1428. Schiers. Salgina-Brucke

Dear Corey,

This vintage picture postcard features the famous timber
scaffolding for the bridge. Richard Corey, the engineer who
devised it, miraculously survived a 35 meter fall while
surveying the construction site.

Warm regards,
R

1293. Exposition Nationale Suisse 1939, Zurich

Dear Martin,

"There is no doubt that light, slender structures will one day be praised by the layman for being as beautiful or even more beautiful than massive ones" (Robert Maillart)

Best regards,
R

1224. Salgina. Brücke bei Schiers

Dear John,

"If you choose to believe me, good. Now I will tell how Octavia, the spider-web city, is made. There is a precipice between two steep mountains: the city is over the void, bound to the two crests with ropes and chains and catwalks. You walk on the little wooden ties, careful not to set your foot in the open spaces, or you cling to the hempen strands. Below there is nothing for hundreds and hundreds of feet: a few clouds glide past; farther down you can glimpse the chasm's bed."
(Italo Calvino,-Invisible Cities)

Cheers,
R

1111. Salgina Brücke bei Schiers

Dear Maire-Claire,

The more rational the design was the
more alluring the bridge became.

Regards,
R

610. Schiers, Salgina, Brucke

Querida Lynne,

"Marco Polo describe un puente, piedra
por piedra. -Pero ¿cuál es la piedra que
sostiene el puente?-pregunta Kublai Kan.
-El puente no esta sostenido por esta o
aquella piedra- responde Marco-,sino por
la línea del arco que ellas forman. Kublai
permanece silencioso, reflexionando.
Despues añade: -¿Por qué me hablas de las
piedras? Es solo el arco lo que me importa.
Polo responde:-Sin piedras no hay arco."
(Italo Calvino. Las Ciudades Invisibles)

Sincerely,
R

510. Bern. Lorrainebrücke

Dear Johann,

"A bridge is like a house. Each bridge and each house
is a special case; each must be constructed and shaped
according to the environment with which it must cope
and the function it is to have " (Robert Maillart)

Respectfully
R

360. Chatelard. Le Viaduc sur l'Eau Noire

Dear Paul,

"Asi es como se espera. Viendo
a menudo las carreteras, los
puentes y la mar, viendo pasar
a los que no se quedan, a los
que se van"
(Desierto-J.M.G. Le Clezio)

Best regards.
R

205. Klosters, Eisenbahnbrucke

Dear Sean,

Robert Maillart's apparently fragile concrete arches
are sublime landmarks in the Swiss alpine landscape.
In the Landquart rail bridge at Klosters, for instance,
the deck follows a smooth horizontal curve in plan to
facilitate traffic. To achieve this effect the arch is as
wide as the deck at mid-span but much wider at the
abutments. Undoubtedly integration of the supporting
arch, the stiffening wall, and the traffic platform into
one cohesive unit were Maillart's main design principles.

Regards.
R