Peter Rice
| Peter Rice | |
|---|---|
| Born |
16 June 1935 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 25 October 1992 (aged 57) London, England |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education |
Queen's University of Belfast and Imperial College, London, UK |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Structural engineer, Engineering design |
| Institutions | Fellow of the Institution of Structural Engineers, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institution of British Architects |
| Practice name | Ove Arup & Partners |
| Projects |
Sydney Opera House Centre Pompidou, Paris Lloyd's of London, the Louvre Pyramid, Paris Stansted Airport, UK |
| Awards | RIBA Gold Medal, IStructE Gold Medal |
Peter Rice (16 June 1935–25 October 1992) was an Irish structural engineer. Born in Dublin, he grew up in 52 Castle Road, Dundalk in County Louth, and 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. Rice acted as Structural Engineer on three of the most important architectural works of the 20th century: the Sydney Opera House (with Ove Arup), Pompidou Centre and the Lloyd's Building and was renowned for his innate ability to act as both engineer and designer.
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".
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.
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