Art of structural engineering schlaich

Art of structural engineering schlaich

Bealae CC 1z Acknowledgements 4 Backaround

‘The idea of writings boviesuch as this test o6eoyfedl to me

during a period of sabbatical leave in fate 1984 which in

‘cluded visits to a large number of internationally recognized

structural engineers and architects, org Schlaich’striend-

liness, his infectious enthusiasm, and his frank discussion

‘of the challenges and diticulties of structural design con

vineed me that he would make an ideal subject fora study

that would comvay the fascination of structural angineering

to engineers and architects as well as to non-specialist, stu-

‘ents, and young engineers alike His ideas are innovative,

he utilizes advanced technology, and he takes keer interest

in the aesthetic quality of his structures These factors and

his commitment to lightness and transparency ave his work

2 special character Amongst his cther achievements he has

‘made an artform of the design of footbridges:a felt in

Wich the individual engineer can achieve a high degree of

‘dividual control ver form and detail, He nas also pub:

lished much easily accessible materia (in English as well as

German) and this greatly facilitates the study of his ideas,

‘The production f the book was to havea rather lengthy and

‘complex history Having conceived the idea in 1984, | was,

‘obliged to sheve it forthe ime being as | was-committes

to start solid wark on my previous volume, Aesthetics of but

form, However in late 1987 | took the opportunity of a further

‘period of sabbatical lave to conduct more discussions

with Professor Schisich an in 1990 | approached potenti

‘publishers and applied for funding for further investigations

trom the Australian Fesearch Grants Commission On hear:

ing that this application had been successful | finally in-

formed Professor Schiaich of my plans eary in 1991, only

to learn that Axel Merges had in the meantime approached

him witha similar proposal On Menges's behat, Rasemarie

‘Wagner had already assembled a great deal of information

concerning the history and technical details of the Schlaich

Bergermann projects (information that forms the backbone

‘of Chapters 3 to 11) and had placed iti the contest of inten-

‘ive studies ofthe history and nature of the various structus

ral types concerned (towers, shells etc) Dr Wagner kindly

‘agreed that | should collaborate in a joint verre but as

work progressed, because | was keen to include more per-

‘sonal material concerning Schlaich’s background and his

philosophy of design a gradual hand-over occurred | added

(Chapters 1.2, and 12 and recast Chapters 3 tot, largely

‘omitting the more general material and reducing the techni

‘cal content, thus permitting more emphasis on Scnaich’s

personal contribution,

‘The aim of the book in its final form is to convay an impres-

sion of the art of structural engineering through an account

of the ideas and projects of one of its leading exponents

The word “art” is used advisedly Although decision-making

In technology 's dominated by the laws of nature, an by

‘economic and practical realities, the indidual designer

enjoys much greater freedom of choice than is generally

recognized, Asa result, decisions are influenced by the per:

sonality of the individual engineer and by ts or her attitude to.a wide range of technical and non-technical issues

‘Such an approach presents soine problems forthe author and evan more for his subject Structures are designed and erected by closely integrated teams of engiosers drawing (on the expertise of many specialists, Naturally, some at these stand out as leaders ithe concestion, initiation, and section of a project butt is dificult o isolate the precise Contribution of any one member of the team | have there- fore tried ta sirike a balance between my desire to highlight the work and ideas of an individual and my obligation to ac knowledge the impartance af Schlaich's collaboration wth his partners Rudolt Bergermann, Hans Schober and Andreas ell, with close colleagues in the university, mainly Knut

‘Gabriel Kurt Schafer, and Kar Heinz Reinack, and with Broject engineers inthe design office, Many of these nave remained as @ team since they engineered the roats forthe Munich Olympic Stadiums between 1968 and 1971,

In trying to discover ways in which Schiaien’s personaly intellectual background, and resgonse fo his curtent work environment have influenced the nature of fis solutions to, esign problems, | make no claim to be psychologist biog raphe ot historian Although some evaluation of Schiaich’s structures has been included (mainly n terms of aesthetica) this has not been one af my primary aims, partly bacause

of the complenty of theart af structural engineering as n-

‘icated by the range of opinion amongst eminent engineers

An impressive aspect af the Schlaich Bergermann oeuvre

Is ts proific nature - there are @ multitude of projects cover Inga wide range of elds tis impossible to give adequate coverage to allo these Mary of them -such as the Munich Olympic Roots, te Hacghly Bridge in Calcutta, or the solar Lupdratt power station at Manzanares - ment atleast one

‘book in themselves The sami could be said ot the continu ing esearch carried out under Schiaien’steadership, and with his direct ievolvement in the Institute for Conceptual

‘and Structural Design at the Linvversity of Stuttgart The German custom of appointing successful practitioners to teach and research in universities ensures a very trttul Interaction between all aspects of their work AS 3 result

this study can provide onlya glimpse of the technical com- pletty øf form, af innovative practical deta, of structural analysis and design of learned research, and ofthe ail [Bence and sheer volume of effort that has gone into the design of the structures listed

Meibourne, Summer 1995 Alan Holgate

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‘The Australian Research Grants Commission, which oro vied funds far my thesesweek visit to Stuttgart in 1991 Rosemarie Wagner, wo fully documented the tecnicel details and development of the individual projects and prepared a draft on which the technical content of Chapters 310i sbased,

se Guy, Protessor Schlaich’s secretary at the university who translated Dr Wagner's highly technital draft into English, Margot Zalbeygi, Professor Schiaich’s secretary inthe consulting practise, who searched the atfice archives for

‘material suitable or inclusion inthe book Markus Johnsdorfer who assembled sultable material from sources including the side colletion and lists of projects and publications

Sibylle Schlaich, who was responsibie for the final choice

of illustrative matersal and the creative graphic design of this book

‘Avel Menges, wo provided advice and encouragement toll concerned throughout the gestation of the book Jorg Sehlaich, wno during many interviews answered

‘my questions and explained complex technical matters

with great patience He also checknd the basic historical facts and the aceurscy of my technical explanations

AM

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1 An Introduction

Before considering Jorg Schlaich's career in detail sts ap-

propriate to introduce him by looking at come of the ideals

sshich inspite his work and at certain asnects of his personal

‘background which may nav» contnibuted to their formation,

ss these ideals which place hmm amongst the leaders of his

profession and give his work avery special character,

Amongst Schlaich’s foremost concerns are the quplty of the |

“aaturol aed ĐuI envionment nd the terest of the ls

owertul members of saroty at home and overseas The

latter are expressed in his drive to find cheap and renewable

Sources of energy, ane his special interest in the Tod World

Asa structural engineer, he strives constantly toumprowe the

general quality of design in both the technical ang aesthetic

sense, and to enhance the philosophical and social values

varich guide engiovers and areivtncts He argues in particular

for 8 more adventurous, lass conservative appa to pro:

Jects, He does not shrink rom conflict in propagating and

eterding his ideals an the decisions and arguments which

tow troen ther,

Ina paper published m the proeoedings of the Intemational

Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (ABSE)

1990 Schiaich wrote: “The only answer tothe geeatest threat

in the history of mankind - the population explosion with un

ignites poverty in orge areas of the world and, aa result

of that climatic and enwrcnmental catastrophes all oer the

‘world isa clean, safe source af energy avilable i suit

cient quantity forall of mankind (t would be both léchntcally

feasitie and atlordable, anda fraction of the earth's desert

reas would be enough to atin fram solar radiation the

amount of energy needed to avert these catastrophes

su) lthos to ee satd that unparalleled material and polit

coletort willbe needed to gradually bring about sols"

‘economy To face up to this challange and to demand this

fort of society can be said to be a matter of paramount palit-

veal urgency”?

Wirting in 1983 about his expernmenta solar power station

‘at Manzanares (Chapter 18) he stated “At present it simply

too early ta make a wellounded statement about the eco

nomic raspects of using renewable sources in general or of

solar chimneys in particular Nether the naivete ef the rn

‘onmentalsts nor the occasional arrogance of the ‘Maga-

‘watt Clan is suticiently capable of hendling the greatest

challenge in the history of marking We owe to the Th

World with sts crying need for energy even today, to develop

energy sources that they can afford”?

In an editorial forthe journal Oe Bautechnik he asks Row the

western world can remain presccupied by its quest forever

more efficient production, depriving the Thi World ofits

only capital = isbour = and contributing further to the

\wovous spiral of increasing population, increasing eneray

Use, ond increasing destruction of natural resources,”

‘ang cable structures and eesulted in # qumber of promising prototypes tor the production of electrical energy: the Mars zanares power station und the refined versians of spherical mirror solar collectors (Chapter tt) To further propagate these ideas he produced an attractive book, with hus dough ter Sityte as graphic designar, entitled Einouenbate Energie utzon ~"Use Renewable Evergy Sources!”

Schinich sees its tne public duty of designers to create

‘an aesthetic environment and ensure a eminimutn vel

of “honesty” and rationality in structural form, n a furthar paper in the IABSE jours) he states that "the engineee’s

"nvssion in the name of society and culture [i] to build well

ng to build beautifully” and elsewhere, noting that we are all obliged to ewe with buildings, and thinking pertievarly

of bres, he writes: “Ugly structures can destray the envi ronment and make people sick, They also contribute to ha: tred of technolagy We [enginenrs] eannot push this prot lem off onto the architets, oe lave them alone with it, eepe- cially 5 many structures are designed only by engineers

‘oul his thoughts in writing, but so far is net greatly satstied lth his aeruevements in tis eae,”

‘The forcefuiness of Schlaich’s feelings on these matters

‘has much todo with a heightened oesthetc sensibly

“Foatbridges have a vory strong ote an the built environ ent of cities Unfortunately i is al too often negative

‘This is attested by countless bad examples: (their members) clumsily, Insensitively designed "sticks with ugly tights of Staws, prandiose ramps, dlipzing and muddy prefabricated Joints, heavy landings and in ease of doubt, furnished wit balconies and candelnbras and arcorated with greenery, {a fact, these smail bridges demane, fom thos who design

In earnest much dilgence ard trouble Ths is particulary

‘2 when ramps forthe handicapped, necessarily long, must bbe inserted in confined conditons, and the whole lignted, rained, and proofed against corrosion from the salt uses to ramove ice To be sute there ate no general rules tor thơ goluc lion of these complex design problems When one realizes, however that foctbridges are much closer to us than other types of bridges that we can touch them, and that they trou- bio us whan they ate big and heayy, then it becomes clese thot they must possess human scale everall ad in deta,

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‘and theretore must be delicate, slender, and filigree Thee:

‘ore, itis necessaty to avoid direct bending and to dissolve

[soli] beams into trussed girders, arches, or systems of

‘cables, No particular type of structure should be given prec:

fedence, because diversity and change are indispensable

‘megs to Beautiful form Uniformity is boring”*

Noting that for muich of their length many bridges and via-

‘ducts pass low above the ground he insists that they be made

Jess alienating, "We come into physical contact with them

and are concerned it they are clumsy and heavy The lower

‘they are over 3 valley, an allotment; footpaths or roofs, so the

lighter, more igre, and transparent must we build them,

‘and we must give them human dimensions"

Elsewnere, he condemns the uniformity a aftan “inhuman

scale” of major bridge construction: “paralie-sided hotlow

bax girders ll identical, as if they came from the same

mould” in total disregard of the shape and size ofthe valleys

which they eross He contrasts much modern bridge con-

struction with the "beautiful and proud” bridges built the

start of the 150:year history of the German railways”

‘Schiaich insists that structures shauld be adapted both tech-

‘ically and aesthetically to their erviranmental setting In

‘one instance he opposed « proposal to run a road bridge at

2 highly skewed angle across a river just outside the old town

‘of Ingolstadton the grounds that ths technical tour-đedorce

diminished the significance ofthe river He felt that the ap:

proach roads should be curved to allow a shorterspan bridge

{to make a more direct crossing, thus making obvious recog-

nition of the existence of the river As a result of his opposi-

tion the bridge was not built n contrast, Schiaich’'s own

structures, wherever possible, are seltettacing both i the

‘visual sense, and in being relatively easy to remove or recy

cle He commented ina recent lecture: "i you see a bridge

‘that you cannot see t must be one of ours!” On anther

‘occasion he sai that f there were no longer a need far one

‘of his bridges, he would be happy that it could be easily and

cheaply dismantled leaving the ste tre to return to nature

‘or become available fora young designer to stat anew,

Its possible to lik Schiaich’s enthusiasms ard many of his

persanal qualities with his Swabian background Stuttgart,

‘the capital of the madern state of Baden-Wurttemberg, es

In the old duchy of Swabia (Schwaben), Regional loyalties are

Still strong in Germany and many people see themselves as,

{or example, Saxons or Bavarians frst and Germans second

Inevitably exch group has its caricature image These cannot

De taken too Seriously, but they are worth mantioning,

especially a5 they have some currency amongst Germans

themselves Schiaich points out that Swabians are known a

"he German Scots” and adds that they have a serious, and

‘somewhat gloomy temperament exemplified by the works

‘of Schiller and Hegel The commentator Hans Bayer, in his humorous Deutschland deine Schwaben characterizes his fellows as deliberate, slow, obstinste and reserved, but also Prudent, frugal, tenacious, hard-working, and energetic

Schiaich’s upbringing was strongly influenced by religious ideals His father was a minister and principal ot a large

‘churehowned nospital for the mentally disturbed and one

of his becthers was his successor Asa boy Jorg spent long, periods inthe country to escape the continuous air-raids

‘of World War 2, lodge in the household ofa Petit farmer PieUem developed inthe late 17th century asa first cousin

of English Puritanism and its outlook accords in mary ways with the Swabian, particularly ints resentment of authority figures who claim a respect they have not earned, and in

a Sens ot mission to right wrongs.” Schiaich recalls that his father wno rectivad much support in his work from the Petist community often took up public causes and that, tong he had made up his mind that something needed to

be done, there was no stopping him until the matter had been resolve (These crusades tended to “turn the house-

od upside down")

‘it could be Said that there isan element of puritans in most enginears: a desira to serve others: a tendency to tind

‘guet joy in achievement through hard work: and & suspicion

of estentation and superficiality: Schlaich's family back- round undoubtedly accentuates this Like mary noted esignérs he has a strong sense of what s appropriate in structure -a conviction that the laws of nature point the designer in certain directions and that itis wrong to diverge

‘rom these willy “The engineer has inthe ever present pressure for economy a strict but good master This leads to efficient structures in whieh all that is unnecessary has been discarded." The weight of @ structure and the loads applied tot should be carried to the ground by the most direct paths consistent withthe structure's function as an encloser of

‘space or a provider ot pathway Cicuitous and distorted load paths are justified only by the most pressing functional needs

‘Such principes ar closely related to the concept of “hơn,

‘sty in structural design Shlaich feels that structural {forms which act mainly in direct tension or compression, with a minimum of bending, ae particularly honest, These include shels tents and cable nets in extolling the virtues of the shell he wrote: The shell isthe most honest of [concrete]

structures [it] ends itself less than any other structure to attempts to hide inadequate design under camoutiage or cladding”

13

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"sen, be innovate!” However he hopes this wid aot co age young people feam entenng the profession, and sug

‘gest there are other approaches besides his own: "A Saxon might se things diferent” In describing the opening of the Max-Eyth-See footbnge mn Stuttgart (Chanter 9) he

‘antes of the joy of building, Freude am Gebauten Ali volved [inthe creation] of ths Bridge, whether they were re- sponsible for it through the City of Stuttgart, or plannad anc

‘lt it are happy that their bridge is successtul ana beaut- fol and matt has met wath much appreval from the popdla- tion It wes opened offically with a four-day celebration with

a church service, speeches, musi performances, lectures

on bridge building, and a great deal of fun Few use it without

‘thought, most look carefully at st and taka an interest ts construction, Let us hope that this will bereft the standing

of the profession of the structural enginear and its appeal te creative young people”

For him, the most rewarding moment in te fe of a project

is when, after months or yoars of creative eiort, of exarin~

ing ond sitting dees, of analyzing, of moking dificult choices between alternatives of sroducing drawings and specitca- tions, construction finally starts He speaks enthustast-cally (of matching the deck of tha Hooghly River brige gradually reactung out across the nver (Chapter 8) ard of seeing the

“eable net root of hs skating rink in Munich eising into posi

‘ton (Chapter 6) Finally atter months or even years oF con rocton, tough the elforts of many collaborators, anew Structure: something solid, useful, and reasonably lasting, has been brought into being

Alongside the more sober characteristics of the Schlaich household there existed a lively interest inthe ats, Fora lon {une the tfarnly regularly played music togetner on Sundeys, the father being a competent pianist, and all ve children instrumentalists Jorg played the violin He was able to mane tain his skills throughout his student days and still makes

time occasionally to play quartets witha group of old fiends from that pened, is mother had » special interest in art and collected Bauhaus furniture and hausehald ware, Hs sister Brigitte developed similar interests and has since then tad

a contiouing influsnce on his aesthetic thinking, She studied architecture at tha University of Stuttgart and then atthe inois Institute of Technology where the architecture schoo!

was heeded by Mies van der Rohe, one of the founding fatherc” of the Modern Movarnent in architecture Wnila

in America she met and married Walthar Peternans, the photographer of the Saunaus School and became Brigitte

ry

Schisich-Feterhans, She worked in Chicago unl recently for the famous Americen firm of Skidmore Owings ana Mer

rl, bullding 2 solid reputation as a practising architect,

ts quite easy to $08 in Schiaich’s work, particularly in his acceptance that aesthetic consiserations are an integral part of engineering design, a tradition which goes back tothe Deutscher Werktund movement and the Bauhaus.””

He eeacly grees ith this analyals, and suggests that nis esthetic sense includes a practical comaonent which stems from his mother, and an abstract component (elates to rousizality) which ne ames to hs fate,

{n conelusionit should be noted that Schlsich’s sense of mission, his sdventurousness, his appreciation of the joy

of building, and nis aesthetic sonsitnity must be balanced

‘against an engineer’ heavy responsiniit tor satty and leconcns Sonne engineers find ths burden so great that they abandon hope of achieving major innovations, of designing unconventional structures, or even of allowona, aesthetic considerations to influence thair designs Its

‘Schlaic's particular response to this chatlenge that has placed him high amongst the leaders in hs eld and earned worlđowsđe respect rom fellow engineers

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`

£4 Sehinics “Hom much desert does a car need?

“The eave lot more ater tesearch into me

Liization ot solar energy’, ABSEPeexica, 2/1990,

Proceeang P344/20.p 58 See ala Suture

‘neering trata, 1993 and 23993

2 | senjach “Sst chieeys: the pine

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Parodie 3/183 MBSE Sactures, 26/83 p58

See alsa.) Schlach, W Haat and H Lavtnschiagr:

“Das Autwnceattnars Maranares-Zusamene

tassung der bisnergen Egeonisse Stas Fer

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4 senimen:edtorial, 0e Badechra E2,

wen 5992

* Senin interest inthe nderdvloond and

cert regions oft word hay beợn apie and

‘eonorsea by a rumoer ot aentravs eze2fors

[student n 1955 ne traveled eaters 0

the Midale Cat Later he made «2000 km round

{nip throug te Sahara Geert wth his wif ad ta

242 00800 3 toute dre yes an in

{gp cornpleied an oraed journey Bị car “wih

the same crow frm Stuttgart o Calcutta te nspict

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‘eran, rain, Neal Cina (Oe Sih Rows, Pakistan

(faraorum Migway) and Aa alaays turing the

less populated areas

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iabetAm Suuctưni Enạoseore: rvetvaiEm

‘neon international AGG! Fe 1991), 9-35

4 sehimen: “Zar Gestaltung de ngeniurbauten

der Die Bautunst nt ute” Der Bauingenar,

514985, áo

qualities tis with” .ch men rch die Set ver GE Lessing Der Hazensent erauet cht

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MANG J Sena “Zur Gestaltung Set Ingen

bute oder Oe Bauhurst it unten De Ba

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‘oder De Bavturst tunes De Boingo,

x

yy ayer Chad tl:Devtshland dine

Schwaten Deurene BuệhGemeesenaf,Beim,

1967 (Se# Mẹo he Pedend.m1 ve trhanenRoảm,

Hgfmannund Camee rafborg 1672)

12 The Pais movement arose reaction tthe complacency of tbe Lutheran chute of theate 17th Century The churen was fe fo Mave est ts

‘etormng zal ad fo have accomredate too we {the iterasts of te lca prices, whe were apg

hạ Pedsnm and polities absolut ef Vranas

“Phengh tạ Wufernberg variety ot Petey w tes ately oldies than Pantani, ies trom the Prussian version by a stvong antag em, toihis ranoranon (See gM Falbreok: Py

‘ndPoltce Reipor andthe tie satin n Eg land, Wrtefergamở Puasa, Camar đạt Unervhy Pras, Cambriage 1983) The mam efor form came rar tom rang cars ar lay Beope AS Eondtionsstabized i the toning cent, the

‘movement tok eee interes political mates an ecame more concerned wth Bea Sut ad © cabin To quota Patig’s summary Paar dered fandamentaly trom orthedony nts soeat concer for tele castes, which exressd set foro mpl nn atatienmert of cartier tieng a2 commitment e popular ecation

ng te uae he vernacular in chur ad School” (WE Pei Lisa annem Germany Surin tn tira oh 10 Conty, Par Lang New Yrs, 1986 28)

43 Spenen on acceptance of the Ft Senumacher Pras Hanover & Deconber 192

`1 S:hiach: "Lee ưa agro’, Anal

‘Pigta Tehoig tu tent tes Para Pa (iques.Ne 47 De 19B3,p á-43 Sehiaich tat noted in comrsation hat mạc pemans “versus [Ras bit to place ne sel anaod of arenes, mer

‘rare and abl ete ti oar

© 4 Sehaieh and E: Schur: “FuBganaerhanae

‘ruck uber don Neckar be Staten” Beto ut

‘Stanbatonea, 88/1990, He 198 Sen eg Fitton aaunavs Thames and Hut son, London, 3984 ara L Burenharat oa) The Weer: story apd esingy 1907-1939 American

‘eon Barrons, New Vth 1380,

°8 ina paper with Profesor Ft Leonhardt concarn ing te detign of pan teevon tomers he writes

“Hts constant change forte structural engineer strive a ign balance beta 3 rescinas o {te nah fo genie aeosorse sigh ont Soe

‘han an [assrant fhe ecessay aaety onthe

‘ther Sehiaich apd F Leotard “Zur woman

‘or Entwehlung der Fernelturme ner unde Fepuble Deutseniona tract des dfrueFen Fe Tmeliesesen 193

15

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2 Formation and Career

Dyrighte‹

(ram Fre Ote's book)

2 formation and Career’ Tạ

Jong Senaich was born n 1934 in Stetter/Rernsta, a vilage seventeen hilometres tothe east of Stuttgart, where he com:

imenced hs primaty schooling This continued when the fam ily moved to Heron, but life was extremely hard owing to the war Added to the constant danger and shortages at food

‘and fuel was the distress caused by uncertainty about the wheresbouts of his father Because of random bombing raids

‘on Heilbronn, the small group was obliged tole fora year

‘entirely inthe cellar On 4th December 1944, the town was attacked by a formation ot 500 bombers while the Schiaichs and their hosts sheltered io the cellar Within haan hour the town had been reduced ta rubble above their heads; leaving some ten thousand eiihan casual

Times were still hard after the war, but the family was re- United and returned to Stetten where Jorg progressed to the

‘Oberschule At that time German high scnoals finished the

<day at 2.00 pm and pupils were expected to continue their studies at home fr the rest at the day The young Schlaich preferred to play football or build cubby houses inthe local forest To counteract this tendency, his father sent him to work several afternoons a week in joiners shop He gradu ally came ta enjoy the work and is naw grateful for his father’s intiatve Having passed his schoo! leaving examina:

tion, the Abit, re worked ftom March to October 1953 full time atthe joinery to oass the final trade examination (the Gesellenpratung) and become fully accredited as a joiner The experience gave him a lasting respect forthe sls and opin ons o tradespeople and enabled him to tee at ease later in his career in talking with construction workers The exact nature of the joiner’ task proved a usetl training for his pro fessional work while the practica skills acquired enabled him

to build scale models to assist inthe planning and design of engineering projects”

Schilaic’s tertiary education began in October 1953 at what was then the Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart The frst step on the academic ladder was the two:year Vordiplom Like many young people with an interest in construction, he found it atficult to choose between engineering and architec:

ture The former atfered rigour and practicality: the latter an

‘outlet for artistic aspirations He resolve the prablem by

‘enrolling formally as an engineering student, but attending Cconeurrant lecture courses in architecture A slight problem

‘was thatthe englneering school was then in the centre of

‘Stuttgart, while the architecture school was situated on the Steep hill next to the famous Weissenhotsiedlung, For twa years he cycled back and forth between the two, trying to reconcile conlicting timetables It proved possible to cover ail of the subjects required forthe Vordipiom in architecture

‘except those that had cirect equivalents in the engineering course, Schaich thus gained 2 training in visual perception

4, Mentors, Colleagues, Friends

Sketching, and basic architectural design (Student projects Included an office building and an exhibition centre) His teachers inthe architecture schoo! a the time included Hans Kammerer, with whom he was later to work as an engineer

He remembers that his visits tothe architecture school helped him tolerate “th rather annoying maths and statics lectures" of his engineering course

‘During this time Fis sister fostered his interest with gts of Inspiring books concerning structural engineers wha were recognized as “honorary architects” because of their innova

te approach and their mastery of aesthetic form, These Included Max BỊ book on Robert Maillart (2.1), and Juegen | -oedicke's hook on Piet Luigi Nerv Another major influence

‘was Frei Otto's book on lightweight suspended roots: Das Hangende Dach (2.2) Schiaich discovered 2 copy in a book shop in Ankara where he had gone to obtain site experience uring one af nis summer vacations He bought the Book nth his few remaining Turkish lira and carried t with him en

2 journey by bus, camel, donkey and boat through Syria, Le- bbanon, and Egypt At the end of this voyage he kriew it by heart

In October 1965, having obtained his Vordisiom, Schlaicn

‘moved to Berlin to complete the rest of his studies (the Ol plom itself at the Technische Universitat, He was attracted to the Berlin schoo! by the reputation ofits professors for

‘expertise in the complex mathematica analysis of thin con crete shell structures.” A further incentive was the avalabllty

of @ one-year “exchange scholarship” providing tuition fees

‘and a spend, to encourage students from the rest of what

\was then West Germany to maintain contact withthe island state surrounded by the communist East In additin, the Berlin institution was unusual in requiring its engineering students to study subjects inthe humanities Schlaich opted tor History, Philosophy, and English Literatuee and was thus able to maintain nis wider interests *

Bein provided a vibrant intellectual and cultural environ:

ment at the end of the 1350s Brecht was in his heyday, and access tothe theatre for opera andl drama was cheap and readily obtainable Karajan, Felsenstein, and many others wore part of the cultural scene Schiaich remembers night:

Jong queuing for tickets and many lengthy discussions with fellow students on politics, ohilosopty, literature and music which continued unti the early hours Klaus-lurgen Schneider Now a ptotessor at Minden became one of his best friends,

25 did Frta Bacher who came a year later from Stuttgart and snow in his design office Together, they formed the core ot tne student Chnstian chow Bacher and Scniaich, playing re spectively cello and violin, were members of the very compe:

tent orchestra ofthe Free Unversity at Berlin-Dahlem which was conducted by Forster

‘The Schoo! at Berlin-Chariottenterg had a highly theoreticat bias, This contrasted with the Stuttgart approach, inspired by

the great Morsch, which was practical and pragmatic

Schiaich’s decision to go to Bevin rather than remain at

Stuttgart to complete is diploma is thus indicative of his

‘pproach to engineering It was at this time, also, that he

began to meet some of the leading figures in the world of

engineering who were to influence his outlook either as

ments or as inspirational figures

His professor of concrete structures at Berlin was Werner

Koepcke, whose predecessor had been Franz Dischinger, the

bloneer theorist andl designer ithe fel of thin shell struc

tures The approach was strictly mathematical: “Koepcke

teally made you study eighth-ordereiferential equations”

These being pre-computer days even third- and fourth-or

“đ;6'S” struck teror inthe hearts of student engineers

Practising engineers generally manage to avoid them al

together However, Schiaich saw the course as a challenge

The magic of the word “shel” was enhanced and has re

mained with him eer since,

To support himselt and gain practical experience, Schlaicn

obtained a postion as Hilfsastistent to Kaepeke for 25 hours

per week atthe rate of 2 DM per hour One of his tasks was

topertorm routine calculations for @ doctoral thesis, cranking

the mechanical calculators then in use Also assisting

Koepcke, by calculating influence lines tor cylindrical she

for his thesis, was Klaus Wolfgang Bieger the Oberingenieur

Or second in charge ofthe Institut, Bieger later became Pro-

fessor at Hannover and he and Schlaich have Kept in contact

singe that time

Koeocke was Prutingenieur for mary important structures

‘nll ields, checking the methods and calculations of design

‘engineers and certifying that their structures were safe He

made 2 point of inviting his assistants to accompany him

‘on site visits to observe the construction of these projects

‘Amongst the many important projects that went through

Koepche's atic at that time were the famous Oywidag sea

‘age tanks and the Berlin Congress Hall (Chapter a) Twenty

fie years lator the toot of the Congress Hall was to collapse,

and Schlaich was to be appointed chie investigator, embrai

ing him ina great deat of contct =

A teacher of great importance to Schiaich was Alte Teich:

mann, who taught Theory of Structures (Statik ram a funda

mental standpoint, using the deductive approach to proceed

‘rom the general tothe specific Seniich s convinced that

the reverse, inductive approach which is perhaps more com:

‘mon results in a fragmentation of knowiedge into small pack:

‘ages, ech one appropriate toa limited range of practical sit

uations The fundamental aparaach, reinforced by the ideas

of Karl Popper, became part of his general philosophy ot en

sineering Amangst other teachers, Schisich remembers in

particular Konrad Sattler, famous for steelconcrete compos-

ite structures, and “an Austrian Mozerttan”

While in Bertin, Schlaich was able to visit Frei Otto forthe fiat time, and thus commence what was to become an i portant, but tempestuous relationship In Stetten during the summer vacation of 1985 his sister introduced nim to the renowned Chicago architect Myron Goldsmith wha in turn tok him te meat Frite Leonhardt, an outstanding igure

In German structural engineering who had recently been ap- pointed professor of concrete structures (Massivsau) atthe University of Stuttgart and then to vist the construction site of Leonhardt’ pioneering communications tower on the hulls above Stuttgart (2.3 and Chapter 3)

af the approach, ne loaks back on this laboratory work as sold training Altera short time, hawever, he received word thata concurrent application to study in the United States had been successful and he had been awarded a Fulbright scholarshyp His elder sister and elder brother had earlier received Fulbright scholarships in architecture and theology respectively, and their reports encouraged Jorg to take the

‘opportunity to trav

Schiaich theretore ett to study tor a Master's degree at ine Case institute of Technology in Cleveland Ater his areal, he Invited hs future wite Eve, whom he had hoa since 1955 to [ain him, and in April 1960 their first son Michael (Mike) was born there, The course at Cleveiang included lectures from Lucien Schmiat who taught eartain approaches to structural analyse which Sehisich nag not met in Belin * This allowed

bi te reinforce his understanding and shls in mathematics

‘and structures n turn, he gave lectures to undergraduates, sing the German Betonkatender as a text book of design in

‘reinforced concrete Despite teaching and research commit

‘ments ne found time to make an eight-week tip by car tothe West Coast and Mexica, He relates, almost incidentally, that

he also completed an “experimental, though silly" MSE thesis

‘on reinforced concrete footings, He submitted this shortly

‘before leaving the country in October 1960, naving been

‘asked by Leonharat to return to Germany to take acvantage

‘of a scholarship which was available forthe period Novernber

1960 to April 1961 Although ne felt there were shortcomings

in the education system in the USA Schiaich’s overall im pression was that “the country and the people were superb”

at the Otto-Grat-nattu, he frst met Rane Walther wha was

9

‘The prestrain ables

of Leonhandt' Stuttgart tomer foundation 1955)

hted ma rial

Sb tests: Dicassing the reels

Arnall Faretnar rom) 98%

such asthe winning design forthe replacemte lamsburg Bridge in New York (Chapter 8) chalet in Switzerland and mest a often as possiie “trying

to solve the Burning problems oft is planet whilst sking or

rete members and industri

vas able to explain future pro

work: Knowledge which

Signs: a conventional apartment Block which i still one of the largest an hị 8

in Stuttgart (the Fasanenhat)

nd ulaing withthe renowned Hans Scharoun as atc

thesis i the evenings Wher

confit une Andra (27)

Bauer asked him t postion in the firm, but he decided instead nwt his

With this move, his profesional career began in earnest Further details wll emerge during the description of the

indwidual projects, but a brief chronological overview is

ing suspeniied str (Chagter 10) Then, with

the Hamiourg television tower the fist large project in nich he had the opportunity to develop under Leonhardt’s

‘extremely competent” supervision and guidance, his own ideas, For this project he was a

understendin essinshslk; having agar to the:need or highiyafltaot uction metneds (Chapter 3) In 1966 Leo c rerously sent Schlaich to a Symposium in Leningrad orga

Structures Since that time he

of the IAS whic

International association” He was able

185 Deen an enthusiastic

rating though small

yet s large rurnber of leading figures in the world innovative structural engimeering and many have remained

4 Colleagues, Friends

personal friends and mentors, They included Yoshikatsu Tutiol, Mamoru Kawaguchi (2.8), Heinz Isler (2.9), Anton Tedesho (122) Alex Scordelis, and Herrmann Rule in 1967 Leonhardt suggested that Schiaich take over a weekly lecture

ourse on concrete slabs and shells atthe University of Stutt

As a practitioner in the Leonhardt und Andra partnership Schiaich continued to work on concrete

towers including the second St

tgatt tomer ("sir to

ior”), resting pretabrication”), and

Hambueg but wth novel prestressing ofthe foundst

ie sirmilar but with int

and Mannheim Cwith steel heads and suspended

3) His experience inti range of sale standard communications towers and some

floors") (Chapt field included & water towers it mspired his first two research projects at the university concerning the sttiness of concrete tubes after cracking (the doctoral thesis of Hans Schob

construction It prepared the ground for future work

nay" project (Chapter 11), stimulated innovative

nd brought him inta contact withthe arenitect Erwin

It was during this period that Schlaich was confronted with

an extremely tricky problem inthe 4

bolic paraboloid shell roat (Chapter 4) He surmounted the technica! cifculies expertly, but now feels that he should have retused to do 90 because the original concept was

of hard work and ther hand

the challenge further developed is habit

1968 these for his part in preparing the Leonhardt und Andra entry for

the Munich Olympic Stadium competition

The architects for this project were Heinle Wischer und Part

and Kuno Boil was pa structural

‘modified version Schlaich was made project leader by

Leonhardt and Goll and worked close ta Bebnisch’s office in

Munich where he was able to assembie his own tear of care

fully selected young engineers, many of whom are stl close

colleagues in the Schiaich Bergermann office oF in his Inst

tut atthe university, For about two years, the Olympic Root

project took over his entire protessional ie, and much of his

personal life.as wel He writes, I hope that my family did nat

suler too much’: It was at this time that they Bui their own

house in Stetten The Munich period deserves an entire book,

but Is covered riety in a chapter 5, Schiaich was promated

in 1970 to become ạ ull partner of Leonhardt und Andra,

(On returning to Stuttgart in 1975, the Munich team remained

together and formed a separate entity within the Leonhardt

lund Andra partnership Altogether there were fwe partners

In the practice, with four working predominantly on bridges

Schlaich’s group concentrate almost exclusively an athe

structures including buildings This af course involved coop:

‘eration with several architects One of the highlights of this

period was the development of the cable-net cooling tower

at Schmehiausen (Chapter 5) Various circumstances di,

however, lead Schiaich to become involved now and then

with bridges His interest in faraway places led him te India,

with projects fr cable-stayed bridges over the Ganges at Alla

habag and Patna and, later, the design of the Hooghly Rover

Bridge in Calcutta (Chapter 8), At home, through a family

connection with the landscape architect Hans Lu2, he be

came volved inthe design of a series of footbridges to link

the public gardens of Stuttgart the fist of which were con

structed in 1976 This brought him inta touch with what he

calls “human size” bridges (Chapter 9)

in October 1978 Schlaich sueceeded Leonhardt as professor

of concrete structures at the University of Stuttgart Having

strong reservations about the standard “black-box” ules

for reinforced and prestressed concrete, and being unwilling

to teach them to his students, he immediately institutes work

ta devolop an improved theary for understanding the internal

workings of these materials, Ths is now known as the Strut

_andTie Method or “STMT His colleagues inthis project in-

cluded Protessar Kurt Schafer, Kart Heinz Reinack, Oietger

Weischede, and Matias Jennewein amangst mary others,

‘The work, which is stil in progress, has been published in

‘many forums ranging from the German Betontaiender to the

[American Journal of the Prestressed Concrete Institute aris

‘ow widely accepted (2.12) Ithas been incorporated into

codes of practice forthe design of reinforced and pre

stressed concrete around the worid, Including the new Euro

Code and the codes of the American Concrete institute and

‘Standards Australi Schlaich’s appointment tothe Institut

enabled him to ciect its efforts further towards the develop-

ment of new forms of construction, With interest in shell

roots waning amongst architects and engineers because of

practical difficulties and economic pressures, he was keen

te develoo mare efficient means of bullding them and to per:

fect methods forthe design and construction of membrane and cable-net surtaces, Structures which grew out a these investigations were the glass fibre reinforced concrete shell root forthe 1977 Federal Garden Exhibition, and a shell root cast on pheumatic formwork (Chapter 4),

The Lecnhara und Andra practice in which Schlaich had worked until now was composed ot a loose grouping ot relatively independent partners and he greatly appreciated and benefited trom the freedom this afforded, However, as

the number of engineers employed grew from 40 to about

120, he and a numberof colleagues attempted to introduce

8 more formal organization for the sake of efficiency, Leon- harat and Andra saw this as interference in ther affairs and proposed that Schiach leave At the Beginning of 3980, he Separated from the practice with 18 colleagues, adopting the name Sehlaich und Partner, While this was in many ways

a natural progression, it caused some temporary tension between Leonharct and Seniaich The name of the new practice later became Schiaich Bergermann und Partner, in recognition of the crucial role played by Rudelt Bergermann

‘and the later partners?

Although he would not have let Leonhardt une Andra of his

‘wn accord, Schlaich naw felt more free, with Bergermann,

to pursue his interest in Bridges With Leonhardt’s agree:

‘ment, they had breught the design and supervision of the Hooghly Bridge with them into the new practice They now i tated the design of a bridge at Akkar in Sukkim, and won a competition to design a curved pedestrian bridge at Kelheir anda large cablestayed bridge in Germany at Obere Argen, Competing for the last against the Leonhardt und Andra of fice, Ths line of development led on toa major bridge at Eve

os in Greece, and to a number of schemes and entries for

‘ery large crossings (Chapter 8) At the same time the new partners continued the design of small cable-sunported fost bridges (Chapter 9) Their developing mastery of this field was extended to cover cable-stayed roots, culminating

In the design of the Europahalle in Karlsruhe (Chapter 10)

‘The experience of the Olymple root design resulted in a umber of other fru ines of development One ofthese led, by way of the Sehmenausen cacling tower to the “solar chimney” at Manzanares in Spain in 1982, and on to project fora cable net observation tower for one of the hills above Stuttgart in 1990, Another led, through a project fora sta dium root in Hannover, tothe design ot the rat fora second indoor skating rink, the Eissporthalle, within the Olympic complex at Munich in 1985,

‘Schlaich continued to grapple withthe problem that, while

‘doubly curved surfaces (membrane structures, cable nets

‘and shells) offer the best economy in materials, they are

‘generally expensive to construct, Attemts to develop new forms af membrane construction had led him ta study the use of metal rather than fabric forthe membrane, and this

‘Dermitted a major step forward inthe design of solar collec:

tor dishes (Chapter 11) Schich took the opparturity of the

1992 Rio Summit onthe environment to urge the further development of the solar chirmney, but finds that even with the smatler “solar concentrator” it's very dificult te convince people of the ned for research and devetopment inthis fil

He notes that for the past few years the solar research group

in the ofice has been lead by Wolfgang Schie, a physicist

avery enthusiastic, eficient and communicative colleague who deserves credit for considerable progress inthe field”

Experience with mare conventional membrane structures was gained in consulting the contractor of Skidmore, Owings

2 Mernl's Jeddah Airport root and by doing the detailed structural design of the Ryyadh Stadium root (Chapter 7)

Commission to finalize the design of the convertible root for the Montreal Olympic Stadium provides Schlaich and Berger

‘mann with their greatest technical challange in recent years but brought none ofthe usual saistaction, Because the tower and part of the membrane had been completed some years earlier the partnership was committed toa structural system devised by thers Experiences withthe design of membrane structures in which the partners had fll contro!

of the process have been much beter Thes¢ include roots at Nimes, Zaragoza, Hamburg, and recently the Daimlerstadion roo! at Stuttgart

Extremely light and transparent “grid roots" formed tram -a meeh of linear members braced with diagonal cables and Covered in glass, were designed for a swimming centre at

‘Neckarsulm and for a Museum at Hamburg (Chapter 6)

Macy mote were to fallow including those at Dresden and

‘Singapore, where moch earlier the partnership was involved

In the oot forthe huge hangar at Chang? Airport These gnc roots were a direct development from the partnership's Interest in doubly-curved surtaces

Throughout this period, Schlaich continued to work with architects, mith varying degress of success and personal reward, He s content to have worked with many e008 German architects such a Erwin Heinle, Robert Witcher, Gunter Bennisch, Fritz Aue, Kurt Ackermann, Ue Kiesler

‘ang Thomas Herzog, where he and his team are “satisfied to hhave dene a decent structural design” (Chapters 10 and 12)

In recent years, a design for tre Mempinsh hotel in Munich

‘brought him into contact with the German-American arcitect Helmut Jahn, whilst his work with Meinnard von Gerkan ana

‘nih Vollonin Marg on glass roots, large exhibition has, ana

‘airoad stations has greatly intensified (Chanter 5 6 ard 10),

Schlaich continues to battle for the cause of innovative and esthetic bridge design and forthe greater involvement of the structural engineer in decision mahing regarding the form at structures, He thought he had scored a maior victory

in initiating design competitions for bridges but notes that

‘on many occasions “bureaucracy has taken over the jury membership and praises only standard design!” Even these Juries tend to be overloaded with architects and ta pay more attention to sesthetic formalism than tothe equally impor tant technical merit of proposals A garticular interest atthe time of whiting s Schisich’s crusade to persuade the German railway authorities to modi the design of thei low-level vis- ducts for the new highspeed trains, These are conventionally prestressed concrete box girders, sitting on solid piers

Schlaich wants to dissolve the structure into slender stes!

elements which will have 3 much less adverse visual impact con the countryside (Chapter 8),

{An important tas in recent years, has been the provision

of expert advice for major projects on an international scale Examples include the Pont de Normancbe in France (2.10), and the proposal fr abridge across the Strait ot Messina, Joining Sicily tothe Itaian mainiana The partnersmi’s expertise has been recognized recently withthe award ot the design contract for theTing Kau cable stayed brige in Hong Korg,

Wiite the practice has gone from strength to strength, the partners areter to keep it relatively small, It grew to about

50 peaple and Schleich states that even this is too big for his king, He would prefer to be able to ave each project @ greater degree of personal attention, but "a consultant must ave five or sx larger projects going at once” to provide continuity of work

This account of the work of the design office cannot con- clude without a special mention of Rudolf Bergermann, who 1s been Schiaich’s sani colleague since the formation

of the practice Bergermann was botn in 1961 In Ousseldort and studied civil engineering atthe University ot Stuttgart

He joined Leanhardt und Andra in 1967 ater a short period working or a contractor In 1968 he joined Schiaich’s team

on the Munich Olympic Root and they have remained together ever since They became particularly close during their battle over many years to see the design and construe tion of the Hooghly Bridge through to a successtul conc

‘on They continue ta work very closely together and "there isa project inthe practice in which Bergermann isnot also involved: a very good engineer” (2.1) Proportional contribu: tions nave been made by many other talented engineers who have been members ot the practice Their names will appear

in later chapters in connection with particular projects,

ahted material

‘Schlaich comments: “In addition to these projectergjesrE

ur office heavily depends on four designers: Jochen Better-

mann, Peter Schulze, Volkwin Schlosser and Brian Hunt, who

have been with us for 25 years, With these evolved a ltetime

friendship (if one can say that such a packed professional Ife

‘permits the time to allow it) Young talent follans And then

where would we get without our secretaries?” These include

Schlaichie Margot Zalbeyg, Sergermann’s Cornelie Schmi,

Gerlinde Calies and at the university Ilse Guy

Jn paralil with his wotk in the practice, Schiaich has contin:

Led tobe an enthusiastic leader of teaching and research

at his institut atthe Unwersty ot Stttgart, tis usual in Ger-

‘man technical faculties for protessors to be drawn from the

‘ranks of experienced engineers who continue the active pace

tice oftheir profession This close liaison between industry

land academia is ane of the great strengths of German eng

neering, Although fundamental research is by no means ne-

‘lected, practical problems may be brought directly inte the

University for investigation, and the results fed back immedi-

ately for application in practice less desirable aspect s the

arrow specialisation which ests within the academic world

and to some extent in practice In the angio-sexon system,

the typical Faculty of Engineenng is divided only inte Depart-

ments of Chemical, Ci Electrical, and Mechanical Engines-

ring with perhaps two or three professors (chairs) in each In

Germany, there may be individual Instiuts for each matenal

of construction (steel, concrete, timber, ett) and perhaps for

diferent forms of construction (lor example, bridges or in-

dustrial buildings) Each has considerable administrative in-

dependence and each professor s expected to keep to his

own preserve

Schiaich designs equally wel in any material and has always

seen the over specialization of academia as.a hindrance to

the development of fundamental approacnes to design phi

Josophy In an attempt to overcome ths, he persuaded the

University some years ago to allow him to rename his institut

‘tur Massivbau (concrete construction} the Institut furTrag-

werksantwurt und Konstruktion (Institute of Conceptual

and Structural Design) The move encountered consider-

able resistance fram some ot his tellow professors wha felt

that he was enctoeching on ther territory However he has

always taken a olistic view of design, considering issues

such as construction and aesthetics as well as pure struct

‘al efficiency Some years ago, with Knut Gabriel, ne formed

2 research group under the banner Forschungsgruppe “inge-

‘leurbauten - Wege zu siner ganzheltlichen Betrachtung”

(FOGIB) to investigate the development of an holistic view

‘of structural design ang promote its adoption This wil try

‘to tackle the complex problem of how the designer can

compare intangibles: weighting, for example, social conse-

‘quences against construction costs and consumption of

material resources.”

[As regards the more formal sige of university education, Schiaich states that he has “always liked teaching” at both Undergraduate level; which involves mainly lectures, and postgraduate level, which involves more personal contact

However lke all academics ne has problems striking a bal- ance between teaching, research, and administrative matters

‘and has the additional Neavy burden of the practice Besides publishing about 300 papers he has giưen more than 400 public lectures He feels that he has to ite time for each assistant or collaborator and so wastes “alot ot etfort, land even some goed wil’ On the other hand, “there are so

‘many things to keep up with which get lost if not constantly

‘observed, One such issue i the framing and development

of the codes of practice winch provide guidance to design er fingers and a measure of unitormity throughout the industry

He puts his intense invelvement in this field down to his tun- damental approach to theory and his desire to See a totally

‘consistent approach to codes of practice Like many practi tioners, he considers most cades “poorly structured and com:

ceived back-wards" because most “code makers and bureau rats” have never been designers themselves and therefore cannot have an holistic conception of quality in structures,

‘Though far some time Meaviy involved in the framing of the European code trough the CEB (Comité Européen du

‘Béton) he feels that he wore himself out "with too ite real

‘suecess”, It was for this reason that he created FOGIB

Schisich sees the conception of the strutanc-tie model for reinforced conereta as an example of the corect sort of

‘approach and a step in the right cvection (2.12) He rtes that unaamental work this feld inthe Institut nas been the special responsibilty of Professor Schafer at the institut since 1977, “very clea in his fundamental thinking and very cooperative” He is also keen to recognize the general contribution of other collegues in the Institut, particularly nut Gabriel, another calleague since 1968 from the Munich COlymple root design and in consequence his partner in research on cable- and ight weight structures on whom he has “always depended heavily for advice and opinian on all sorts of issues” and of Karl Heinz Reineck, wha was already atthe Institut when Schlaich came in 1974 and “who realy knows everything about structural concrete design and is Yenyrelable"

“Buty he asks “how can one specialize further wthin an already specialized fel ke structural engineering?”

23

Copyrighted material

2 Formation and Career Te

(On the other hand he continues to invest much time in ser ing national and international associations as chairmat

rences and wring for its journal, This has again resulted

sonal contacts ard friendships,

the soul of IABSE", and with

is lengthy and it perhaps invidious to make a select

‘such inspirational figures inthe careers of successtul engl:

‘neers and the following selection intended t

rather th

‘omprehensive An impo held of course by Myron Goldsmith (2.14) who since their first meeting in 1956 gave Schlaich “permanent professional

eration was needed” Al

Important was Anton Tedesto, the German-Austnan engineer

the USA Tedesho was

completed a biographical tribute to him." He deseribes

Olympic Stadiums inTokyo (2.8), ae"the Japanese

er god” and was proud to speak at the fist Teubo memocal seminar in Tokye i 1991 Kawaguchi

Juniors described as “one of the most imaginative

for contributing ise on structural erg

with Edmund Happold, the two most creative British eng

‘been in contact with David Bilington and enjoys to discus

‘mare, there was the problem of two people, both se dent determined, and strong, trying to war

since 1963 ~ trom

‘much to the tact tat | was in his office

1970 101979 as @ partner Thete were interesting projects, tle organization or interference and wer hes tated to wwe me the most aitficult assignments without any

stay enaineting esate (pa teuarty tase invlved a Buropnanconperaion) nave begun to

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26

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2

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yright

„

“ 3s

“

Towers

Communication Tower

Hamburg Special Research, Investigations

Communication Towers

Stuttgart 2 KieL

Mannheim Cologne Standard Designs Water Tower Leverkusen

Guyed Concrete Masts Landmark Towers

Leipzig Fair Abu Dhabi (proposal)

1967 1964-96

1970

1976

1975

1980 197-79 19?

1979

1995 1979

,quipping them with viewing platforms and

restaurants In adlition, the Post Ot

len lent rigidity was required to ensure that

or its lateral rgiity entirely on its own

ke a reed projecting fom the ground With arenitectural advice forthe

interior design trom Erwin Heinle, he envi aged theta

ties as enclosed in a four-starey

4 160 metres above ground The shatt

would continue through the pod, and ta its

would be attached a steel transmission

‘mast 51 metres high (3.2), The tower would

Nevertheless, the wind forces, especially

those acting on the pod high above the

round, would give rise to high overturning

‘moments at the nase, and require extensive

foundations The closest precedents tor this

ploneering type of structure were reinforced

Conerete chimneys, and these had normally,

‘employed a simple circular foundation slab

However, Leonnarat realized that afounda-

tion in the form of an anilus would distrib

tte pressures more certainly and reduce the

risk of diferantial settlement of one sie of

the footing wth respect tothe other Te dis-

tribute the load from the shaft tothe ring,

he employed a truncated cone of concrete,

‘and inside this, second cone which served

to stitten the frst (2.3)

‘The Stuttgart tower was designed in 1952

‘and was in service by 1955." It st in train

the development of many similar towers in

Germany and throughout the world Some

time atter Schiaich entered the Leonhardt

Lund Andra office, another large tower was

proposed for Hamburg The city authorities

planned a revolving restaurant, wile the

Post Otfice required a service tloor area ot

about 1000 square metres surmounted by

si large antenna platforms with a diameter

of about 20 metres Ahove these was to be

‘an antenna 70 metres high for mobile twle-

phones, and above that again, 2 television

‘mast In 1963 a competition was organized

amongst five selectea Hamburg architects

{and a proposal by Trautwein and Leonhardt

as awarded fst prize The entire service

area was located on one large floor, 40 me-

tres in diameter, and the public facilities

were placed in separate pod underneath,

‘The sicantenna platforms were spread

at various heights above the two pods and

the whole assembly reached a height ot

“The Hambut elecommunietons tomer competed 1967

‘Sehiaich was Set to work on detailed design Under the guidance af Leonhardt, Together they worked out a major development of the Stuttgart scheme, ithad been established that, while the double cone of the Stuttgart foundation was economical in terms ot ma terial usage it required a large amount of expensive formwork The internal cone was therefore replaced by a simpler verica! clin der which was a continuation of the main shaft To ensure that ths cylinder took no part in carrying the weight transmitted from

p shat, ts base was kniteedged, and the

‘awkward problems had been experienced

in accammedating the reinforcing bars which would eventually project from the shaft to form the connection wth the platforms Con:

ventional prac flat against the vertical surface to allow the climbing formaork to pass, and then to bend

is either ta bend these

them aut again to receive the horizontal el

‘ments, of fo interrupt the climbing process

‘and aismante te Yormwark to ra32gemtble +aboye the level ofthe platform Forth Hamburg tower, Leonhardt and Szhiaich

cause the entire cone to contract anc grip the shat There was therefare no need for reinforcement to pass from shatt to platform,

‘nd the lower end ofthe cone could sit sim ply ina shallow trangular recess inthe sur face of the shaft 3.5 em deep and 16 cm righ (24, lower detail), Te shaft could thus

be built without any interruption tothe elim Ing process, This scheme had the additional advantage that the junction would barely Interrupt the smoot

cal force within the shaft due to the weight

(cat shell behaviour and to

leach pod is formed from a similar structure Inverted, The outer rim of the lower pod

ter The “root” of

and the nner rim of the root shell were are stressed using continuous citcumterential prestressing cables formed by specially de ised connectors (3.4, middle detail and 3.7) Schlaich emphasizes that this improvement could never Rave resulted tram thinking snout the problem in isolation but was based cna theoretical and analytical understanding

Gt shell behaviour He remembers long ais cussions on this subject withthe famous au

to wind effets, inspires by 3 nun

res Gusting causes oscilla

'ehcgy lngkf of The hind and onda

behaviour of slender towers in the natural

gusty wind, Schiaich was struck by an anom aly in conventional thinking and was able

ented is ideas a

onhardt und Andra

Acclaimed for the way in which it deny’

‘very complex problem Although Schlaic

row dismisses it as “ols stu” in view of sed by practising engineers and teachers.*

1n 1976 set in train a series ot measur fatteon tw iaomeiiet hà wed for many years Later, with Hans rand Hermann Meier at the utiver sehavioue of reinforced eonerete tubes of the tyne used in the towers (2.16) When these eur i thaccsnerete’on the sincere si

(Cracks develop, and the force in this region

1s transfered tothe reinforcing bars Codes

fof practice atthe time required thatthe ten

‘sion strength of the concrate onthe cracked

side be ignored completely when caleulating

the stitiness of the cross-section This re-

sulted in such large calculated deformations

‘that designers were discouraged trom using:

cronerete for suet towers The tests a the i

stitut showed that, thanks tothe “tension

stiffening” effect of the concrete, the reduc

tion in stitfness was much les than previ-

cusly thought This ad tothe development

tf anew method of calculation which gave

ralistic estimates of detlection

‘This combination of experience in the behav

our of rotational sells and reinforced con:

crete tubes subjected to combined bending

‘and tension was to be very usetul later on

when the University institute was approached

by industry to research the structural behav

‘ur of offshore containment vessels The Ir

“stute was ased to determine now forces

were redistributed from the “edge-aistr

bance" zones near the junction of walls and

root after cracking and how shear could

be resisted without the use of stierup rein-

forcement * After analytical studies, large

scale tests ware carried outwith Kart-Heinz

Reineck as group leader These supplied

{urther insight into the ‘plastie® behaviour

of such shells (3:17), experience which was

‘again useful in 1992 in the vestigation of

the Sleioner platform failure inthe North

Sea, In this latter case a large amount of

computer analysis was carried out, though

2 simple strut-and:-tie mode! would have

sutticed to explain the pattern of force trans:

mission within the structure and to find that

the platform failed because theT-neaded

bars were too short (3.18),

‘tition inthe jit eons

ot composite rotational shes

service floor was to be 40 metres in diameter, {35 at Hamburg, an there were to be two fur ther platforms, each of 25 metres diameter

‘developed for Hamburg would be inapprope

Schlaich's next tower with L Andra was for the city of Kel, with a p form ata height of 100 metres (3.24+ 3.25)

‘evident to him

that possible methods of construction should

be considered trom the vey start oft

the cone be formed from pre cast concrete segments whi

mporary tes from the mast would remain in place until the whole

Stowers Kel

4-2280

prestressing could be installed The contrac:

{or adopted the second proposal and con:

struction was completed successtlly (326

10329)

For the base of the kiel tower, further econ:

‘omy was achieved by fattening the founda

tion cone tothe extent that it could be cast

on a carefully srepared mound of earth

‘Ta prevent the surtace of the cone from

‘bearing on the earth, the concrete was cast

fon a foam rubber matt placed on the mound:

The strength and stifiness of the foam was

carefully designed so that it would carey the

weight of the wet concrete but would not

transmit significant pressure and thus sub-

fect the cone to bending maments in service

The relative flatness of the cone meant that

‘twas required to carry higher compressive

forces, but the cost ofthe extra material re:

quired ta resist these was compensates by

savings in construction costs

‘ros section hat

= bee ana

=——

epee?

Further changes in tower design cuted

of the desire of Erwin Heine, archi tect for many ofthe projec, to provide each

because ity with is own stint ower The search for new forms eventually led to

ment of the system of supporting plattorms

fm inverted cones inspired by temporary tes Used in the construction at Ki, forthe later Mannheim tower 3 =

stee!

aled within the ea

was devised, wich would bs

nent floors (3.30 and 3.31) At Cologne, nowevar, tnese tension

arly exbressed above the single 208, providing intermediate support totwo antenna platforms (3.32+3.33).The

of the inclined mangers

ion members attached to the ends

To complete the communications system,

J a large number of low: to medium.avel tow

that

he Post Ofice developed several sares ot

‘standard designs for thom Leonharat und tion with Heinle Wisener and Partne

aa The an (Cologne) tower

of wate towers

3 ta Lejprig Fate, Abu that Propenal

These ideas were developed further when the Post Office held an inaited-entry competition 1n 1987, Here, together with Hans Kammerer asarchitect, Schiaich proposed thatthe guys

‘be vertical and attached to outriggers pro Jecting from the top of the mast Again the proposal was unsuccessful

‘Much later, in 1994, a similar idea was ap- plied inthe design of a tower for the new Leipaig Fair, withthe architect Volkwin Marg

The light square outrigger structure supports four thick nor-ioad bearing chimney tubes land a central stairway for access tothe fa-

‘mous fai symbol This complicate jab was successful angled by Andreas Kel and Xavier de Nettancourt (340~3.42)

‘Asin aty design office, mary simiar arojects were envisaged and carried to a certain stage

‘but were never Dull fora variety of reasons many of them being competition entres

These included imaginative scharnes for

‘major towers at New Dini and Abu Dhabi

of he eine Fat

(3.43+3.48) The experience with large concrete towers also bore fruit in projects for 1000-metre-high vertical draft solar power stations (Chapter 1),

As we have seen, Schlaich's two netiods ot tower design had a formative influence on his professional career: confirming tat clean structures with simple details may be real aed by striving fora smooth flow af forces bringing him inte closer contact with his

“teacher” Frte Leonhardt: introducing him

ta Erwin Heinle; convincing him of the impor:

tance of construction processes inthe initial conception of @ structute: oromating his frst

“popular” aaper and his trst hao research projects at the university; and bearing fruit Inmany designs and patents An aspect on which ne places great value was the oppor:

tunity to increase his experience with shell structures

Hotes o nator §

2 Geonhardt: “De Stutgater Frmahurn

‘ete und Sanbeanbae 1986, He 4 3985

* Thsis an itresing case fr tachars ofan neering and anyone suayng anata inking 8 Stuctual engientg Engineers whose thn

‘etwodmersienal(ora ess! aimee evasive Concentrator on this spect tei wal ating)

fg ete arangurnt a Stuttgart ae tyes

SỰ Ông soten a tezvere sf tan te A088 hang tiết te afer aengs

“RA tư beesusell ncoesrafetA lao

——

`Đamging s meanue df lô ie0bale Em arp Thin ay omar ihn te terra store ot {he oatrial sat oc pts between compares Fer erampie renoro Conca ater ens Deter han prestreed concrete, fie bolted test

‘srscures nave rush beter đao eeoperoee

‘bo welded eres de tos ond ction botemer

5 teense tnt the mathomatezre rata “dasleạf Đao cĩ to fetsee within shall used on carta asuomgtions about conde

‘of support ad resvait at their boundaries Coo-

‘toes proces raey accord in thee ass tien The magnitude of sesses i he body at te Sali ol gat alesis, bal ako ee tho esees ctr signori Irom fone predict

bp eanerl tna and must be compte 5 208 thờ! erayie THỊ nour a “edgy strane’

a

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