History

Christian Menn is a well known and respected Civil Engineer from Bern, Switzerland who designs his bridges to be aesthetically pleasing. He was born on March 3, 1927 and received both his Civil engineering Degree and Ph. D. from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland in 1950 and 1956 respectively. He owned his own Engineering Company in Chur, Switzerland from 1957-1971. From 1971 until his retirement in 1992 he became a professor of Structural Engineering at ETH specializing in Bridge design. In his retirement years, he continues to be a consulting engineer in private practice. Location within Switzerland The city of Bern, English traditionally Berne (Bernese German Bärn , German Bern , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland, and is the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. ... Eth (Ð, ð), also spelled edh or eð, is a letter used in Old English (Anglo-Saxon) and present-day Icelandic, and in Faroese language which call the letter edd. ... Location within Switzerland   Zürich[?] (German pronunciation IPA: ; usually spelled Zurich in English) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zürich. ... Chur is a town in Switzerland. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Taipei 101, the worlds tallest building as of 2004. ... Eth (Ð, ð), also spelled edh or eð, is a letter used in Old English (Anglo-Saxon) and present-day Icelandic, and in Faroese language which call the letter edd. ...

Professional Organizations

Christian Menn is a member of the Swiss Society of Civil Engineers (SIA), the Swiss Trade Group for Bridge and Building Engineering, International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), Swiss Code-Committee for Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Structures, and the ETH research committee.

Bridge Design

Menn’s bridges had to be designed for the times. "Structural Analysis found itself at the time in the transition from descriptive graphical analysis to abstract analytical statics." (Menn, 2002) Menn worked very closely with Lardy during the beginning of his career. Together Menn and Lardy emphasized on designing structures based on aesthetics and economy. Menn believed that economy, serviceability and safety of the bridge would revolve around aestetics. Menn described his bridges with abstract designs. This allowed Menn the ability to analyze the bridges and find stresses and distribution forces within the bridge. This was the basis for his design work. By this method, Menn was able to put schematic calculations on the bridges, which could eventually be used in computer applications.

Education and Practical Training

Christian Menn started his educational experiences at the Comprehensive secondary school in Chur, Switzerland in 1939 and ended in 1946. He then attended the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland from 1946 to 1950 and received a diploma in engineering (“Christian” 2006). When Dr. Menn graduated in 1950, there were a total of 3251 students attending the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in five different study areas (“Swiss” 2006). The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has been instructing students since 1855 when it was founded (“Taylor” 1998). He was one of 1039 people studying in the area of Architecture, civil engineering, and geomatic sciences (“Swiss” 2006). After graduating he worked in engineering offices in Chur, Switzerland and Bern, Switzerland from 1951 to 1953. In 1953 Dr. Menn worked as a research associate to Professor Pierre Lardy at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. While assisting Professor Lardy Menn was able to learn the new theory of pre-stressing. Dr. Menn participated in Lardy’s studies of pre-stressed bridges and for the first time he came in contact with the practice of bridge structures. That was the greatest motivating experience of Dr. Menn’s assistantship (“Billingtion” 2003). In 1956 Dr Menn received his Dr. sc. Techn. Degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (“Christian” 2006). Since his graduation from the Institute he has owned his own engineering company, was a professor of structural engineering at the Institute, and he has been a private consulting engineer. In 1996 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Stuttgart (“Christian” 2006). Dr. Menn used his education to expand and explore new areas of civil engineering. His extensive research and use of pre-stressed concrete and reinforced concrete has changed the way bridges are built to day.

Swiss Tourism

The important role that tourism plays on the country’s economy has an impact on the types of bridges that are to be constructed. When choosing a bridge design, Swiss leaders place the aesthetic characteristics of a bridge higher than a country that is less tourism driven. This need for visually appealing bridges afforded bridge designer Christian Menn with a great opportunity. Christian Menn’s bridges are very visually pleasing. His use of pre-stressed concrete and the implementation of cable-stayed bridge decks give his designs great aesthetic appeal.

References

"Christian Menn." 12 Apr. 2006 <WWW.christian-menn.ch/english/person_e/person_e.htm>.

"Swiss Federal Institute of Technology." 12 Apr. 2006 <http://www.ethz.ch/about/history/index_EN>.

Taylor, Ann C., ed. International Handbook of Universities. 15th ed. Vol. 1. New York, New York: Grove_Dictionaries Inc, 1998. 11 Apr. 2006.

Billingtion, David P. The Art of Structural Design a Swiss Legacy. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Princeton New Jersey: Princeton University Art Museum, 2003. 164-201.

Fynn, Larry. (1997). “An Engineer and His Bridges.” Roads & Bridges, Vol. 35, Issue 11, p41

Bernstein, Fred. (2001). “Designer Quashes A Boston Bridge Party.” New York Times. Aug 9, 2001. F5.