Arup was established in 1946 bySir Ove Arup as Ove N. Arup Consulting Engineers. Through its involvement in high-profile projects such as theSydney Opera House, it became well known for undertaking complex and challenging projects.[8] In 1970, Arup stepped down from actively leading the company, setting out the principles which have continued to guide its operation.[8]
Arup's ownership is structured as atrust[9] whose beneficiaries are its employees, past and present, who receive a share of itsoperating profit each year.[10][11]
The company was founded in London in 1946 asOve N. Arup Consulting Engineers bySir Ove Arup. Arup had established himself in the 1930s as an expert inreinforced concrete, known for projects such as the Penguin Pool atLondon Zoo.[12] 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 thepostwar world.[8] 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'.[8][13][14]
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.[8]
During 1963, together with the architectPhilip Dowson, a new division of the company, Arup Associates, was formed.[15]
Within 25 years of its establishment, the firm had become well known for its design work for thebuilt environment,[16][17] acquiring a reputation for its competence at undertaking projects that were structurally and/or logistically complex.[8] Arup himself worked on multiple projects during the firm's early years, including theSydney Opera House, where he was lead engineer, and which author Peter Jones credited with launching Arup into the premier league of engineering consultancies.[18][19] The Opera House was the first application of computer calculations to an engineering project, using theFerranti Pegasus computer to generate models.[20]
During Arup's lifetime, the company would also work on high-profile projects such as the 'inside-out'Centre Pompidou with Rogers & Piano, and theHSBC headquarters with Norman Foster & Partners.[21][22]
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 (thenOveArup & 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 inWinchester to all his partners from the various practices.[23] 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.[8]
Arup's philosophy work on influential projects was the subject of a dedicated retrospective at the V&A Museum in 2016.[24]
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.[25]
Arup is an employee-owned business, with all staff owning a stake in the company and part of a global profit share.[26]
By 2013, Arup was operating 90 offices across 60 countries around the world.[8] These offices are elaborately interconnected by sharedinternet-based collaborative working packages and communication systems that can, where required, enable a single project to be worked on by multiple offices across a seamless, 24-hour working cycle. However, it is more common for individual offices to specialise in working on an assigned subsection of a project rather than continuously exchanging.[8]
The firm has published an annual sustainability report since 2008, and is involved in several projects around the world aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions,[28] such asDongtan Eco-City, which is planned to be zero waste,[29] and theHigh Speed 2 Interchange Station, which is the first railway station in the world to achieveBREEAM 'outstanding certification.[30]
Arup also runs community engagement programmes comprising initiatives to combat homelessness,[31] improvesanitation in disaster relief programmes,[32] and disaster recovery after earthquakes.[33] They also engage in partnerships withgovernments,NGOs,think tanks, and other advocacy groups.[34][35]
Arup secured its firstFair Tax Mark certification from the Fair Tax Foundation in 2024.[36]
The firm is consistently placed amongst top performers in Corporate and Social Responsibility rankings such as the ACCSR.[39]
Arup's multidisciplinary sports venue design and engineering scope on theSingapore Sports Hub won the 2013 World Architecture Festival Award in the Future Projects, Leisure Category.[40]
Arup Fire has won the Fire Safety Engineering Design award four times since its creation in 2001.[43] The 2001 inaugural award was won for Arup's contribution to theEden Project in Cornwall, UK, the world's largest greenhouse. In 2004, the design for London's City Hall was appointed joint winner. In 2005, theTemple Mills Eurostar Depot won. The 2006 winning entry was for Amethyst House, a nine-storey building with an atrium from the ground to the top, inManchester, UK.[44]
Arup was awarded the 2010 Live Design Excellence Award for Theatre Design for the integrated theatre and acoustic team's design for the new Jerome Robbins Theatre, created for Mikhail Baryshnikov and The Wooster Group.[45]
The Evelyn Grace Academy, London designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and Arup won the RIBAStirling Prize in 2011.[46]
Arup was named Tunnel Design Firm of the Year at the 2012 ITA AITES International Tunnelling Awards.[47]
^Corporate Report 2008, section 23 (Report). The Arup Group. p. 19.Arup Group Ltd is owned by the Ove Arup Partnership Employee Trust, the Ove Arup Partnership Charitable Trust and the Arup Service Trust.
^"Arup Associates". historicengland.org.uk. 15 June 2018.Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved17 April 2021.
^Alexandra Wynne (3 August 2016)."Arup's total design legacy".New Civil Engineer.Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved14 September 2021.
^"The Politics of Power".The Brits who Built the Modern World. London. 27 February 2014.BBC Four.Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved15 March 2014.
£2202.2 Million (2024)[1]
£24.4 Million (2024)[2]
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