While recently speaking at the Net Impact Event, ARUP’s Kate Dunham told the crowd that she felt there were three constraints that limited China’s potential for adopting sustainability:
1) Regulatory Standards – standards she says have roots to the 1950s.
2) Business Environment – many have failed their responsibilities to the environment and are still unconvinced
3) Lifestyle Choices – The actions of consumers have done little to motivate regulartors or business leaders to change.
So.. anyone see others?
Founded in 1946 with an initial focus on structural engineering, Arup first came to the world’s attention with the structural design of the Sydney Opera House, followed by its work on the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Arup has since grown into a truly multidisciplinary organisation. Most recently, its work for the Singapore Sports Hub has reaffirmed its reputation for delivering innovative and sustainable designs that reinvent the built environment.
Arup brings together broad-minded individuals from a wide range of disciplines and encourages them to look beyond the constraints of their own specialisms.
This unconventional approach to design springs in part from Arup’s ownership structure. The firm is owned in trust on behalf of its staff. The result is an independence of spirit that is reflected in the firm’s work, and in its dedicated pursuit of technical excellence.