architect engineer civil engineer
Amongst his best known works were the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge, an 8 km crossing of Lake Maracaibo incorporating seven cable-stayed bridge spans with unusual piers, and the Subterranean Automobile Showroom in Turin. Following graduation in 1927, Morandi gained experience in Calabria working with reinforced concrete in earthquake damaged areas. On his return to Rome to open his own office, he continued with his technical exploration of reinforced and prestressed concrete structures and embarked on the design of a series of novel cinema structures and bridges.
His numerous later works include his work on the Fiumicino Airport, Rome, in 1970 and a bridge in Barranquilla, Colombia in 1972.
Morandi was also appointed professor in bridge design both at the University of Florence and the University of Rome. Ponte Amerigo Vespucci, Florence, Italy, 1957
Fiumarella Viaduct, Catanzaro, Italy, 1960
Kinnaird Bridge, Canada, 1960
Polcevera Viaduct, Genoa, Italy, 1968, four cable-stayed spans (maximum 280 m)
Wadi el Kuf Bridge, Libya, 1971, three cable-stayed spans (for 7 years, its 281 m central span was the longest concrete cable-stayed bridge span in the world)
Carpineto Bridge, Potenza, Italy, 1973, three cable-stayed spans
Barranquilla Bridge, Magdalena River, Colombia, 1974
General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge Lago de Maracaibo, Venezuela,1962
Morandi"s cable-stayed bridges are characterised by very few stays, often as few as two per span, and often with the stays constructed from prestressed concrete rather than the more usual steel cables.
Although these bridges are often impressive, they are less economic than bridges with multiple stays and have therefore been of little influence on other engineers.