In 1983, I obtained a civil engineering degree from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. Subsequently, I worked at the architecture and engineering office of Santiago Calatrava, where, in 1987, I developed the structural concept of the (200-m span) Alamillo Bridge in Seville (first cable-stayed bridge without back cables). In 1992, I received my doctoral degree from ETH, under the supervision of Prof. Christian Menn. In 1996, I was appointed as a (part-time) assistant professor at the department of architecture at ETH, in 1998 as a (part-time) associate professor of structural engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, EPFL, and in 2007 as a full professor of structural engineering at EPFL. On July 31, 2024, I retired - my affiliation at EPFL continues, however, as an honorary professor. In parallel to my part-time academic work, I always worked as a practical engineer and co-owned an engineering firm.
In 2000, I created the Composite Construction Laboratory (CCLab) at EPFL. During 25 years, my research work focused on the development of material-tailored applications of composites in structural engineering and architecture. The outcome of this work is summarised in my open access monograph «Composites in Structural Engineering and Architecture'' (10.55430/6225TKVA01), published in 2024, at the day of my retirement when CCLab was closed.
I was
a founding member of the International Institute for FRP in Construction (IIFC) in 2002, and a member of the CEN/TC 250 Project Team to establish the European Technical Specification «Design of Fibre-Polymer Composite StructuresË®, CEN/TS 19101, published in 2022. The TS is planned to be converted into Part 1 of Eurocode 11 in 2026. Currently, I am leading the work on Part 2: Execution.
As a practical engineer, I designed the first composite pedestrian bridge in Switzerland (Pontresina Bridge, 1997), which is also one of the first composite bridges in Europe. Furthermore, I was responsible for the structural design of the five-story Eyecatcher Building (Basel, 1998), which is still (in 2025) the tallest building in the world with a primary composite structure. I also contributed to the design of the free-form multifunctional composite sandwich roof of the Novartis Campus Entrance Building (Basel, 2006) and the hybrid Avançon (vehicular) Bridge with an adhesively bonded composite-balsa sandwich deck (Bex, 2012).
Currently, I am working on the design of the 1K Bridge, a 1-km long composite pedestrian bridge in the Swiss Alps, composed of 50 bending-active modules suspended by cables, and I am also involved in the SafeShore project: www.safeshore.ch.

Open access at https://www.doi.org/10.55430/6225TKVA01, monograph funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
This book is a monograph about the my 25-year journey as a pioneer, scientist, designer, and lecturer in the field of fibre-polymer composites, applied to structural engineering and architecture. Composites are construction materials that offer unique properties when compared to conventional materials such as reinforced concrete or steel. In addition to their excellent mechanical properties, their physical properties - including low thermal conductivity, transparency, and colour - allow structural, building physics and architectural functions to be integrated into individual members of buildings. This merging of functions in buildings, in addition to the modular and hybrid composite construction of bridges, gives rise to novel and compelling solutions regarding structural safety, serviceability, aesthetics, economy, and sustainability. Alongside these opportunities, however, composites may also reveal limitations in their structural application, which can be caused by their anisotropy or viscoelasticity, or in terms of ductility, fatigue, fire resistance, and durability. The monograph first addresses these limitations from a scientific point of view and then demonstrates how they can be overcome through suitable structural and architectural design. Subsequently, it is shown how the opportunities can be explored and the current design space expanded, with the aim of allowing composites to develop to their full potential in structural engineering and architecture.