Arup

Foundation

The company was founded in London in 1946 as Ove N. Arup Consulting Engineers by Sir Ove Arup. Arup had established himself in the 1930s as an expert in reinforced concrete, known for projects such as the Penguin Pool at London Zoo. According to the architectural author Ian Volner, Arup's vision when establishing the company came out of a combination of his wartime experiences and a progressive-minded philosophy broadly aligning with early modernism, was for the organisation to be a force for peace and social betterment in the postwar world. To this end, it would employ professionals of diverse disciplines that could work together to produce projects of greater quality than was achievable by them working in isolation, a concept known as 'Total Design'.

Early years

As the company grew, Arup spurned the common practice amongst its rivals of acquiring other companies; instead, it pursued natural growth, opening up new offices at locations where the potential for work had been identified. During 1963, together with the architect Philip Dowson, a new division of the company, Arup Associates, was formed.

Within 25 years of its establishment, the firm had become well known for its design work for the built environment, acquiring a reputation for its competence at undertaking projects that were structurally and/or logistically complex. Arup himself worked on multiple projects during the firm's early years, including the Sydney Opera House, where he was lead engineer, and which author Peter Jones credited with launching Arup into the premier league of engineering consultancies. The Opera House was the first application of computer calculations to an engineering project, using the Ferranti Pegasus computer to generate models. During Arup's lifetime, the company would also work on high-profile projects such as the 'inside-out' Centre Pompidou with Rogers & Piano, and the HSBC headquarters with Norman Foster & Partners.

"Key Speech"

1970 was a particularly transformative year for the firm; 24 years after founding the company, Arup opted to retire from actively leading the company. At the time, the firm (then Ove Arup & Partners) was made up of several independent practices spread across the globe, so prior to his departure, Arup delivered his "Key Speech" on 9 July in Winchester to all his partners from the various practices. The speech set out the aims of the firm and identified the principles of governance by which they might be achieved. These included quality of work, total architecture, humane organisation, straight and honorable dealings, social usefulness, and the reasonable prosperity of its members. Arup's philosophy work on influential projects was the subject of a dedicated retrospective at the V&A Museum in 2016.

2020s

Arup fell victim to a deepfake scam at their Hong Kong office, resulting in a loss of approximately $25 million. Fraudsters used AI-generated video and audio to impersonate senior company officials, deceiving an employee into transferring funds across multiple transactions.