A groundbreaking work resulting from the collaboration between the three major Swiss architectural archives and the Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel.
Concrete in Switzerland is a historical assessment of the most controversial building material of our time: concrete. The book addresses a number of issues of global relevance from a particular vantage point: reinforced concrete construction in Switzerland. Through contributions by internationally renowned researchers, Concrete in Switzerland analyzes a series of moments in the Swiss history of reinforced concrete, from the initial phase of its introduction in the country to the most refined applications in architecture and engineering. Groundbreaking and thorough, Concrete in Switzerland explores the history and application of a contentious material.
Concrete in Switzerland is a historical assessment of the most controversial building material of our time: concrete. The book addresses a number of issues of global relevance from a particular vantage point: reinforced concrete construction in Switzerland. Through contributions by internationally renowned researchers, Concrete in Switzerland analyzes a series of moments in the Swiss history of reinforced concrete, from the initial phase of its introduction in the country to the most refined applications in architecture and engineering. Groundbreaking and thorough, Concrete in Switzerland explores the history and application of a contentious material.
Table of Contents
Switzerland, A Technological Pastoral / Laurent Stalder
Beton is a State of Mind: On the Representation of Concrete in Swiss Cinema / Marcel Bächtiger
Nature, Science, and Enterprise: The Origins of the Success of Reinforced Concrete in Switzerland. The Introduction, Diffusion, and Supersedence of the Hennebique System / Salvatore Aprea
Between Constraint and Freedom to Innovate: Swiss Standards to Innovate / Aurelio Muttoni
The N2 Chiasso–Saint Gotthard Motorway: Design and Construction of One Hundred and Forty-Three Kilometres of Reinforced Concrete / Ilaria Giannetti
Reinforced Country Below Ground / Silvia Berger Ziauddin
Terraced Hillside Housing Architectures. When Vineyards Gave Way to Swiss Families / Lorenzo Stieger
The Swiss Principle of Béton Brut: ‘Betonkonstruktion’. A Debate between Theory and Practice, 1940s–1960s / Silvia Groaz
Gesamtschweizerische Plattenbau – Large-Panel Construction in Switzerland. The IGECO Heavy Prefabrication System in Göhner Housing Estates: Serial Production and Variations (1965–1977) / Giulia Marino
The Pluralities of the Possible / Martin Tschanz
‘In our country, it is practically impossible not to build in concrete’. Brief Notes on Exposed Reinforced Concrete in the Architecture of Ticino / Nicola Navone
Concrete in the Early Works of Herzog and de Meuron / Roberto Gargiani
Southern Fragments of Swiss Asbestos-Cement, 1940 to 2040 / Hannah le Roux
CONCRETE STORIES / Sarah Nichols
Introduction
Concrete is Rock
Concrete is Underground
Concrete is Energy
Concrete is Second Nature
Concrete is Monolithic
Concrete is Composite
Concrete is Immaterial
Concrete is Praxis
Concrete is Fluid