Peter Rice
Encyclopedia
Peter Rice was an Irish
structural engineer
.
Born in 52 Brigid Street, Dundalk
in County Louth
, he spent his childhood between the town of Dundalk, and the villages of Gyles' Quay
and Inniskeen
. He was educated at the Queen's University of Belfast
where he received his primary degree, and spent a year at Imperial College, London. He originally studied Aeronautical Engineering but switched to Civil Engineering
. Taken on by Ove Arup & Partners, his first job was the roof of the Sydney Opera House
. He married Sylvia Watson in 1965 and they had one son and three daughters. Jonathan Glancey in his obituary said "Rice was, perhaps, the James Joyce
of structural engineering. His poetic invention, his ability to turn accepted ideas on their head and his rigorous mathematical and philosophical logic made him one of the most sought-after engineers of our times".
, Lloyd's of London
, the Louvre Pyramid
, the Mound Stand at Lord's Cricket Ground
, Kansai International Airport
and Stansted Airport.
In 1956 he joined Ove Arup & Partners. In 1957 he took leave to pursue post graduate studies at Imperial College rejoining Arups in 1958. After three years working on Jørn Utzon
shells for the roof of the Sydney Opera House in London, where he is credited with having done the geometry for the problematic design, he moved to Sydney
to be assistant engineer to Ian MacKenzie. After one month MacKenzie fell ill and was hospitalised, leaving Rice in total charge at the age of 28. On site his geometrical knowledge enabled him to write a computer program
to locate the segments of the shells correctly. In total he spent seven years working on the project. Afterwards, he spent 18 months in the United States
, in New York
and as visiting scholar at Cornell University
.
government's competition for the centre of Paris
at Beaubourg, partnering Richard Rogers
and Renzo Piano
. Edmund Happold
was the senior Arup engineer for the competition. Rice became the engineer for the built project which was greatly modified from the initial design. Art and technology were intertwined in the design enabling him to experiment with materials. He brought the concepts of humanity, tactility and scale to the project His team developed the gerberette which enabled the counterbalancing of the weight of the building with light tubing, lightening the external appearance. He specified that these were to be made in cast steel. After the Pompidou Centre, Rice set up his own company in 1977—"RFR"—along with Martin Francis and Ian Ritchie although he continued with Arup as a partner. In 1978 he was involved with Rogers again, this time on Lloyds of London, completed in 1984. During this time his other projects encompassed the Fleetguard Factory at Quimper in France, and Stansted Airport in London.
Though Rice was based in London, where he worked with Michael Hopkins on the tented Mound Stand at Lord's, much of his work was in Paris, including the great glass walls of the Cité des Sciences
at La Villette
and the tent-like canopy that softens the monumentality of the Grand Arche at La Défense
. In 1985 I.M. Pei asked his help with projects at the Louvre in Paris, namely the shell structures for the glass roofs that Pei planned to cover inner courtyards.
By then he was in great demand continuing to work with architects such as Richard Rogers, I.M. Pei, Norman Foster
, Ian Ritchie
, Kenzo Tange
, Paul Andreu
, and Renzo Piano. The projects he worked on ranged from Toronto's Opera House by Moshe Safdie to Kansai's International Airport, one of many projects with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
In addition to his huge output, he was known for his sympathetic attitude to design, his strategic approach, a cool head and managing to realise ambitious artistic designs in concrete reality. One of his marks as an engineer was the length of time he allowed to complete a project.
During his relatively short career, Rice's contribution to the built environment can be seen in the work of the recent Pritzker Prize
winners including: Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Zaha Hadid, etc.
for Architecture by the Royal Institute of British Architects
(the first was Ove Arup
), and the second Irishman after Michael Scott
. The award is conferred by the Sovereign annually for work which has "promoted, either directly or indirectly, the advancement of architecture."
, County Louth
.
The Peter Rice Silver Medal competition was established at Dundalk Institute of Technology ( His home town) in 1996
under the patronage of Ove Arup and Engineers Ireland (Institution of Engineers of Ireland ).
This medal is awarded annually, to the best presentation by an engineering student of the Institute on their practical project activity.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
structural engineer
Structural engineer
Structural engineers analyze, design, plan, and research structural components and structural systems to achieve design goals and ensure the safety and comfort of users or occupants...
.
Born in 52 Brigid Street, Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
in County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
, he spent his childhood between the town of Dundalk, and the villages of Gyles' Quay
Gyles' Quay
Gyles' Quay is an isolated stretch of beach located 1 km south of the R173/R175 road in County Louth, Ireland. It was named after Ross Gyles who build a wood structure there in 1780. It was later rebuilt in stone in 1824 and survives to this day....
and Inniskeen
Inniskeen
Inniskeen, officially Inishkeen , is a small village and parish in County Monaghan, Ireland, close to the County Louth and County Armagh borders. It is located about 17 km from Dundalk and 12 km from Carrickmacross and 5 km from Crossmaglen...
. He was educated at the Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University of Belfast
Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...
where he received his primary degree, and spent a year at Imperial College, London. He originally studied Aeronautical Engineering but switched to Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. Taken on by Ove Arup & Partners, his first job was the roof of the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
. He married Sylvia Watson in 1965 and they had one son and three daughters. Jonathan Glancey in his obituary said "Rice was, perhaps, the James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
of structural engineering. His poetic invention, his ability to turn accepted ideas on their head and his rigorous mathematical and philosophical logic made him one of the most sought-after engineers of our times".
Philosophy
He believed the best buildings result from the symbiotic relationship between the architect and the engineer where the engineer is the objective inventor and the architect the creative input. He found the Anglo Saxon understanding of the work of an engineer restrictive and preferred the French and Italian interpretation of the role.Work
Among the notable buildings on whose design he worked are the Centre Pompidou, the Sydney Opera HouseSydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
, Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
, the Louvre Pyramid
Louvre Pyramid
The Louvre Pyramid is a large glass and metal pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum...
, the Mound Stand at Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, Kansai International Airport
Kansai International Airport
is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...
and Stansted Airport.
Sydney Opera House
Jørn Utzon
Jørn Oberg Utzon, , AC was a Danish architect, most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one of his works during his lifetime...
shells for the roof of the Sydney Opera House in London, where he is credited with having done the geometry for the problematic design, he moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
to be assistant engineer to Ian MacKenzie. After one month MacKenzie fell ill and was hospitalised, leaving Rice in total charge at the age of 28. On site his geometrical knowledge enabled him to write a computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
to locate the segments of the shells correctly. In total he spent seven years working on the project. Afterwards, he spent 18 months in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and as visiting scholar at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
.
Pompidou Centre (Beaubourg)
In 1971 he was part of the winning team competing in the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
government's competition for the centre of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at Beaubourg, partnering Richard Rogers
Richard Rogers
Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt FRIBA FCSD is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs....
and Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
. Edmund Happold
Edmund Happold
Professor Sir Edmund Happold , better known as Ted Happold, was a structural engineer and founder of Buro Happold.- Career :...
was the senior Arup engineer for the competition. Rice became the engineer for the built project which was greatly modified from the initial design. Art and technology were intertwined in the design enabling him to experiment with materials. He brought the concepts of humanity, tactility and scale to the project His team developed the gerberette which enabled the counterbalancing of the weight of the building with light tubing, lightening the external appearance. He specified that these were to be made in cast steel. After the Pompidou Centre, Rice set up his own company in 1977—"RFR"—along with Martin Francis and Ian Ritchie although he continued with Arup as a partner. In 1978 he was involved with Rogers again, this time on Lloyds of London, completed in 1984. During this time his other projects encompassed the Fleetguard Factory at Quimper in France, and Stansted Airport in London.
Though Rice was based in London, where he worked with Michael Hopkins on the tented Mound Stand at Lord's, much of his work was in Paris, including the great glass walls of the Cité des Sciences
Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
The Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is the biggest science museum in Europe. Located in Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, it is at the heart of the Cultural Center of Science, Technology and Industry , a center promoting science and science culture.About five million people visit the Cité...
at La Villette
Parc de la Villette
The Parc de la Villette is a park in Paris at the outer edge of the 19th arrondissement, bordering the Boulevard Périphérique, which is a ring road around Paris, and the suburban department of Seine-Saint-Denis.-History:...
and the tent-like canopy that softens the monumentality of the Grand Arche at La Défense
La Défense
La Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...
. In 1985 I.M. Pei asked his help with projects at the Louvre in Paris, namely the shell structures for the glass roofs that Pei planned to cover inner courtyards.
By then he was in great demand continuing to work with architects such as Richard Rogers, I.M. Pei, Norman Foster
Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank
Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, OM is a British architect whose company maintains an international design practice, Foster + Partners....
, Ian Ritchie
Ian Ritchie (architect)
Professor Ian Ritchie CBE is a British architect. He was born in 1947 in Sussex.After working with Norman Foster , Ritchie spent two years in France designing and constructing projects. In 1979 he founded Chrysalis Architects and also worked at Arup’s Lightweight Structures Group in London...
, Kenzo Tange
Kenzo Tange
was a Japanese architect, and winner of the 1987 Pritzker Prize for architecture. He was one of the most significant architects of the 20th century, combining traditional Japanese styles with modernism, and designed major buildings on five continents. Tange was also an influential protagonist of...
, Paul Andreu
Paul Andreu
Paul Andreu is a renowned French architect. He is best known for having planned numerous airports worldwide, notably Ninoy Aquino International Airport , Soekarno-Hatta International Airport , Shanghai Pudong International Airport Abu Dhabi International Airport, Dubai International Airport,...
, and Renzo Piano. The projects he worked on ranged from Toronto's Opera House by Moshe Safdie to Kansai's International Airport, one of many projects with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
In addition to his huge output, he was known for his sympathetic attitude to design, his strategic approach, a cool head and managing to realise ambitious artistic designs in concrete reality. One of his marks as an engineer was the length of time he allowed to complete a project.
During his relatively short career, Rice's contribution to the built environment can be seen in the work of the recent Pritzker Prize
Pritzker Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
winners including: Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Zaha Hadid, etc.
Awards
In 1992 he was the second engineer to be awarded the Royal Gold MedalRoyal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
for Architecture by the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
(the first was Ove Arup
Ove Arup
Sir Ove Nyquist Arup, CBE, MICE, MIStructE known as Ove Arup, was a leading Anglo-Danish engineer and generally considered to be one of the foremost architectural structural engineers of his time...
), and the second Irishman after Michael Scott
Michael Scott (architect)
Michael Scott was an Irish architect whose buildings included the Busáras building in Dublin, the Abbey Theatre, and Tullamore Hospital....
. The award is conferred by the Sovereign annually for work which has "promoted, either directly or indirectly, the advancement of architecture."
Death
He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1991 and died the following year aged 57. A sign has been put up outside his place of birth saying " birthplace of Peter Rice, 16th June 1935 to 25th October 1992" on 52 Brigid Street, DundalkDundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
, County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
Prize
The Peter Rice Prize was established at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 1994 in recognition of the ideals and principles represented by the late eminent engineer.The Peter Rice Silver Medal competition was established at Dundalk Institute of Technology ( His home town) in 1996
under the patronage of Ove Arup and Engineers Ireland (Institution of Engineers of Ireland ).
This medal is awarded annually, to the best presentation by an engineering student of the Institute on their practical project activity.
Further reading
- An Engineer Imagines, Peter Rice (Ellipsis Press, 1998)
- An Engineer Imagines, Peter Rice (Artemis, 1994)
- Structural Glass, Hugh Dutton, Peter Rice (Routledge; 2001)
- Transparente Architektur, Glasfassaden mit Structural Glazing, by H. Dutton, P. Rice (Birkhäuser Verlag; 1995)
- Yutaka Saito in: Space design, 8/1992,335 by Y. Saito, O. Murai, K. Nanba, M. Ueda, P. Rice, T. Shinoda (p. 5 – 188)
- Building a show: The Bastille Dances, by Station House Opera in: The Architects' Journal, 6/1989, by P. Rice (p. 72–73) – performance review
- Design for better assembly, case study: Rogers' and Arup's in: The Architects' Journal, 36/1984, by J. Young, P. Rice, J. Thornton (p. 87–94)
- Menil Collection Museum roof: evolving the form in: Arup journal, 2/1987, by P. Rice (p. 2–5)
- Rogers revolution: Lloyd's remarkable new headquarters in: Building Design, 1986,807, by P. Rice (p. 32–33)
- Il punto di vista di Peter Rice | An engineer's view in: L'Arca, 1987,5, by P. Rice (p. 70–75)
- Unstable structures in: Columbia documents of architecture and theory, 1992, by P. Rice (p. 71–89)
- Stratégie de l'araignée in: L'architecture d'aujourd'hui, 1987,252, by P. Rice (p. 78–79)
- Menil Collection museum roof: evolving the form in: Offramp, 1991,4 by P. Rice (p. 117–119)
- Gleichgewicht und Spannung | Equilibre et tension in: Archithese, 2/1990, by P. Rice (p. 84–96)
- Konstruktive Intelligenz in: arch+: Rhetorik des Machens, 1990,102, by G. Behnisch, C. Vasconi, O. Aicher, J. Nouvel, H. C. Schulitz, P. Rice, R. Rogers, S. Polónyi, H. von Malotki (p. 42–52)
Projects
- Sydney Opera HouseSydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
, Sydney, Australia; 1957 - Crucible Theatre, Sheffield; 1967
- Amberly Road Children's Home, London; 1969
- National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace, London; 1970
- Arts Centre, University of WarwickUniversity of WarwickThe University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
, Coventry; 1970 - Perspex spiral staircase, jeweller's shop, Jermyn Street, London; 1970
- Super Grimentz Ski Village, Valais, Switzerland; 1970
- Conference Centre, MeccaMeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Saudi Arabia; 1971 - Special structures advice to Frei Otto and others on pneumatic and cable structures including "The City in the Arctic"; 1971
- Centre Pompidou (Beaubourg), Paris, France; 1971
- Jumbo jet hangar, Johannesburg, South Africa; 1976
- TGV Station Lille; 1994
- Mobiles Zelt in London London; 1992
- TGV Station Roissy; 1991–94
- Elektronikfabrik Thomson Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines; 1990
- Umbau des Louvre Paris-1er; 1988–93
- Cité des Sciences et de l'IndustrieCité des Sciences et de l'IndustrieThe Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is the biggest science museum in Europe. Located in Parc de la Villette in Paris, France, it is at the heart of the Cultural Center of Science, Technology and Industry , a center promoting science and science culture.About five million people visit the Cité...
Paris-19e; 1986 - De Menil Collection Houston; 1981–86
- IBM Pavillon 1980–84
- Quartierslaboratorium' für Stadterneuerung Otranto; 1979
- Residential Complex Corciano; 1978–82