MTU Library Catalogue

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Ove Arup : masterbuilder of the twentieth century / Peter Jones.

By: Jones, Peter, 1935 December 18-.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: New Haven : Yale University Press, 2006Description: x, 364 p., [64] p. of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 25 cm. + hbk.ISBN: 0300112963 (hbk.); 9780300112962 (hbk.).Subject(s): Arup, O. N. (Ove Nyquist), 1895- | Architects -- Great Britain -- BiographyDDC classification: 720.92
Contents:
'Si jeunesse savait ...' -- ' ... to be a masterbuilder' -- Becoming a 'double outsider' -- a hell of a row ...' -- Fighting incompetence -- A new start -- Expansion and explanation -- Job 1112 -- 'glory or blame ... at the edge of the possible?' -- Betrayal and philosophical crusade -- 'The key speech' -- Cultivating 'the art of the impossible' -- Legacies -- '... si vieillesse pouvait'.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In 1946 Ove Arup, a leading engineer of the twentieth century, founded a firm of consulting engineers that brought to fruition such iconic structures as the Sydney Opera House, the Olympic Village in Beijing, London's Millennium Bridge, the Beaubourg Centre in Paris, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, and Kansai Airport in Japan among many others. Devoted to a "commonsense" reform of engineering and architectural practice, Arup (1895-1988) pioneered the way for modern architects and engineers to collaborate successfully and responsibly on large projects. This is the first biography of the great and versatile engineer, complete with some 80 historic photographs that have never been published before.
Peter Jones, the first researcher to have full access to the vast private Arup archives, tells the complete story of Ove Arup's extraordinary life, his social, aesthetic, and environmental concerns, and his practical contributions during a period of political and technological upheaval. Jones also offers a revelatory new account of the Sydney Opera House and the character of those involved in its complex construction.

Bibliography: (pages 343-350) and index.

'Si jeunesse savait ...' -- ' ... to be a masterbuilder' -- Becoming a 'double outsider' -- a hell of a row ...' -- Fighting incompetence -- A new start -- Expansion and explanation -- Job 1112 -- 'glory or blame ... at the edge of the possible?' -- Betrayal and philosophical crusade -- 'The key speech' -- Cultivating 'the art of the impossible' -- Legacies -- '... si vieillesse pouvait'.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Born in England to Scandinavian parents, Ove Arup (1895-1988) was one of the world's premier structural engineers. His global consulting firm, which now numbers 8000 employees, continues to set the industry's standard for collaboration and on-time completion of large-scale projects, such as the Sydney Opera House, Paris's Beaubourg Center, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, London's Millennium Bridge, and Beijing's Olympic Village. Renowned for his organizational abilities, Arup took a holistic approach to design that brought together multidisciplinary teams directing projects from conception through completion, a much-copied model that has become a popular case study in business courses. Jones (emeritus, Univ. of Edinburgh) finds room in this engrossing and rigorously documented first biography, supplemented by about 80 historic photos, to reveal Arup's irrepressible bohemian personality and private life. Major accomplishments and commissions are highlighted, along with relations with famous architects such as Jorn Utzon and Richard Rogers. With a useful chronology and graphs that chart the firm's growth and financial success; an outstanding addition to all architecture and engineering libraries.-Russell T. Clement, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Peter Jones is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and former director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh. He lives in Edinburgh.