Pont de Vessy
Coordinates: 46 ° 10 ′ 52 " N , 6 ° 9 ′ 36" E ; CH1903: 501.27 thousand / 115211
| Pont de Vessy | ||
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| use | Road bridge | |
| Crossing of | Swiss stone pine | |
| place | Geneva , Veyrier | |
| construction | Triple three-hinged box bridge made of reinforced concrete | |
| overall length | 79 meters | |
| width | 10.40 meters | |
| Longest span | 56 meters | |
| Construction height | 4.77 meters | |
| opening | 1936 | |
| planner | Robert Maillart | |
| location | ||
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| Above sea level | 380 m above sea level M. | |
The Pont de Vessy over the Arve near Vessy in the Swiss canton of Geneva is a pioneering bridge built by the engineer Robert Maillart in 1936.
Building description
Through several innovative interventions, Maillart was able to build the bridge very flat, creating an impression of technical elegance (see illustration). The stitch, as the ratio of wingspan to static height, was only about 1:12. The bridge hugs the wide meandering river without the road having to be led up to the high bridge ends with ramp structures.
Structural features
By recognizing the advantages of three-hinged girders over traditional arched bridges, Maillart revolutionized concrete bridge construction here. The hollow boxes he (and later others) have shown since the construction of his Tavanasabrücke (1905) support the thin roadway by means of pendulum supports . The triple - adjacent - using the same binder allowing the multiple use of the same falsework .
Historical appreciation
Maillart, who was planning at a time when building materials and machinery had to be used very sparingly, designed a filigree solution precisely out of these limitations. The absolutely even roadway crosses the river as if weightless and seems to be stretched under a spring. The result is very material-saving and represents a minimal intervention in the landscape, but was both planning and labor-intensive.
literature
- Max Bill: Robert Maillart . Zurich: Artemis 1949
- David P. Billington: Robert Maillart and the art of reinforced concrete construction. Zurich: Artemis 1990. ISBN 3-7608-8078-9
