Heinz Hossdorf

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Heinz Hossdorf (born December 20, 1925 in Wiesbaden ; † June 10, 2006 in Madrid ) was a Swiss civil engineer .

Life

Heinz Hossdorf completed a civil engineering degree up to and including an intermediate diploma at the ETH Zurich . Later he chose the Technical University of Aachen (RWTH) to continue his studies. At the same time he was already working part-time in the engineering office Rudolf Hascha in Basel . In 1953, Hossdorf founded his own engineering office for structural analysis in Basel. From this, the organization Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure developed over time through his successors from 1978. Hossdorf laid the foundation stone through the process of preliminary design of sophisticated structural structures together with architects, followed by load tests on physical models in his own laboratory to confirm his intuition . This laboratory for structural analysis in Reinach BL , later in Basel, became internationally known during its activity from 1957 to 1978. There he developed new measuring and test techniques together with physicists and other engineers. At an early age he used the computer manufacturer Peter Dietz's digital computer for his calculations. In Hossdorf's book The Experience of Being an Engineer , Dietz wrote the chapter on computer modeling of the objective world. From 1980 onwards, Hossdorf concentrated on the development of software for the acquisition of objective objects ( CAD ). Hossdorf already had a teaching position at the ETH Zurich from 1967–1968. He was then visiting professor there from 1997 to 1998. From 1984 Hossdorf lived in Madrid, Spain. His buildings wrote both engineering and architectural history.

Works

The innovative design of buildings with experimentally researched materials such as concrete, steel, wood and plastic can be seen in the following selection of projects realized together with the relevant architects:

  • Catholic church in St. Gallen Winkeln with the daring, arched, pillarless concrete roof, designed together with the young architect Alfons Weisser , completed in 1959
  • Roofing of warehouses (VSK, today COOP) in Wangen near Olten. New use of a complete model pre-tensioning system. Micro-concrete, 1961
  • Plastic pavilion at the Swiss National Exhibition ( Expo 64 ) in Lausanne, 1964
  • Shell roofing of the reading room of the university library, Basel, 1964
  • Roof construction of the Basel City Theater , 1978

Honor

Publications

  • Heinz Hossdorf: structural analysis. Textbook, Bauverlag, Wiesbaden 1971
  • Heinz Hossdorf: The experience of being an engineer. Birkhäuser, Basel 2003. ISBN 978-3764360504

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dagmar Böcker: Heinz Hossdorf. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . January 15, 2008 , accessed June 29, 2019 .
  2. ^ Successor organization Schnetzer Puskas.
  3. ^ Heinz Hossdorf: The experience of being an engineer. Birkhäuser, Basel 2003. ISBN 978-3764360504
  4. ^ Heinrich Schnetzer: Erratic Pioneer. Espazium TEC21, No. 43, 2014
  5. ↑ Thomas Eckwall: The models were hardly checked externally. Espazium TEC21, No. 43, 2014
  6. ↑ Thomas Eckwall: statics as a craft. Espazium TEC21, No. 43, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Hossdorf, Heinz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss civil engineer
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Wiesbaden , Germany
DATE OF DEATH June 10, 2006
Place of death Madrid , Spain