(b Newcastle upon Tyne, 16 April 1895; d London, 5 Feb 1988). English engineer and structural consultant. He studied philosophy at Copenhagen University (BA, 1916) and engineering at the Polyteknisk Laereanstalt, Copenhagen (BSc, 1922), where he specialized in reinforced concrete. In 1922 he began work in Hamburg with Christiani & Nielsen, a Danish firm, expert in the design of reinforced concrete structures, and in 1924 moved with them to London as chief engineer. In the early 1930s he met Berthold Lubetkin and worked as structural consultant to the Tecton partnership, notably in London on the Penguin Pool (1934; see fig.) for the Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park, and on Highpoint One (1933–6), Highgate. Tecton’s progressive attitude to building techniques impressed Arup, but he realized that the traditional subordination of engineer to architect in the design process impeded effective collaboration. He therefore moved to a building firm, J. L. Kier & Co. in London, where as director and chief designer (1934–8) he had greater control. This integration of professional roles formed the basis of Arup’s lasting concern to link construction and design. During the 1930s he also worked with Wells Coates, Ernö Goldfinger, E. Maxwell Fry, Marcel Breuer and Yorke, Rosenberg & Mardall. He was a keen propagandist for the new architecture and served on the executive committee of MARS from 1935.

• Arup, Ove (Nyquist)
  • collaboration
    • Concrete, §II, 1(i)(b): After c 1850: Reinforced concrete
    • England, §II, 6: Architecture, after c 1914
    • Lubetkin, Berthold
    • Otto, Frei
    • Utzon, Jørn
  • competitions
    • Competition, §I, 4: Architecture, after 1900
  • groups and movements
    • MARS Group
    • Tecton
  • works
    • Architects’ Co-Partnership
    • Iron and steel, §II, 1(iii): Architecture, after c 1880
    • London, §II, 6: Urban development, after 1945
    • Malaysia, §II, 1(ii): Religious architecture: Islamic
    • Wales, §II, 2: Architecture, after c 1600