Maurice Koechlin (3 June 1856 – 14 January 1946) was a Franco-

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

structural engineer Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research List of structural elements, structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants. Their work takes account mainly of ...

from the Koechlin family.

Life

A member of the renowned Alsatian Koechlin family, he was born in Buhl, Haut-Rhin, the son of Jean Koechlin and his wife Anne Marie (Anaïs), née Beuck. He was the first cousin once removed of André Koechlin, and the great-grandfather of actress Kalki Koechlin. When France lost the

Franco-Prussian war The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

to Prussia in 1871 the entire Koechlin family decided to become citizens of Switzerland and thus dropped French citizenship. After the defeat of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

in 1918, however, the Koechlin family again applied for French citizenship. Maurice attended the lycée in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

, then between 1873 and 1877 studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

at the Polytechnikum Zürich under Carl Culmann. In 1876 he became a citizen of Zurich ("''Zürcher Bürger''") Between 1877 and 1879 he worked for the French railway company "''Chemin de Fer de l'Est''". Much of his work was done for

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...

's "Compagnie des établissements Eiffel", which Koechlin joined in 1879. In 1886 Maurice married Emma Rossier (1867-1965). They had six children: three sons and three daughters. Maurice and Emma were lifelong members of the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

. In 1887 he started work on his plans for the "''Tour de 300 mètres''" in Paris, along with his younger brother Henri Koechlin and

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

Émile Nouguier. Maurice Koechlin became the Managing Director of Eiffel's company when Eiffel retired from the engineering profession in 1893. The company was renamed ''Société de construction de Levallois-Perret''. Maurice Koechlin died in 1946 in

Veytaux Veytaux () is a municipality in the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut district in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The Château de Chillon across the Avenue de Chillon on Lake Geneva provides a view of the entire lake looking westward. History Veytaux ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in a house built by himself in 1900."Zum Tode des schweizerischen Erbauers der "Tour de 300 mètres" Maurice Koechlin"
''Neue Zürcher Zeitung'', 1110 (1946), retrieved 2013-08-11 (in German)

Major designs

Major structural designs include: * Garabit viaduct, (1880–1884); *Armature for the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

(''Liberty Enlightening the World'') - in collaboration with

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi ( , ; 2 August 1834 – 4 October 1904) was a French sculptor and painter. He is best known for designing ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. Early life and education Barthol ...

, (1884); and *

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

, (1887–1889).

Honours and legacy

*Officer of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Descendants

* Kalki Koechlin, a French actress based in India, is a descendant of Maurice Koechlin * Pedro Koechlin von Stein, a businessman in Peru (owner of Wayra PeruMaria Violeta Koechlin Venturo Lima Peru

Bibliography

* * * * (in German) * (in German) * (in German and French)

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koechlin, Maurice 1856 births 1946 deaths People from Haut-Rhin French Plymouth Brethren French civil engineers Structural engineers ETH Zurich alumni Officers of the Legion of Honour French emigrants to Switzerland