Ronald Hobbs
Ronald Hobbs (* 1923 in Nailsea , Somerset ; † 2006 ) was a British civil engineer.
Hobbs grew up in Nailsea and Bristol and received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Bristol in 1943 . Then he was in the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough. He spent three years with the engineering firm Oscar Faber & Partners before joining Arup in 1948 , where he stayed for the rest of his career and made a significant contribution to the rise and culture of the company. At first he worked closely with his partner Ronald Jenkins (because of the danger of confusing first names, he was usually called Bob afterwards). In 1961 he became a partner.
Many innovations in architecture and civil engineering were showcased at the 1951 Festival of Britain, and Hobbs made several contributions, including the first diagrid (diagonal lattice) roof made from prestressed concrete. He then headed the construction of the Bank of England printing works in Debden near Loughton, one of the first buildings in England with prefabricated (post-tensioned) prestressed concrete elements. Together with the architect Philip Dowson , he was primarily responsible for developing an all-round multidisciplinary development and management of construction projects at Arup , the Building Group , which became Arup Associates in 1963. Derek Sugden and Peter Foggo were also founders.
He was considered an outstanding engineer and was directly involved in the construction of buildings for universities, for example in Oxford and Cambridge, factory buildings for example for Penguin and John Player, the headquarters of the Central Electricity Generating Board in Bedminster Down in Bristol and the building of Lloyd's of London in Chatham and much of Broadgate in London.
With his partner Peter Dunican, he was mainly responsible for the ownership structure of employees and charitable foundation at Arup. In 1977 he became director of Ove Arup Partnership when the company was converted to employee ownership (Ove Arup Partnership is the owner of Arup).
In 1990 he became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering . He was an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Web links
- Obituary by David J. Brown in The Independent , Feb.7, 2006
Individual evidence
- ↑ Date of birth in James Steven Curl, Susan Wilson, Oxford Dictionary of Architecture, 2015, article Ove Arup
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hobbs, Ronald |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British civil engineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nailsea , Somerset |
| DATE OF DEATH | 2006 |