Author Description

For the designing engineer, the support structure design is necessarily a consideration of forces and materials within the architectural space. The exceptional work of the construction engineer Joseph Schwartz is characterized by the subtle fusion of a great design sensibility and complex technical skill. The buildings in his multifaceted oeuvre therefore display an inherent naturalness and exceptional mastery. On the occasion of the sixtieth birthday of Joseph Schwartz, Professor of Structural Design at ETH Zurich and one of the most important and influential engineers in Switzerland, this volume gathers thoughts and opinions on building culture, discusses design and construction from the point of view of different disciplines, and discusses experimental design and building practice as attempts to establish an interdisciplinary way of thinking. It involves renowned architects and construction engineers from practice and theory, who have accompanied Schwartz during his thirty years in various areas of work. With contributions by: Hugo Bachmann, Philippe Block, Santiago Calatrava, Luca Deon, Aita Flury, Carlo Galmarini, Dieter Geissbühler, Niklaus Graber und Christoph Steiger, Lorenzo Giuliani und Christian Hönger, Julia Hemmerling, Heribert Huber, Walter Kaufmann, Christian Kerez, Neven Kostic, Massimo Laffranchi und Armand Fürst, Paul Lüchinger und Daniel Meyer, Akos Moravanszky, Christian Menn, Aurelio Muttoni, Stefan Polonyi, Mario Rinke, Markus Schaefle, Jörg Schneider, Maximilian Schrems, Laurent Stalder