Bridge-builder Christian Menn dies

They span over the river Aare in Felsenau, Bern; the Biaschina gorge and the Landquart near Klosters: the bridges of Christian Menn, whose name is known to industry experts the world over, characterise the Swiss landscape. The ETH emeritus professor designed and built over 100 bridges in Switzerland.

Spanning history

Christian Menn, born in 1927, graduated at ETH Zurich in 1956. He set up his own engineering company in Chur in 1957 and completed his first project, the Crestawald Bridge by the Sufnersee reservoir, in 1959. This was the era when Switzerland¡¯s first motorways were built. Bridges became higher and had a larger span thanks to the prestressing technique. Yet Menn¡¯s structures remained low-key: they are striking in terms of how they blend into the landscape and are reduced to the bare essentials.

Christian Menn was appointed Professor of Structural Engineering and Design at ETH Zurich in 1971. Some of the bridges created during this time include the impressive Ganter Bridge at the foot of the Simplon Pass (1980) and the majestic Biaschina Viaduct in Giornico (1982). Menn was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Stuttgart in 1996. In the presentation speech, he was described as ¡°the most creative and artistic bridge designer of our times¡±.

In 1999, seven years after his retirement in 1992, his most famous project was completed: the award-winning Sunniberg Bridge near Klosters. Prince Charles was among those who attended the inauguration ceremony in 2005. Throughout this period and the subsequent years, Menn served as an expert and consultant in Switzerland and abroad, as well as in the USA, where he designed the 10-lane Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, which opened in 2003.

The perfectionist

During an interview with Radio SRF in 2014, he revealed that his dream as a student had always been to build bridges. He lived out this dream for more than 40 years with over 100 structures, yet he was never fully satisfied with his work. ¡°I never thought, ¡®this is a perfect bridge¡¯; there was always something new to learn.¡± One of his final designs was the Grimselsee Bridge for the Oberhasli power station. Christian Menn passed away on Monday at the age of 91.