Arup, Ove (1895-1988)

Danish civil engineer. He founded the British-based architectural practice, Arup Associates, a firm noted for the considered and elegant manner in which modern materials, especially concrete, are employed in its designs. Set up in 1963, the practice represented Arup's ideal of interdisciplinary cooperation. Examples of its work are at Somerville College, Oxford (1958-62), and Corpus Christi, Cambridge (1961-64).

During the 1930s Arup worked with Berthold Lubetkin and the Tecton group on a number of projects, including the Penguin Pool, London Zoo (1934-35), which used reinforced concrete in a sculptural fashion (later developed in Arup's own designs). He later prepared the structural designs for Coventry Cathedral (1951), designed by Basil Spence; and the Sydney Opera House (1957-73), by Jørn Utzon.

Arup was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne of Danish parents, and studied in Denmark before moving to London in 1923.