Who is Jean Muller ?

Jean Muller, a Builder of Innovation

Born on May 25, 1925, in Levallois-Perret and passed away on March 17, 2005, in Saint-Cloud, Jean Marius Muller was a French engineer and entrepreneur, a graduate of the École centrale des arts et manufactures. A student of Eugène Freyssinet, pioneer of prestressed concrete, he became one of his closest collaborators within the STUP (Technical Society for the Use of Prestressing), where he contributed to landmark projects such as the arch bridges in Venezuela.

His career took a decisive turn in 1952 when he was sent to the United States to introduce the technique of prestressed concrete. He contributed to the construction of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana, a 38-kilometer-long structure. Upon his return to France in 1955, he joined Campenon Bernard, where he became Technical and Scientific Director. There, he developed innovative techniques, such as precast segments with match-cast joints, first applied on the Choisy-le-Roi bridge in 1962. These advances helped industrialize bridge construction, reducing time and cost while improving quality.

In 1977, he co-founded the engineering firm Figg & Muller Engineers in Florida with American engineer Eugene Figg. This partnership marked the beginning of a series of major achievements in the United States, including the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a 360-meter cable-stayed bridge inaugurated in 1987. Inspired by the Brotonne Bridge in France, it was designed to withstand winds up to 385 km/h and maritime collisions, making it one of the safest bridges in the United States.

Jean Muller also oversaw large-scale international projects such as the Rombas viaduct, the Confederation Bridge in Canada — where he set a world record with a 7,500-ton prefabricated segment — as well as metro systems in Monterrey and Bangkok. He founded Jean Muller International (JMI), with offices in San Diego and Bangkok, to promote his advanced segmental construction methods.

His legacy lives on in modern construction: his methods of prefabrication, prestressing, and segmental construction are now standard practices in the execution of major infrastructure works. Jean Muller received numerous national and international awards, including the medal of the International Federation for Prestressing, the Golden Eiffel Award, the Caquot Prize, and was named a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

The archives of Jean Muller, a reflection of his decisive contribution to the industrialization of construction and innovation in civil engineering, represent a valuable technical and intellectual heritage for local, national, and international history. They naturally find their place in the Departmental Archives of Yvelines, close to the offices where he worked for nearly 40 years.