JÖRG SCHLAICH (1934-2021)

BY WILLIAM F. BAKER AND GUY J.P. NORDENSON

JÖRG MICHAEL SCHLAICH, a world-renowned structural engineer and academic, was internationally known for his many contributions to the field of structural engineering, particularly in the areas of bridges, cable structures, shell structures, and lightweight structures. After a lifetime of tremendous achievements in structural design, teaching, research, and professional associations, he passed away on Sept. 4, 2021, in Berlin at age 86.

He was born on Oct. 17, 1934, in Stetten im Remstal (now known as Kernen im Remstal), east of Stuttgart, the capital of Württemberg, Germany. His father, Ludwig, was a protestant parson in a family in which the oldest sons became parsons back to the time of Martin Luther. Ludwig ran the Diakonie Stetten, a large mental institution. His mother, Elisabeth (neé Weiss), was a nurse in the years after World War I. He was the third child of five, a girl and four boys. Brigitte, the oldest, studied under Mies van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology, married the former Bauhaus professor, Walter Peterhans, and became a renowned architect in Chicago (her oral history is available through the Art Institute of Chicago). At the beginning of World War II, Ludwig was drafted into the army and served in France, Russia, and Italy, where he became a prisoner of war. The Nazis closed the Diakonie Stetten and systematically killed many of the patients as lebensunwertes Leben (life unworthy of life). The family was forced to leave the institution, and they moved to Heilbronn where his grandparents lived. In December 1944, Heilbronn was destroyed by an air raid. The family was saved by Brigitte, who led their escape from the fires, and was then taken in by relatives who lived in the countryside.

Jörg was exposed to architectural design through his father’s work at the mental institution. As director, Ludwig commissioned new buildings for the Diakonie Stetten and, in the process, became friends with several architects. In addition, Brigitte studied architecture at the University of Stuttgart (named Technische Hochschule Stuttgart until 1967). She introduced him to the American architect-engineer Myron Goldsmith who had traveled to Stuttgart. It was through Myron Goldsmith that the teenaged Jörg first met Fritz Leonhardt (NAE 1983) under whom he would eventually study and work. Although he was initially interested in studying architecture, his sister urged him to pursue engineering. Later, he thanked her for her advice.

After completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter and graduating from high school in Waiblingen, he studied civil engineering and architecture at the University of Stuttgart from 1953 to 1955 and continued his studies at the Technical University of Berlin, graduating in 1959 with a Dipl.-Ing. He then studied in the United States at the Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) from 1959 to 1960, receiving a Master of Science in civil engineering in 1961. This time overlapped with his doctoral studies at the University of Stuttgart, where he received his doctorate (Dr.-Ing) in 1963 under the supervision of Professors Fritz Leonhardt and Friedrich Wilhelm Bornscheuer.

After working at the Ludwig Bauer construction company, Jörg joined the firm Leonhardt & Andrä in 1963, becoming a partner in 1970. There, Jörg was the designer for the Alster-Schwimmhalle (1964-67) in Hamburg, known for its concrete hyperbolic paraboloid shell roof. He also designed the Heinrich Hertz TV Tower (1966-1968) in Hamburg.

While at Leonhardt and Andrä, Jörg led the structural design for the Olympic Park facilities in Munich (1967-72) for the 1972 Olympics. These structures include the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Hall, and the Olympic Swimming Hall. The structures are notable for their distinctive tent roofs, which are supported by a series of steel cables and create a sense of openness and transparency. The Olympic Park is important for its innovative and expressive use of structural elements and materials, as well as its flexibility and adaptability. With that structure the team realized a form steeped in nature and natural processes that symbolized the rise of a federal democracy firmly rooted on a site made of the war debris of Munich. The Olympic Park complex is arguably one of the most important structures of the 20th century.

In addition to his professional practice, in 1974 he was appointed professor and director of Fritz Leonhardt’s former institute at the University of Stuttgart. It was initially called the Institute for Concrete Structures (Institut für Massivbau) but was later renamed the Institute for Structural and Conceptual Design (Institute für Konstruktion und Entwurf). He held this chair until 2000 when he became an emeritus professor. Among his academic achievements were pioneering developments of the strut-and-tie method of concrete design that are now used worldwide. He advocated for a new teaching concept (werkstoffübergreifende Lehre) across all structural materials. Many of his students have gone on to have major professorships and leadership positions in important firms.

In 1980 Jörg founded his own firm with Rudolf Bergermann, who worked with him on many projects at Leonhardt and Andrä, including the Olympic Park structures. The firm Schlaich + Partner (now called schlaich bergermann partner) is now one of the preeminent structural engineering firms in the world.

Although he worked with many different architects, Jörg’s designs have a remarkable consistency and originality. These designs reflect his values of efficiency, elegance, and sustainability. In addition to designing bridges, buildings, and stadia, he devoted much effort to creating systems for converting solar energy into electricity. These efforts include the solar updraft towers in Spain and Australia and solar power plants around the world. He pioneered the design of grid shells and cable-supported walls and saw them applied throughout the world to enhance many public spaces. His many and elegant pedestrian bridge designs, throughout Europe and the United States, and including a wonderful variety in Stuttgart, have made each crossing a joyful, wonder-filled pleasure for everyone. Examples include the Neckar River Bridge adjacent to Lake Max Eyth in Stuttgart (1986-89) and the Liberty Bridge in Greenville (2002-4).

His designs also include remarkable roofs such as for the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh (1982-85), the Roman Arena in Nîmes (1986-88), the Zaragoza Arena (1988-89), and the Gottlieb Daimler Stadium in Stuttgart (1990-93). He led the design of major highway and railway bridges such as Second Hooghly River Bridge in Kolkata (1971-93), the Macao Bridge (1989-94), Glacis Bridge in Ingolstadt (1993-98), the Humboldthafen Bridge in Berlin (1993-99), and the Nesenbach Valley Bridge in Stuttgart (1994-99). He also designed several elegant special structures such as the Fair Tower in Leipzig (1993-95) and the Killesberg Park Observation Tower in Stuttgart (1990-2001).

In 2002, Jörg Schlaich passed on his role as managing director of the firm and became a consulting partner in 2003.

He was very active in professional organizations and received many honors for his work. In addition to being an international member of the National Academy of Engineering, he was an international fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the U.K., a foreign fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, and a corresponding member of the Real Academia de Ingeniería de España. He received many awards, including the Gold Medal from the Institution of Structural Engineers (London) (1990), the IABSE International Award of Merit in Structural Engineering (1991), the Swedish Concrete Award (1995), the Fritz Leonhardt Preis (2002), the Werner von Siemens Ring (2002), and the Eduardo Torroja Medal (2004). He was awarded six honorary doctorates.

Jörg Schlaich married Eve Lise Fezer in 1959. They met in 1953 in Stuttgart at a student association. Before their marriage, she learned fashion design. They had four children: Mike (1960), Frieder (1961), Sibylle (1964), and Anne (1967). All four children have pursued careers in creative fields. Mike, who was born in America while his father was a student at the Case Institute of Technology, is a world-renowned structural engineer and a professor at Technical University Berlin. Frieder is a director and film producer. Sibylle is a designer with an expertise in visual communication and information design, particularly for wayfinding systems for airports around the world. Anne is a production designer for film.

Jörg was a remarkable man in many diverse ways. He had a profound, worldwide impact on structural engineering. His strong ethical values were evident in his elegant and efficient structures, which serve as models of excellence for future engineers. He examined the topic of structural design and developed a strong and coherent philosophy that he shared with the profession through his publications. As a teacher and researcher, he inspired generations of structural engineers and created new knowledge that is used worldwide. His participation in professional organizations helped to elevate the profession.

Jörg was in many ways a public intellectual. He recognized the climate crisis and its consequences long before most engineers. He demonstrated that engineers should step forward and offer their perspective on the transformations that will be necessary. He promoted the role of engineering in the service of beauty and the spirit. He was an example of advancing what Wilhelm von Humboldt called “social thinking” — working together and recognizing key ideas and innovations in others as well as oneself, moving social progress forward. He was fierce in his work and courteous and kind to the authors and so many others from around the world who were inspired by him. His legacy will endure.

Toward the end of his life, Jörg moved from Stuttgart to Berlin to be near his children. At that time, he suffered from diminished capacity, which distressed him greatly because he was a brilliant man for most of his life. He died in Berlin surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren.