ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Gustave Eiffel and Othmar Ammann each designed great two-hinge arch bridges that have been named landmarks by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Eiffel’s Maria Pia Bridge exhibits the crescent form with an aesthetic of lightness. Ammann’s Bayonne Bridge is of the spandrel from and is influenced by an aesthetic of monumentality. Referring to archival research and technical analyses, this paper will show that each is a major work of structural art by adhering to the follow tenets: efficiency (minimum material consistent with satisfactory performance and assured safety), economy (competitive construction cost consistent with minimal maintenance requirements), and elegance (aesthetically striking consistent with efficiency and economy). Then it will present a quantitative comparison between the crescent and spandrel forms of two-hinge arch by optimizing each with respect to member cross-section. This study found the crescent form to be more efficient based on a lower self-weight after optimization.
