Wise, who became one of Britain’s most highly rated engineers after working on the American Air Museum at Duxford, Frankfurt’s Commerzbank and London’s Millennium Bridge, will leave the firm in July.
No date was given for his return to Ove Arup.
An Ove Arup statement said Wise wanted to “find and celebrate the natural soul of engineering” and to inspire greater understanding of engineering in designers and the public.
Ove Arup Partnership chairman Duncan Michael said: “We would like to thank Chris for his considerable contributions to the partnership, wish him a productive sabbatical and look forward to a mutually successful future.” Wise, who became an Ove Arup director in 1993, is also professor of creative design at Imperial College, London.
