell Gate Bridge, and the Sciotoville Bridge, designs the George Washington Bridge
1925 - 1939	Director of Engineering at the Port of New York Authority
1932	Honorary Doctorate, New York University
1933	Chief engineer for the Triborough Bridge Authority under whose guidance are built: Triborough Bridge, Henry Hudson Bridge and Marine Parkway Bridge
1937	Honorary Doctorate, Pennsylvania Military Academy
1939	Opens his own engineering office
1941	Honorary Doctorate, Columbia University
1946	Teams up with Charles S. Whitney to form Ammann and Whitney

Participation in the following structures & large-scale projects:

Ammann, Othmar H. Die innerstaatlichen Brücken zwischen New York und New Jersey [Teil 2], in "Schweizerische Bauzeitung", 21 June 1930, n. 25 v. 95; pp. 325-327
Ammann, Othmar H. Die innerstaatlichen Brücken zwischen New York und New Jersey [Teil 1], in "Schweizerische Bauzeitung", 14 June 1930, n. 24 v. 95; pp. 310-317
Ammann, Othmar H. The Failure of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Federal Works Agency, Washington (USA), 1941
Ammann, Othmar H. Planning and Design of Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, in "Civil Engineering Magazine", April 1939, n. 4 v. 9; pp. 217-220
Ammann, Othmar H. Present Trends in Structural Design, in "Civil Engineering Magazine", January 1940, n. 1 v. 10; pp. 21-24
Ammann, Othmar H. Additional Stiffening of Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, in "Civil Engineering Magazine", March 1946, n. 3 v. 16; pp. 101-3
Ammann, Othmar H. General Conception and Development of Design, George Washington Bridge, in "Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers", 1933, n. 97; pp. 43, 62
Ammann, Othmar H. The Hell Gate Arch Bridge and Approaches of the New York Connecting Railroad over th East River in New York City, in "Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers", 1918, n. 82; pp. 852-1004, 1005-39
Ammann, Othmar H. Possibilities of the Modern Suspension Bridge for Moderate Spans, in "Engineering News Record", 21 June 1923; pp. 1072-1078
Ammann, Othmar H. Advances in Bridge Construction, in "Civil Engineering Magazine", August 1933, n. 8 v. 3; pp. 428-32

Fünf Schweizer Brückenbauer, Verein für Wirtschaftshistorische Studien, Zurich (Switzerland), 1985
Billington, David P. History and Esthetics in Suspension Bridges, in "Journal of the Structural Division (ASCE)", August 1977 v. 103
Billington, David P. Wilhelm Ritter: Teacher of Maillart and Ammann, in "Journal of the Structural Division (ASCE)", May 1980 v. 106
Billington, David P. The Art of Structural Design: A Swiss Legacy, Yale University Press, New Haven (USA), ISBN 0300097867, 2003
Billington, David P. The Tower and the Bridge, Princeton University Press, Princeton (USA), ISBN 069102393X, 1983; pp. 112-146
Dicleli, Cengiz Othmar Ammann, in "Deutsche Bauzeitung", February 2006, n. 2
Doig, Jameson W. & Billington, David P. Amman's First Bridge: A Study in Engineering, Politics and Entrepreneurial Behavior, in "Technology and Culture", July 1994, n. 3 v. 35
Petroski, Henry Engineers of Dreams, Vintage Books, New York (USA), ISBN 0679730210, 1995; pp. 217-319
Picon, Antoine L'art de l'ingénieur, Éditions du Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (France), ISBN 2858509115, 1997; pp. 52-53
Rastorfer, Darl Six Bridges, Yale University Press, New Haven (USA), ISBN 0300080476, 2000
Ricken, Herbert Der Bauingenieur, Verlag für Bauwesen, Berlin (Germany), ISBN 3345002663, 1994; pp. 210
Russell, Lisa Ammann's masterpieces reach 75, in "Bridge Design & Engineering", 4th Quarter 2006, n. 45 v. 12
Stüssi, Fritz Othmar Ammann, Birkhäuser, Basel (Switzerland), 1974