Engineering the World: Ove Arup and the Philosophy of Total Design

Ove Arup (1895-1988), used his past interests of philosophy and engineering to help inform his works. He reinforced the importance of there being a balance between the beauty of design while keeping in mind the function of the structure. The idea of 'Total design' was Arup connecting architectural ways of working with engineering, which allowed him to create some of the most ambitious structures of the 20th century. I  found that the most intriguing part of the exhibition was the 'doodles' Arup made over his project briefs. It revealed he must have had a wandering mind and a vivid imagination. The figures created were almost abstract but drawn showing organic forms in fluid shapes. This fluidity of shapes and natural forms can be seen in Arups larger works such as the Royal Opera house with the shell like roof structure. What informed my own ideas was his ability to take inspiration from nature, like the wooden exhibition roof structures he called 'leaves' and create new works of engineering. Arups goal was to use his philosophy of Total Design to help benefit modern society, in his own way he was striving to make his image of Utopia a reality.