Logo IABSE
Logo IABSE
Home > Publications > IABSE History
IABSE - The First 80 Years

Download electronic copy here (pdf)
Order hard copies here

About the author

The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) was founded in the aftermath of World War I in 1929 to reconnect professionals who had lost contact through the isolation of war. From the very outset the Association established a worldwide platform for the spread of information on theoretical developments and the growing proliferation of engineering specialties and tasks, and it quickly became the international voice of the profession, forming a source of reference on the fi eld and a basis for the social recognition of structural engineering as a political, economic and cultural force to be reckoned with in the development of the 20th century. In all these goals IABSE succeeded admirably, and this is the story of the development and the far-sighted founders and dedicated participants in the association’s steady growth. It documents the events, the personalities and their ideas, talents, strengths and weaknesses, as well as what motivated them and guided the Association through the difficult years of World War II and into the expansive development in the globalized arena of the latter part of the century.

Where we go from here is unknown, but where we come from is our history and the springboard from which the human race develops. It chronicles case studies in the evolution of ideas and the life of cultural organizations. This is the story of how, through whom, and why IABSE came to be what it is today.

Online Shop

The First 80 Years, by Tom  F. Peters (2011)

in English, 218 pages

Format: 175 x 245 mm
ISBN: 978-3-85748-129-1
Published: August 2011

Price :
IABSE Members: CHF 30.-
Non-Members:    CHF 50.-

Including mailing costs.

back to the top
Last modified: 2011-10-06

  • IABSE History