“Successful design cannot be separated from breadth knowledge and steadfast inquiry.”

ARUP (LONDON)
www.arup.com

Dr. Chris Luebkeman is a bridge builder of many kinds. He is a third generation educator who has been formally educated as a geologist, structural engineer and architect who believes that successful design cannot be separated from breadth of knowledge and steadfast inquiry. Prior to joining Arup in 1999, he taught in the Departments of Architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [ETH] in Zurich, the University of Oregon, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT].

His primary academic interest was the appropriate teaching pedagogies for the integration of the building sciences into architectural curricula. This culminated in a highly successful course on Integrated Building Systems.

His industry funded research program at MIT, which continues today, is entitled 'house_n; MIT's intelligent home of the future.’ This is a technology and tectonic exploration of the integration of the digital with the physical.

He continues to utilize his broad interests and enthusiastic belief in our zeitgeist in his current position as Director for Global Foresight and Innovation at Ove Arup & Partners (www.arup.com) headquartered in London. His experiences have enabled him to specialize in being a generalist with a view to being "in league with the future."

Chris joined Arup to become joint Director of Research and Development. He co-led a group of over fifty of the firm’s most highly skilled and technically able individuals. He was responsible for developing the role of the group with a focus on design research. He has enjoyed a particular responsibility within the Arup Group for encouraging and mentoring innovation projects.