Structure as Space: Architecture and Engineering in the Work of Jürg Conzett

by Mohsen Mostafavi

Although architecture has always been a collaborative process, only recently has it been explicitly recognized as such. A growing number of engineers are playing a prominent role in the formulation, development, and transformation of architectural ideas, and a leader in this gropup is the young Swiss engineer Jurg Conzett.Structure as Space looks at selected bridges and buildings by the engineering firm of Conzett, Bronzini, Gartmann, many of which were created in collaboration with some of Europe's most innovative architectural practices, including Burkhalter & Sumi, Gigon & Guyer, Meili & Peter, Jungling & Hagmann, and Peter Zumthor. Since the age of the Grand Tour, the bridges and tunnels through the mountain passes of Graubunden in northern Switzerland (where many of Conzett's projects are located) have been considered not only traffic routes but also important tourist sites. As a consequence, these engineered works have been appreciated as works of architecture. These structures and other influences (such as the unprecedented buildings produced by the industrial revolution) are charted in a series of texts by Conzett, Mohsen Mostafavi, and Bruno Reichlin.

Genres: Architecture

192 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Mohsen Mostafavi (1954) is an Iranian-American architect and educator. He is the Dean and Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He has been the Gale and Ira Drukier Dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell University, and the Chairman of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.

(from Wikipedia)