Swiss civil engineer and contractor known especially for his thin concrete shells.
Biographical Information
| Name: | Heinz Isler |
|---|---|
| Born on | 26 July 1926 in Zollikon, Zurich, Switzerland, Europe |
| Deceased on | 20 June 2009 in Berne, Berne, Switzerland, Europe |
| Student of | Pierre Lardy |
| 1950 | Graduates from the Federal Technological Institute (ETH) Zurich; |
| 1954 | Opens his own office in Burgdorf |
| 1956 | Sells concept of pneumatic shells |
| 1961 | Conceives of a doubly-curved geometric shell for the Wyss Garden center |
| 1968 | Builds first structures based on suspension method where the forms for shells are found by hanging and fixating cloth |
Structures and Projects
Participation in the following structures & large-scale projects:
- badi brugg
- Blaser Swisslube AG
- Brühl Sports Center
- Café-Restaurant Wiesentalstrasse
- Centro Coop
- Church of the Holy Spirit
- Coop Distribution Center
- Dehner Garten Center (Böblingen)
- Deitingen Service Station
- Düdingen Sports Center - Tennis Hall
- Gold- und Silberscheideanstalt
- Heimberg Swimming Pool
- Heimberg Tennis Hall
- Hotel Splendide Royal - Swimming Pool
- La Tène Tennis Center
- Migros Supermarket
- Norwich Sports Village Hotel
- Tennishalle Grenchen AG
- Truffaut Plaisir
- Truffaut Villeparisis
- Wyss Garden Center
Biography from Wikipedia
Heinz Isler (July 26, 1926 – June 20, 2009) was a Swiss structural engineer. He is famous for his thin concrete shells.
Early life and education
Heinz Isler was born in the municipality of Zollikon. He showed talent as an artist as a student, but his father advised him to seek a career in engineering first. Isler studied thin concrete shells at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich.
Career
Upon graduating from the ETH in 1950 with a degree in civil engineering, Isler worked as a teaching assistant with Pierre Lardy, a professor at the ETH, from 1951 to 1953. He opened his own office in 1954 in Burgdorf, Switzerland. His first project as a shellbuilder was a concert hall roof for the Hotel Kreuz in Langenthal which was completed between 1954 and 1955. The form of the shell was loosely inspired by the shape of a plumped-up pillow on his bed.
Death
Isler died from a stroke on June 20, 2009 at the age of 82.
Text imported from Wikipedia article "Heinz Isler" and modified on July 22, 2019 according to the CC-BY-SA 4.0 International license.
Bibliography
- (1981): Effective use of concrete. Presented at: IABSE Symposium: The selection of structural form = Système et forme des structures = System und Form von Tragwerken, London, United Kingdom, 1981.
- (1980): Structural beauty of shells. Presented at: 11th IABSE Congress, Vienna, Austria, 31 August - 5 September 1980.
- : Shell Structures: Candela in America and What We Did in Europe. In: (): Seven Structural Engineers. The Museum of Modern Art, New York (USA), ISBN 978-0-87070-703-2, pp. 86-101.
- (1979): New Shapes for Shells - Twenty Years After. In: Journal of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, n. 71 (September 1979).
- (1994): Concrete Shells Derived from Experimental Shapes. In: Structural Engineering International, v. 4, n. 3 (August 1994), pp. 142-147.
Relevant Websites
Relevant Publications
- (1997): L'art de l'ingénieur. constructeur, entrepeneur, inventeur. Éditions du Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (France), pp. 240-1.
- (2003): The Art of Structural Design: A Swiss Legacy. Yale University Press, New Haven (USA), pp. 264.
- (2011): Eminent Structural Engineer: Prof. Dr Heinz Isler (1926–2009). In: Structural Engineering International, v. 21, n. 1 (February 2011), pp. 124-126.
- : Félix Candela. Engineer, Builder, Structural Artist. Princeton University Art Museum, Yale University Press, New Haven (USA), ISBN 978-0-300-12209-1, pp. 36-41.
- (2014): Félix Candela and Heinz Isler. A comparison of two structural artists. In: (2014): Shell Structures for Architecture. Routledge, London (United Kingdom), ISBN 9780415840606, pp. 247-258.
- About this
data sheet - Person-ID
1000017 - Published on:
02/01/1999 - Last updated on:
22/07/2014
