Tribute to Professor Emeritus Julius Natterer

From 1978 to 2004, Prof. Natterer taught timber construction at the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering (ENAC), and was tireless in his efforts to popularize the use of wood as a key building material. He founded and led EPFL’s Laboratory for Timber Constructions (IBOIS) which, according to Maurice Cosandey, EPFL’s president at the time, was intended to give fresh impetus to this construction material in Switzerland. In 1988, together with Prof. Roland Schweitzer, Prof. Natterer created a post-graduate course in timber engineering and architecture at EPFL. To give the course a more international scope, he brought in Prof. Jean-Luc Sandoz, a materials engineer and an expert in wood construction. Beginning in the 1990s, Prof. Natterer was a vocal opponent of gray energy in the field of construction and sought to make the industry more carbon neutral through the use of wood.

New construction techniques

Prof. Natterer, was a leading figure in the area of timber construction, pioneering the use of mass timber and nail-laminated timber techniques. He was also well-known for his wooden geodesic domes, including the Polydôme at EPFL.

Particularly notable achievements include the Vallorbe bridge in Ballaigues (1989), EPFL’s Polydôme (1991), the One-World-Church in Schneverdingen (1999), the roof of the Main Hall at EXPO 2000 in Hanover, Germany (2000), the Tour de Sauvabelin in Lausanne (2003), the Wil Tower in St. Gallen (2006), the Zénith Concert Hall in Limoges (2007), the Luxembourg Pavilion for Shanghai Expo 2010 and the roof of the Evangelical Free Church in Heiligenstadt (2011).

Prof. Natterer received many international awards for his research and his trailblazing wood constructions. These include the Schweighofer Foundation Main Prize in 2005, in recognition of his life’s work as a pioneer in modern timber construction, and the Monsieur Bois Award from Lignum Vaud, for his influence in – and well beyond – Vaud Canton, for championing the use of wood, and for his distinguished career. In 2014, he was awarded the Torroja Medal by the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures (IASS) for his work in the area of wooden shells.

Academic legacy

At ENAC, Prof. Natterer supervised many PhD theses and trained a number of post-doctoral students. Those who worked with him at ENAC also promoted his ground-breaking approach to timber construction, either in their teaching or by setting up their own wood building firms; they include Michael Flach in Innsbruck, Martin Kessel in Hildesheim, Amino Yoshiaki in Japan, Chi-Jen Chen in Taiwan, Jean-Luc Sandoz at CBT-CBS in Saint-Sulpice, and Markus Mooser, a professor at the School of Management and Engineering Vaud (HEIG-VD).

Julius Natterer brought the use of timber construction in civil engineering into the 21st century.

“Julius Natterer was a trailblazing professor who used innovative methods to teach generations of engineers about the art of timber construction and timber engineering,” says Dimitrios Lignos, the director of EPFL’s Civil Engineering Institute. “After he joined EPFL in 1978, Prof. Natterer played a key role in the expansion of timber construction in both Switzerland and abroad. The faculty of the Civil Engineering Institute are deeply saddened by Prof. Natterer's passing. We would like to express our sincere condolences and deepest sympathies to his family and relatives.”

Yves Weinand, the current director of the IBOIS laboratory, adds: “Julius Natterer was an extraordinary and innovative figure of outstanding significance, who brought the use of timber construction in civil engineering into the 21st century.”

• A funeral service will be held at 2pm on Wednesday, 3 November, in Lausanne Cathedral.