Christian Menn
Encyclopedia
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
designer from Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He owned his own Engineering Company in Chur
Chur
Chur or Coire is the capital of the Swiss canton of Graubünden and lies in the northern part of the canton.-History:The name "chur" derives perhaps from the Celtic kora or koria, meaning "tribe", or from the Latin curia....
, Switzerland from 1957-1971. From 1971 until his retirement in 1992 he became a professor of Structural Engineering
Structural engineering
Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....
at ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
specializing in Bridge design. In his retirement years, he continues to be a consulting engineer in private practice.
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 Professor Pierre Lardy during the beginning of his career. Together, Menn and Lardy emphasized the design of structures based on aestheticsAesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
and economy. Menn believed that economy, serviceability and safety of the bridge would revolve around aesthetics. Menn stated that an engineer achieves safety and serviceability by understanding the underlying scientific principles. Also, that economy and elegance are achieved through nonscientific ideas. Meaning the engineer depends entirely on his creativity. 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.
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 EngineeringInternational Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering
The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering is a non-profit organisation with mission to promote the exchange of knowledge and to advance the practice of structural engineering worldwide in the service of the profession and society, taking into consideration technical,...
(IABSE), Swiss Code-Committee for Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Structures, and the ETH research committee.