Bridge links
This page contains links to photos and other information about Robert Maillart, Christian Menn, Santiago Calatrava, cable-stayed bridges and other matters discussed in the Real World Economics column published in the St. Paul Pioneer-Press on Thursday, September 20, 2007. There also is information about FIGG Engineering, the designer for the team chosen to replace the collapsed I-35W bridge with links to photos of some of their bridges.
Robert Maillart (1872-1940) was a Swiss civil engineer who made great advances in the design of reinforced concrete bridges. He was one of the first designers to design bridges that used reinforced concrete as a distinct new material rather than as a a substitute for timber, masonry or steel. He also designed and built reinforced concrete buildings, that advanced use of the “mushroom slab” design, but Maillart’s bridges are his lasting legacy.
Photos of Maillart bridges:
Several excellent recent color photographs are at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Salginatobelbrücke
The tourism bureau of Schiers, the closest town to the Salginatobel bridge has much information on the history of the bridge and several good photographs: http://www.schierstourismus.ch/start.htm Click on "World Famous Salginatobel Bridge" in the menu at left.
The ArchInform site has more technical detail and several photos: http://eng.archinform.net/arch/1190.htm?scrwdt=1024 (go to the links under “Projects” after the main entry for information on specific bridges. The entry for Salginatobel includes a current satellite photograph showing the site from directly above.)
Structurae, a German architectural web site (in English) has extensive information and photos of the 40 bridges that Maillart designed or for which he was the structural engineer: http://en.structurae.de/persons/data/index.cfm?id=d000015 (Many of the photos are historic black-and-white ones and are not as large or detailed as those in the Wikimedia commons above, but this is the most comprehensive collection of Maillart bridge photos)
The Internet photo site flickr has 21 recent, high-resolution color photographs of Maillart bridges. These are copyrighted but may be downloaded for non-commercial personal use: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q==Robert%20Maillart
Still another site with many photographs of Maillart’s bridges is at:
http://www.anc-d.fukui-u.ac.jp/~ishikawa/Aloss/page/Maillart_Work.htm
Other information about Maillart:
Encyclopeadia Britannica has authoritative information at http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-72061 (You must be willing to pay or register for a free trial to go beyond a summary page, however.)
Wikipedia has several useful entries for Robert Maillart and his work. As with any Wikipedia entry, not all details are verified.
The University of Leipzig produced an interesting .pdf on an architectural tour of Switzerland including B&W photos of works by Robert Maillart, Christian Menn and Santiago Calatrava among others. http://aspdin.wifa.uni-leipzig.de/institut/lacer/lacer04/l04_02.pdf
For those who can read some French and have some knowledge of structural engineering, this Swiss web site has very extensive engineering details and many photographs. http://www.nbq.ch/daniel/STS/STS.html It also includes a map showing the location of all extant Maillart bridges.
Swiss designer Christian Menn, born in 1927, is often described as having inherited the mantle of Maillart even though Menn was only 13 when Maillart died. Just as Maillart explored the new technology of reinforced concrete and took it to new limits, Menn was a pioneer in applying pre-stressed concrete to bridge design. The first phase of his career concentrated on pre-stressed hollow box beams. In a later period, he mastered cable-stayed technology and achieved some brilliant bridge designs.
Photos and other information for Menn:
Menn’s own website is a good place to start. Click on “Projects” in the menu to the left on the home page to see more photos of the Charles River bridge and others. http://www.christian-menn.ch/
Wikipedia has basic biographical information and several good links. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Menn
The architectural website Structurae has basic information and photos on many Menn bridges. http://en.structurae.de/persons/data/index.cfm?ID=d000025
Ten professional photographs of the Charles River bridge are at http://www.figure-ground.com/travel/image.php?boston/zakim
The art museum of Princeton University organized an exhibition on Swiss bridge builders, including Maillart, Menn. Amman and others. The section on Menn is at http://www.princetonartmuseum.org/Bridges/engineers_7.html with links to sections on several other Swiss engineers.
Santiago Calatrava Valls (born in Valencia, Spain, July 28, 1951) is an internationally recognized and award-winning Spanish architect and structural engineer. He is the one designer listed here who is a famous for his buildings as for his bridges. Calatrava studied both in Spain and Switzerland. His principal office is in Zurich, Switzerland.
Photos and other information for Calatrava:
Calatrava has his own extensive website http://www.calatrava.com/ , It is heavy on graphics and takes a long time to load if you have a slow connection.
The Wikipedia entry is a good starting point for general information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_Calatrava
Purists can find the Encyclopedia Britannica entry at: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9389499/Santiago-Calatrava
An unofficial website devoted to his work is very useful: http://www.calatrava.info/Default.aspx
Southern Methodist University had 11 high-resolution downloadable photos of Calatrava buildings at http://www.smu.edu/newsinfo/releases/m0011photos-b.html
Calatrava gave a series of three lectures at MIT in 2001. Text of the lectures and many graphics are at: http://web.mit.edu/civenv/Calatrava/
Thousands of photographs of Calatrava’s work are at Flickr http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Calatrava&w=all&s=int
Calatrava had been on Charlie Rose’s interview show on PBS five times, May 22, 2002, August 26, 2002, February 2, 2004, August 4, 2005 ,and March 3, 2006. These shows can be viewed on-line. Go to: http://www.charlierose.com/home. Enter the word ‘Calatrava’ into the search box at the top of the page.
Cable-stayed bridges in the United States
A good website with photos and information on all major cable-stayed bridges in the United States at http://www.visi.com/~jweeks/cablestay/index.html
http://www.bridgemeister.com/contributions.php?type=Y&pg=1 has photos of many recent bridges.
Baytown Texas
The Fred Hartman Bridge linking Baytown and LaPorte Texas, near Houston, is much longer than one needed to carry I-35W across the Mississippi river. However, it frequently is cited as an attractive cable-stayed bridge.
Savannah Georgia
The Eugene Talmadge Bridge in Savannah, Georgia, also is longer than needed as an I-35W replacement but is an example of one of the first generation of cable-stayed bridges built in the United States.
http://www.dot.state.ga.us/dot/plan-prog/intermodal/Waterways/savannah.shtml
http://www.georgia.gov/00/photo_article/0,2091,4802_16275208_21506985_13713530,00.html
On September 19, 2007, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced that a team including Figg Engineering had been chosen to replace the I-35W bridge. Based in Tallahassee, Florida, Figg has designed notable pre-stressed concrete box bean bridges and innovative cable-stayed bridges. Their web site is at http://www.figgbridge.com/non_flash_index.html . Click on the “Bridge Gallery” tab for photos of some of their best known bridges.
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge across Tampa Bay, completed in 1987, is one of the best-known of the first generation of cable-stayed bridges built in the United States.
The Structurae web site at http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0000263 has extensive technical information, bibliography, and links to many photos of the bridge.
The Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_Skyway_Bridge contains additional information and a gallery of photographs.
The Clark Bridge across the Mississippi at Alton Illinois was the subject of a PBS Nova documentary, Superbridge, in 1997. Good sites with many photos are:
The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Bridge is described at:
The Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge, completed in 1994 near Franklin, Tennessee, is perhaps Figg’s most famous bridge. It is not a cable-stayed bridge but was pioneering in its use of pre-cast concrete segments. It has won many design awards