Cable-stayed bridges are very popular these days. The use of this kind of structure is really only appropriate when crossing major obstacles without intermediate supports. Their appearance and scale are tailored to suit the landscape, and contribute to the perception of its magnificence.

The suspension formed by many cables enable the deck to be made lighter. The overall structure then has a slender silhouette which seems to link the water to the sky, and assumes a valuable role connecting valleys or the banks of a river.

With the bridges of Lixhe (1984) and Lanaye (1985), Greisch office moved into the design of this type of work, becoming expert in the technology of multiple cables, lightening shapes and going beyond the all-metal or all-concrete bridges which were once prevalent, in favour of a mixed approach. It has made a speciality of combined structures and has perfected the adjustment of the cables to balance the internal stresses. The use of the materials to their full potential has given very slender shapes to the bridges of Ben-Ahin (1988), Wandre (1989) and Val Benoît (2000) which cross the river Meuse near Liège as well as the Alzette bridge in Luxembourg (1997). The positioning of the Ben-Ahin bridge by rotating it 70° around the axis of the pylon beat the world record due to the scale of its dimensions (296 m). The Wandre bridge was the subject of particularly advanced structural design studies, to lighten the bridge deck and give its caisson a more appropriate profile and structure. The Liège bridge required special design studies and shape due to the urbanistic consequences resulting from its location on the outskirts of Liège. With the Millau viaduct, designed by Michel Virlogeux, seven cable-stayed structures were combined to form a 2.5 km long structure which crosses the Tarn at a height of 280 m. From the technical viewpoint, this was a world premiere.

Cable-stayed bridges are more than an object in space, more than the expression of a human exploit in the face of the elements; they have to match the spatial layout of the location and each time find a specific character in harmony with the environment.