Ove Arup's total design, integrated project delivery, and the role of the engineer

Sir Ove N. Arup's total architecture was an organizational and philosophical set of guidelines for the working engineer, and at its best, it was a standard for the whole design team. In 2007, the American Institute of Architects created a system to implement integrative practice entitled Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) to reorganize not only how a project team works, but when time is invested in designing. This paper examines the role of engineers in IPD through the lens of Arup's ideas, which are still seen as inspiration for practitioners. The philosophy behind IPD is examined through its definitive Guide and the application through a series of documented case studies. A comparison of Arup's philosophy and the structure of IPD demonstrates the position of engineers and how they are valued in an IPD project, leading to the conclusion that IPD falls short of capitalizing on the potential of the engineer as partner in integrated design.