Abstract
The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge spanning over Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela (1958–1962), designed by Ing. Professor Riccardo Morandi, a masterpiece of Modern engineering, is now a Modern Landmark at Risk. The remarkable and little known story of the construction of this structure “could not be accomplished by a handful of men. From planning to financing, from design to construction, a great number of Venezuelan and European engineers worked jointly in Wiesbaden, Caracas, Rome, Maracaibo, Zürich, Paris, and Lisbon. In this way, one of the most outstanding structures of our time was erected within the stipulated - and brief construction time.”

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern bridges, Modern infrastructures, Modern engineering, General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge, Riccardo Morandi, Venezuelan modern bridges.

Issue 45
Year 2011
Pages 22-29
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/45.A.8NS9VDJW

Abstract
Robert Maillart’s innovative views concerning the use of concrete come within the scope of the history of structures, structural materials and concrete as a material of structure. It will even lead us far beyond these issues. At the end, the point of view expressed in this article will be the view of a structural designer. When preparing this reflection, I realise that there is no straightforward answer to the question: “What is in fact Maillart’s real innovation considering all the contributions he made to the art of engineering?” Putting forward the different aspects mentioned above as an introduction seems to be a more relevant way to find a contemporary answer taking time and context into account. Consequently the first part of this text is a general presentation of Maillart’s works. Following we will make a detour to make what I, and many others, consider to be the most revolutionary aspects of Maillart’s practice fully comprehensible. So starting from the historical development of reinforced concrete as a structural material, we will move to the contemporary context to figure out how the intrinsic structural complexity of concrete is managed today. We will see that some difficulties emerge from the behaviour of concrete in relation to the classic theories of mechanics. If some Modern theories find an answer to the problem, it will become obvious that Maillart had already found a convincing way of dealing with these difficulties. We will then return to Maillart’s works to answer the question through the status he was to give concrete when it came to structural design and the methods he used to achieve his objectives. I hope this will lead us to consider Maillart’s approach as one of the most visionary ever devised.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern bridges, Modern infrastructures, Modern engineering, Modern reinforced concrete structures, Robert Maillart, Swiss modern bridges.

Issue 45
Year 2011
Pages 12-21
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/45.A.C9UKI0F3

Abstract
The engineer is an inseparable part of the Modern Movement. He has fulfilled its request of working unprejudiced. But he was driven to his most magnificent works by a mental concentration on technique excluding many other influences. Therefore, John Ruskin called the engineer a human beaver. Rarely the ambition of synthetic Modernism to suspend the difference between culture and civilization was converted. In the writer’s opinion, this is no reason to abandon this ambition and engineers should keep up the Modern tradition and continue to work on it.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern bridges, Modern infrastructures, Modern engineering, Architecture and engineering.

Issue 45
Year 2011
Pages 8-11
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/45.A.SFYTYEWF

Abstract
At present, it is by no means an exaggeration to say that innumerable bridges and infrastructures are able to bring us to the end of the earth, whether these are monuments, scattered in a remote area, recognized or not. situated where mankind intensively has made its effort to extend daily circles of life till the present day. Humans have always been on the move, in primitive ages they went up the hill and down the dale, over and beyond mountains, across streams and wherever obstacles had to be crossed, bridges and roads skilfully came into their hands. Emerging directly on the ground, as fruit of empirical and intuitive knowledge; as comprehensive static and dynamic engineering, state of the art science and creative use of information.

Keywords
Modern Movement, Modern architecture, Modern bridges, Modern infrastructures, Modern engineering.

Issue 45
Year 2011
Pages 4-7
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.52200/45.A.UA6JUGL4