Structural concepts and artisanal construction in R. Maillart's design principles

During the first decades of 20th century, Robert Maillart (1872-1940) developed series of inventive structures on the basis a renewed vision of reinforced concrete. Projecting forward the conceptual principles of the pioneers (Lambot, Hennebique, Mesnager), structural forms liberated themselves from structural schemes protected in the first patents. Maillart went more steps further in this way, reinventing three-hinged arches, mushrooms slabs, and stiffened arches. Maillart was as an entrepreneur too: specific construction methods, that enabled these forms to be efficiently built in specifics contexts, were crucial in his research. For the works built in Switzerland, for example, artisanal know-how and not skilled local manpower were the reference point. This paper, starting from the research of the author in the field of structural design, summarise the evolution of Maillart's structural invention in parallel with the related fabrication approaches. A last part of the paper is dedicated to the further development of Maillart’s structural invention in the dimension of the artisanal construction site