Christian Menn

[3] Born in Meiringen, Canton of Bern, Menn graduated from high school (Kantonsschule Chur) in 1946, followed by structural engineering studies at ETH Zurich.

Then, he returned to ETH Zurich to become assistant to Pierre Lardy, a well-known professor of structural engineering, and was awarded a PhD degree in 1956.

[3] Menn worked very closely with Pierre Lardy during the beginning of his career, emphasizing the design of structures based on aesthetics and economy.

The effect is a structure of exceptional lightness that satisfies all three of Menn's main criteria for design: efficiency, economy, and aesthetics.

[5] It is the longest viaduct of the A1 highway and the world's first single-cell box girder bridge built with the cantilever method, a pioneer work in prestressed concrete design and construction.

His use of pre-stressed concrete and the implementation of cable-stayed bridge decks gave his designs great aesthetic appeal.

[10]In spring 1979, Menn supervised a thesis on a bridge over the Acleta gorge close to Disentis in the Grisons by a young Santiago Calatrava, as he completed his studies in Civil Engineering at ETH Zurich.

[11] Menn worked with a young Miguel Rosales on the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, completed in 2003, as part of the massive "Big Dig" project in Boston.