Author Description

Opened in June 2010, the world renowned engineer J rg Conzett built in Vals abridge that is in the best sense timeless. It combines, with great subtlety, the traditional technique of stone bridge construction with the modern technology of reinforced concrete and pre-stressed concrete. It is also a brilliant answer to the design for Therm Vals built in 1996 by Peter Zumthor, that has long attracted huge interest.The compexity of the design is well documented in Wilfried Dechau's extraordinary and vividly detailed pictorial record as it documents the work of moving the old bridge, the construction of the auxiliary frames, reinforced concrete shell, and finally the completion of Vals with natural stone.The interview by Ursula Baus with Peter Zumthor and texts by J rg Conzett, Wilfried Dechau, Patrick Hannay, Klaus Siegele make this book more than the history of building an exceptional bridge. It is also about the adventure of building and the fascination of the engineering challenges.