Ove Arup: Masterbuilder of the Twentieth Century

by Peter Howard Jones

In 1946 Ove Arup, a leading engineer of the twentieth century, founded a firm of consulting engineers that brought to fruition such iconic structures as the Sydney Opera House, the Olympic Village in Beijing, London’s Millennium Bridge, the Beaubourg Centre in Paris, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, and Kansai Airport in Japan among many others. Devoted to a “commonsense” reform of engineering and architectural practice, Arup (1895-1988) pioneered the way for modern architects and engineers to collaborate successfully and responsibly on large projects. This is the first biography of the great and versatile engineer, complete with some 80 historic photographs that have never been published before.
Peter Jones, the first researcher to have full access to the vast private Arup archives, tells the complete story of Ove Arup’s extraordinary life, his social, aesthetic, and environmental concerns, and his practical contributions during a period of political and technological upheaval. Jones also offers a revelatory new account of the Sydney Opera House and the character of those involved in its complex construction.

Genres: Architecture, Biography, Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published November 27, 2006

Reviews

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book

[Brian Gowthorpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this in 2009? in the first enthusiastic flush of joining Arup and now have got round to it. Sooner, as so often, would have been better. Not that the views and Oveinfo from Arup colleagues has been too far adrift but there was a lot more to him than I had grasped. There were also some flaws, which was reassuring: vacillation, failure to appreciate people, selfishness, feathering of the Ovenest when his staff were not earning much and coming the Big I Am. But he did have a lot to offer. I had rather assumed that the philosophy was a very subordinate but useful part of his shtick but in fact, it was fundamental: only collaboration of specialists as equals will deliver good buildings. I did not realise that 'Total Architecture' which Ove took up as a rallying cry was from Walter Gropius, an architect who did get it and was much admired by Ove. Jorn Utzen was the opposite and saw the Sydney Opera House as a sculpture; Ove tried so hard with this arrogant/self-doubting (worst combo) monster of egotism, charm, incompetence and paranoia and was ultimately insulted and betrayed. He suffered. A great yarn and the founders of the firm in 1946 were all left-wing (but eschewing Communism) and wanted to be different. Ove wanted engineers to have a liberal arts background as well and to develop aesthetic judgement. He was inspired by the Enlightenment and a liberal education only to be horrified by the narrowness of the British élite. Zest for life: music, people, fine wine and food.

[Mohamed El-Zeadani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful recount of the life of one of the best structural engineers to ever live.