History

Busáras is one of Ireland's most important modernist buildings. Designed by Michael Scott and team, it also represents Ove Arup's first work in Ireland, leading to the creation of Arup's Dublin office in 1946. Hired as the consulting engineer, Busáras represented a significant challenge, both due to its size and the sophistication of its design.

This elegant concrete bridge over the River Wear connects Durham University’s 19th century buildings to its campus south of the river. It was the last project Ove designed himself, and he would describe it as a “complete integration of architecture, structure and method of construction”.

Ove Arup articulates his vision for the firm in ‘The Key Speech’. This philosophical talk defined the firm’s purpose, shape and values and signalled its future as a membership-owned organisation. The values and principles agreed that night continue to guide us in our work today.

The construction of the structurally iconic Sydney Opera House brought Arup global recognition. Design begins in the 1950s, and the complex design work for the iconic pre-cast concrete shells is finally achieved through the pioneering use of computers.

Another of Arup’s many collaborations with architect Norman Foster, the HSBC building in Hong Kong remains a triumph of high-tech, user-centred design. The structure’s complex multi-tower form was particularly challenging, and much of the building had to be produced abroad and assembled off-site.

Completed in 1987, The Menil Collection, USA demonstrates the effectiveness of truly integrated design. The gallery’s shading, lighting, ventilation services and structures are all component parts of the architecture. We worked with the architect Renzo Piano to develop a louvre-style roof made of 300 ‘light leaves’ which acted as shade and heat shield to protect the art.

At Kansai International Airport, Japan we made pioneering use of computational fluid dynamics to design the roof of the steel-clad passenger terminal, another collaboration with Renzo Piano. The result is an expressive, unobstructed space with a draught-free climate for the main passenger areas.

Curved steel contours and a wingspan approaching jumbo-jet proportions have helped the Angel of the North achieve iconic status. Artist Antony Gormley’s creation celebrates Britain’s industrial past in an essentially modern and public work. We resurrected local shipbuilding skills and combined them with boundary-pushing 3D modelling technology to produce the sculpture.

The district in Bangkok lacked any system for collecting sewage. We laid 55km of major sewers beneath the canals, dramatically minimising disruption to the roads. Yannawa was the first major environmental project to become operational in the Thai capital and remains one of our most significant urban water engineering projects. Now two million people can benefit from reliable wastewater collection and the canals are much cleaner.

When the Øresund Bridge opened in 2000, it simplified the trip from Malmö, Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark into a 35-minute drive. We led the design consortium on this ambitious project, part rail-and-road bridge, part underwater tunnel, part artificial island. Huge sections of the superstructure were prefabricated offsite before being lifted into place by floating cranes.

The design of the former Olympic swimming venue, now a water park, is inspired by the formation of soap bubbles. It has a self-cleaning façade made from a translucent plastic 100 times lighter than glass and much better at collecting heat, saving on both lighting and heating.

Singapore Sports Hub is the first stadium in the world to be purpose built for football, rugby, cricket and athletics, as well as concerts and festivals. We worked on all architectural and engineering aspects of the project, from urban design and architecture to blast engineering and lighting.

Our work across the built environment has encouraged us to think long and deeply about what makes a successful city. Our Cities Alive research series puts a variety of different urban agendas under the spotlight, from children’s experiences to the need for more active travel and greener building envelopes. These are ideas that can shape cities where everybody thrives.

Redeveloping the Grade I listed King’s Cross station into a transport hub fit for the modern age required clever engineering and sympathetic design. We also mapped and modelled pedestrian behaviour to understand how millions of people use the station, producing insights that helped shape the redevelopment and identify revenue opportunities

At 180km long, this is the largest manmade reservoir in the US. We developed a deep-water intake on the lakebed 100m below the surface. In one of the most complex tunnelling operations ever attempted, we designed a 200m-deep shaft and a 5km-long bored tunnel below the lake to connect with the new intake.

Our partnership with the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is one way we are helping galvanise people into taking collective action. Over a three year period, Arup would invest $1 million into research through the partnership with C40, to offer cities increased insight to accelerate action on global climate change.

The Queensferry Crossing is Scotland’s largest infrastructure project for a generation and the longest three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world. Real-time sensor data protects travellers and employees by monitoring the impact of weather and motion and is one of the first bridges to have live ‘health checks’ for infrastructure.

The UK’s transition to zero carbon emissions is a huge challenge for a nation that usess gas for heating. Our work on Hy4Heat is exploring the how to switch the existing gas network to use hydrogen – a zero emission fuel. It’s a huge shift, so we’re helping at every level, from advisory and governance considerations, to the technical, safety and operational issues.

In most people’s minds 3D printing conjures up images of small-scale prototypes intricately built up in white resin. At Arup we have bigger ideas. Our structural engineers have explored the full potential of robotic welding to create complex structures. The results are remarkable, as seen with the 12m MX3D bridge in Amsterdam.

When Crossrail, now known as the Elizabeth line, commenced operation in May 2022, it represented the culmination of more than three decades of endeavour, collaboration and tenacity. Millions of passengers will benefit from the new system, which connects areas to the west and east of the capital, expanding capacity on London’s busy rail network by 10% with a fast and regular service.

We are helping the Sagrada Familia Foundation to produce the remaining six towers of Gaudi's creation. In all our work we have used a new generation of digital tools to produce workable structural designs that will complete the tops of the towers for this breath-taking church.