Robert Maillart's Bridges: The Art of Engineering

By David P. Billington

The description for this book, Robert Maillart's Bridges: The Art of Engineering, will be forthcoming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Release date: Jul 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9780691216072

Book preview

Robert Maillart’s Bridges

ROBERT MAILLART’S BRIDGES

THE ART OF ENGINEERING

David P. Billington

Princeton University Press New Jersey

Copyright © 1979 by Princeton University Press

Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey

In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Guildford, Surrey

All Rights Reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data will be

found on the last printed page of this book

Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Publications

Program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

ISBN-13: 978-0-691-02421-9

eISBN: 978-0-691-21607-2

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Contents

Illustrations and Tables  vii

Preface  xiii

Prologue The Salgina Crossing  3

Chapter 1 Family and School (1872-1894)  5

Chapter 2 Reinforced Concrete in the 1890’s  9

Chapter 3 The Turn from Masonry (1894-1901)  15

Chapter 4 The New Bridge Form (1901-1904)  31

Chapter 5 From Bridges to Buildings (1904-1909)  43

Chapter 6 The Business of Building (1909-1919)  49

Chapter 7 From Builder to Designer (1919-1927)  63

Chapter 8 Tavanasa, Salginatobel, and Beyond (1927-1940)  77

Chapter 9 The Role of Science in Engineering: Force Follows Form  91

Chapter 10 The Role of Art in Engineering: Structure as Art  107

Appendix A The Writings of Robert Maillart  122

Appendix B Map and Table of Maillart’s Major Bridges  124

Notes  127

Index  143

Illustrations and Tables

Illustrations

Unless otherwise stated, photographs are by the author, and diagrams are by A. Evans or T. Agans.

Tables

Preface

This study grew out of a desire to connect the visual elegance of Robert Maillart’s works to their technical basis. The book, therefore, centers on a small number of the most significant works and on the major ideas of Robert Maillart; its primary goal is to explore structural form as it arises out of aesthetic feelings and scientific ideas.

I meant this work for the general reader who is interested in bridges or in other engineering structures that have the potential for highly expressive visual form. I have sought to write a text that would be widely understood yet consistent with the terminology of the engineer or architect. Because some of the argument depends upon mathematical formulations, the notes contain numerous calculations and technical explanations, which those with such interests can pursue. My original intention was to write a brief biography. However, the subsequent discovery of a rich supply of private letters and business correspondence has made a full biography possible, but only after much more study. I have started work on it and plan to complete it in the near future.

This work would have been impossible without the continual encouragement, support, and substantial collaboration of Robert Maillart’s daughter, Marie-Claire Blumer-Maillart, and her husband Edouard Blumer. They have worked tirelessly to preserve, collect, and help document the papers, the works, and the events in the life of Robert Maillart. That I could seriously take up the long-term study of Maillart is primarily due to their devotion, both to him and to the preservation of his documents. René Maillart was also of great help in giving me his own perspective on his father.

I am also deeply indebted to Professor Christian Menn, one of the foremost contemporary bridge designers, whose clear understanding of Maillart’s works has guided much of my efforts. He has also put me in touch with local cantonal and city engineers from whom I obtained many essential documents. In particular, I want to thank Engineers Letta and Bosch of St. Gallen, Engineers Stampf and Tschudin of Chur, Engineer Schlumpf of the Rhätische Bahn, and Engineer Hirt and Mr. Stalden of Zurich.

The firms that took over Maillart’s offices in Geneva and Bern have made their records available to me. Engineer Tremblet in Geneva has allowed me free access to the substantial Geneva archive of Maillart’s works; he also gave his time to have documents reproduced and sent to Princeton, while Princeton University Library kindly bore most of the costs of reproducing them. Engineer Bernet in Bern has also freely given his time to sort documents and to send copies to Princeton.

The most valuable professional recollections of Maillart have come to me through the kindness of Ernst Stettler, Maillart’s chief engineer in Bern from 1926 to 1940 and his successor there until 1962, when he turned the office over to Bernet and Weyenroth. The architect Hans Kruck has shared his invaluable understanding of Maillart from the perspective of art and creativity, and Marcel Fornerod has provided a firsthand account of his two years in Maillart’s Zurich office. Many more Swiss have helped me in my work and made my association with their country a happy personal one. As with anyone studying Maillart, I am indebted to Sigfried Giedion and Max Bill, whose pioneering writings showed the beauty of his works to a wide audience.

Basic financial support for this study came from a long-term grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and I would like to record with special gratitude the encouragement of Herbert McArthur, former program officer there. The Ford Foundation provided substantial matching funds, and a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation helped with the initial research. This research accelerated greatly after a conference, held at Princeton in 1972, commemorating the centennial of Maillart’s birth; this was also supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. My work in Switzerland was materially furthered by a grant from the Swiss Society of Cement, Chalk, and Gypsum Manufacturers whose executive officer, Dr. H. Eichenberger, provided not only funds but considerable aid in documentation and insight into Swiss culture.

Mrs. Betty Mate deserves a separate paragraph for her good will, her endurance, and her consummate skill in typing the first complete manuscript and persevering through all the preliminary workings. As a superlative secretary, she both protected me and kept me in line, and I am grateful. I appreciate also the help of Jeanne Carlucci with the manuscript. When Mrs. Mate left Princeton, I was lucky enough to find another excellent secretary, Thelma Keith, who typed another version with patience and skill following the fine editing of Ruth Bonner. I am indebted to Edward Tenner of Princeton University Press for numerous helpful suggestions, to Judith May for her sympathetic editorial work, and to Etta Recke for her thoughtful and efficient typing of the final result. An additional pleasure has been the lively and useful work on Maillart by a series of students at Princeton; those who have contributed directly to the research for this book are Michael Hein, Robert Shulock, David Lamb, Ellen Leing, Mark Herron, Kent Smith, Neil Hauck, Howard Miller, and a special thanks to James Chiu. Further, I acknowledge with thanks the help of my colleagues John Abel and Robert Mark who have done Maillart research themselves and have read critically much of my early writing on Maillart.

Most of this writing was done while I was a visitor in 1974-1975 at the School of Historical Studies in the Institute for Advanced Study. I am grateful to the Institute for allowing me the use of its many facilities since 1974, and I am especially indebted to Marshall Claggett of the Institute for his support and advice. It was he who first suggested that I separate this work from a full biography. I am also grateful to Norman Sollenberger, formerly chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering at Princeton, for his early and continual support of this work, and to Ahmet Cakmak the present chairman, who has continued that support. My work was also greatly aided by the library staff at Princeton, especially Nancy Klath and Sara Just. The archivist at the Federal Technical Institute in Zurich, Alvin E. Jaeggli, provided indispensable aid and documentation. The first serious critic of my writing was the late Donald Egbert, whose probing questions helped shape my thoughts. I also thank William F. Shellman, both for his fine bridge drawings and his challenging ideas on design.

Among the large number of Swiss who helped my research, I want to thank Professor R. Favre, B. Jotteraud, M. Masshardt, F. Wolf, E. Woywod, H. Kruck, E. Gruner, and Margret Siegrist. I am indebted also to Maillart’s granddaughter, Marie-Claire Cuniberti and her husband John.

Finally this work is, in reality, a family effort in far more than the ordinary sacrificial way that wives and children suffer during the writing of a new book. My wife, Phyllis, and my three eldest children, David, Elizabeth, and Jane worked actively with me by inspecting bridges, collecting archival material, and reading initial drafts. In particular, my son David has read carefully the entire manuscript and suggested major rewriting to the end that the nonengineer can follow my arguments. His keen editorial judgment is reflected throughout.

David P. Billington

April 7, 1977

Robert Maillart’s Bridges

Prologue The Salgina Crossing

Traveling out from the ordered wealth of Zurich, the train