Robert Maillart's Bridges

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Summary: The Work of a Structural Artist
Review: To the layman, the name Robert Maillart probably means nothing. However, in the field of civil enigineering, the Swiss bridge designer is regarded as not only one of the most inovative and important structural artists of the twentieth century, but an engineer whose work was beautiful enough to be displayed in the Museum of Modern Art. This book analyzes what Maillart is most known for: his bridges. David Billington, as he did briefly in his other engineering guidebook, "The Tower and the Bridge," convincingly argues the superiority of Maillart's reinforced concrete bridges over the works of any other concrete bridge designer during the first half of the twentieth century due to the artist's careful balance of efficiency, economy, and elegance in all his designs. By managing to convey the significance of the great designer through clear illustrations of the many new forms and creative building techniques while at the same time carefully avoiding too much technical jargon, this is a wonderful book for those without much engineering background who wish to understand the methods and works of not just a civil engineer, but a great structural artist.