Discovering Construction as an Art – The 'Cologne Bridge Quarrel'

It is commonly known that modern architecture became deeply influenced by the severe beauty inherent in the engineers' structures since the beginning of the twentieth century. But it is far less known that at the same time also a noticeable change in engineering occurred. A central occurrence for this shift of paradigms in engineering is the Cologne Bridge Quarrel, which developed subsequently to the design competitions for the Hindenburgbrücke in 1913. It is the aim of the author to discuss the main arguments that were given by the experts in the course of this fascinating judicial proceeding about the artistic qualities of an engineer's construction, and by this, to revive our knowledge of what can be identified as a milestone in Construction History.