Page 7 - Arup - Total Design over time

Foreword
Gregory Hodkinson
Engineering is central to human progress – almost nothing is invented without it – and Ove Arup was an extraordinary engineer who was deeply concerned with that progress. His vision for the role of engineering in design and of design in engineering was shaped by humanistic, rather than simply technical, principles. This breadth of vision has inspired generations to pursue the
art and science of Total Design in the rm he started at age 51
in 1946.
The purpose of the rm founded by Ove has remained constant over the ensuing 70 years. The results of his admonition to expand its eld of activity into adjoining elds, solely in the quest for overall quality, has produced the broadening body of work across the world that is sampled in this volume.
In his latter years Ove was concerned with the impact of design at both small and large scale and the future we are effectively designing for humanity on our planet. If he were with us today
I think he would recognise the pursuit of quality and the social purpose of design in the current work of the rm. I very much hope and fully expect they will be recognised in the work of the rm that is his legacy 70 years and more hence.
Gregory Hodkinson
Arup Group Chairman