Editing Peter Rice (structural engineer)

{{Short description|Irish structural engineer (1935–1992)}}
{{use Irish English|date=March 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox engineer
| image = 
| caption = 
| name = Peter Ronan Rice
| nationality = [[Irish citizenship]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1935|6|16|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Dublin]], Ireland
| death_date = {{death date and age|1992|10|25|1935|6|16|df=y}}
| death_place = [[London]], England
| education = [[Queen's University of Belfast]] <br />[[Imperial College London]]
| spouse = Sylvia Watson
| parents = 
| children = Julia Rudin, Heidi Jarossi, Kieran Rice, Nemone Routh
| discipline = [[Structural engineer]], Engineering design
| institutions = Fellow of the [[Institution of Structural Engineers]] <br />Member of the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]]<br /> Fellow of the [[Royal Academy of Engineering]]  <br />Member of the [[Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland]]  <br /> Honorary Fellow of the [[RIBA|Royal Institute of British Architects]]
| practice_name = [[Ove Arup & Partners]]
| significant_projects = [[Sydney Opera House]]<br /> [[Centre Pompidou]]<br />[[Lloyd's of London]]<br /> [[Louvre Pyramid]]<br />[[Stansted Airport]]<br />[[Kansai International Airport]]
| significant_design = 
| significant_awards = [[RIBA]] Gold Medal  <br /> [[IStructE]] Gold Medal
| honorific_suffix = [[Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland|MRIAI]] [[Royal Institute of British Architects|HonFRIBA]] [[Institution of Civil Engineers|MICE]]
}}

'''Peter Rice''' (Peter Ronan Rice, 16 June 1935 – 25 October 1992) was an [[Ireland|Irish]] [[structural engineer]].<ref name=dib.ie>{{cite web|url=https://www.dib.ie/biography/rice-peter-ronan-a7659|title=Peter Ronan Rice|date=7 April 2024|website=Dictionary of Irish Biography|access-date=7 April 2024}}</ref>

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 [[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 1960<ref>{{Cite journal |first1=Tristram |last1=Carfrae |first2=Henry |last2=Bardsley |first3=Alistair |last3=Lenczner |date=2018 |title=Eminent Structural Engineer: Peter Rice |journal=Structural Engineering International |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=556–559 |doi=10.1080/10168664.2018.1498302}}</ref> and they had one son (who became an engineer) 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".<ref name="Obit">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-peter-rice-1560212.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105073553/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-peter-rice-1560212.html |archivedate=2012-11-05 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | work=The Independent | location=London | title=Obituary: Peter Rice | first=Jonathan | last=Glancey |authorlink=Jonathan Glancey | date=29 October 1992 | accessdate=22 May 2010}}</ref>

==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.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Engineers Contribution to Contemporary Architecture: Peter Rice |last=Brown |first=Andre |year=2001 |publisher=Thomas Telford Publishing |location=London |isbn= 9780727727701|pages=17–18 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4MlHas7Sdp8C&pg=PA17 |accessdate=12 November 2009}}</ref>

==Work==

Among the notable buildings on whose design he worked are the [[Centre Pompidou]], the [[Sydney Opera House]], [[Lloyd's building|Lloyd's of London]], the [[Louvre Pyramid]], the Mound Stand at [[Lord's Cricket Ground]], [[Kansai International Airport]] and [[Stansted Airport]]. Towards the end of his life he was largely responsible for the new façade of [[Lille Cathedral]].<ref name="Obit" /><ref name="Brown2001">{{cite book|author=André Brown|title=Peter Rice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=33jgb00pPVUC&pg=PA152|year=2001|publisher=Thomas Telford | location = London | isbn=978-0-7277-2770-1|pages=152}}</ref>

==Career==

===Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydney opera house side view.jpg|thumb|[[Sydney Opera House]], completed in 1973 and made [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] in 2009.]]

In 1956, he joined Ove Arup & Partners. In 1957, he took leave to pursue post-graduate studies at [[Imperial College]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=MSc graduate 1958 - Peter Rice |url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/engineering/departments/civil-engineering/alumni/alumni-profiles/msc-graduate-1958---peter-rice/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Imperial College London |language=en-GB}}</ref> rejoining Arup 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 challenging design, he moved to [[Sydney]] to be an 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |author-link=Jack Zunz |author-link2=Ove Arup |last3=Croft |first3=D. |last4=Hooper |first4=J. |last5=Nutt |first5=J. |last6=O'Brien |first6=T. |date=October 1973 |title=Sydney Opera House Special Issue |url=https://www.arup.com/-/media/arup/files/publications/t/the_arup_journal_issue_3_1973_comp.pdf |journal=The Arup Journal |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=17–19}}</ref> In total he spent seven years working on the project. Afterwards, he spent 18 months in the United States, in [[New York City]] and as a visiting scholar at [[Cornell University]].

===Pompidou Centre (Beaubourg)===
[[File:Front Façade of the Centre Pompidou 5.jpg|alt=Centre Pompidou|thumb|Front facade of the Pompidou Centre (Beaubourg) in Paris-4ᵉ]]
In 1971, he was part of the winning team competing in the French government's competition for the centre of Paris at [[Beaubourg]], partnering with [[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 {{ill|gerberette|fr}} 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.

[[File:Lloyd's Building - Atrium 11th floor looking at the Walkie-Talkie.jpg|thumb|Lloyd's Building, Grade I listed and recognised as "one of the key buildings of the modern epoch."]]

After the [[Pompidou Centre]], Rice set up his own company in 1977—"[[RFR Engineers|RFR]]"—along with Martin Francis and [[Ian Ritchie (architect)|Ian Ritchie]] although he continued with Arup as a partner. In 1978 he was involved with Rogers again, this time on [[Lloyd's of London]], completed in 1984. During this time his other projects encompassed the Fleetguard Factory at [[Quimper, Finistère|Quimper]] in France, and [[Stansted Airport]] in London.

=== 1980s and 1990s ===
Although 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 et de l'Industrie|Cité des Sciences]] at [[Parc de la Villette|La Villette]] and the tent-like canopy that softens the monumentality of the Grand Arche at [[La Défense]]. In 1985 [[I.&nbsp;M.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;M.&nbsp;Pei, [[Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank|Norman Foster]], [[Ian Ritchie (architect)|Ian Ritchie]], [[Kenzo Tange]], [[Paul Andreu]], and Renzo Piano. The projects he worked on ranged from Toronto's unbuilt Opera House by [[Moshe Safdie]] to Kansai's International Airport, one of many projects with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-07-13 |title=Renzo Piano and Peter Rice |work=Fondazione Renzo Piano, Lorenzo Ciccarelli |url=https://www.fondazionerenzopiano.org/en/page/renzo-piano-e-peter-rice/download-story |access-date=2024-07-13 |language=en-US}}</ref> 

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 [[Pritzker Prize]] winners, including [[I. M. Pei]], [[Kenzō Tange]], [[Jørn Utzon]], [[Frei Otto]], [[Richard Rogers]], [[Norman Foster]], [[Renzo Piano]], and [[Zaha Hadid]].

===Innovative techniques===
* During the Sydney Opera House project, was among the first to use advanced computer modelling.
* One of the key advances in building the Sydney Opera House was the use of [[Prestressed_concrete#Post-tensioned_concrete | post-tensioned concrete]] to reinforce the components of the shells. 
* In his design for the [[Seville Expo '92]], Rice used [[Stonemasonry#Post-tensioned_stone | post-tensioned stone]] to construct the arcade.

==Awards==

Peter Rice was made an honorary Fellow of the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]] (HonFRIBA) in 1988.<ref name=dib.ie/> In 1992, he was the second engineer to be awarded the [[Royal Gold Medal]] for Architecture by the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]] (the first was [[Ove Arup]]), and the second Irishman after [[Michael Scott (architect)|Michael Scott]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-06-06 |title=Peter Rice (1935-1992) |work=Archiseek.com |url=https://www.archiseek.com/2009/peter_rice/ |access-date=2024-05-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> The award is conferred by the Sovereign annually for work that has "promoted, either directly or indirectly, the advancement of architecture."

==Death==

He was diagnosed with a brain tumour<ref name="Irish" /> in 1991 and died the following year aged 57. A sign has been put up outside his childhood home, 52 Castle Road, [[Dundalk]], [[County Louth]], saying "Birthplace of Peter Rice, Engineer, 1935–1992". The plaque was erected privately by the (then) Dundalk Town Architect, Paul Clancy.

==Legacy==

Peter Rice has been influential in the development of building technology; he thus contributed to extend [[architectural engineering]] as a professional field. Rice has intricately tied the disciplines of structural engineering and architectural technology.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facadetectonics.org/articles/remembering-peter-rice|title=Remembering Peter Rice|date=12 January 2018|website=Facade Tectonics Institute, by Mic Patterson PhD|access-date=7 April 2024}}</ref> Among Rice's major achievements are his contribution to the development of structural glazing and the optimisation of [[Tensile structure|tensile structures]] using steel, glass and wood. Through his mathematical insight, Rice refined the engineering methods applied to slender, lightweight structures.

Rice's book, ''An Engineer Imagines'', was posthumously published and came to be considered an important work in the history of building design.<ref name="Irish">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/irish-visionary-who-redesigned-architecture-1.1619448|title=Irish visionary who redesigned architecture|date=7 December 2013|author=Adrian Duncan|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=27 August 2019}}</ref>
The Peter Rice Prize was established at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) in 1994 in recognition of the ideals and principles represented by the late eminent engineer.<ref>[http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/inside/registrar/register/educational_resources/fellowships_prizes.html The Peter Rice Prize] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314170044/http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/inside/registrar/register/educational_resources/fellowships_prizes.html |date=14 March 2007 }}</ref> The Peter R. Rice Scholarship Fund at the GSD, established in 2000 in Peter's memory, also provides fellowships to support students at the school from Ireland. <ref>https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/resources/endowed-fellowships-financial-aid/international-financial-aid/</ref>
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.
In 2019, a documentary by Marcus Robinson, ''An Engineer Imagines'', was screened by Channel 4 and in cinemas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/lifestyle/culture/from-sydney-to-the-louvre-how-irish-engineer-peter-rice-built-an-incredible-legacy-907885.html|title=From Sydney to the Louvre: How Irish engineer Peter Rice built an incredible legacy|date=1 March 2019|website=Irish Examiner|access-date=27 August 2019}}</ref>

In 2012-2013, to celebrate Rice's 20-year anniversary, Arup organised the exhibition ''Traces of Peter Rice'' with a documentary.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arup.com/news-and-events/new-exhibition-of-peter-rice|title=Exhibition: Traces of Peter Rice|date=26 November 2012|website=Arup|access-date=7 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.colincaprani.com/2013/03/peter-rice-20-year-anniversary/|title=20 year Anniversary|date=25 March 2013|website=engineer Prof. Dr. Colin Caprani|access-date=7 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archdaily.com/352692/arup-documentary-traces-of-peter-rice|title=Documentary: Traces of Peter Rice|date=29 March 2013|website=ArchDaily|access-date=7 April 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.arup.com/perspectives/traces-of-peter-rice|title=Traces of Peter Rice|date=1 October 2018|website=Arup|access-date=7 April 2024}}</ref>

In 2023 on the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Opera House, the Irish postal service, A Post, issued a stamp to mark the contribution of Rice to its opening. David McRedmond, the Chief Executive of the Irish Post said, “Ireland has been slow to recognise its contribution to Modernism. The 50th anniversary of Sydney Opera House is the perfect time to celebrate the role of Irish people, and of engineer Peter Rice in particular, to the great canon of world-class architecture and engineering.”<ref>{{cite web |title=An Post launches stamp honouring Irishman who made the Sydney Opera House a reality |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/10/19/an-post-launches-stamp-honouring-irishman-who-made-the-sydney-opera-house-a-reality/ |newspaper=The Irish Times |last=McGreevy |first=Ronan |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019184549/https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/10/19/an-post-launches-stamp-honouring-irishman-who-made-the-sydney-opera-house-a-reality/ |archivedate=2023-10-19 |url-status=live |date=2023-10-19 |access-date=21 October 2023}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

* ''An Engineer Imagines'', Peter Rice (Artemis, 1994; Ellipsis Press, 1996)
* ''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.&nbsp;5 – 188)
* ''Building a show: The Bastille Dances'', by Station House Opera in: The Architects' Journal, 6/1989, by P. Rice (p.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;87–94)
* ''Menil Collection Museum roof: evolving the form in: Arup journal'', 2/1987, by P. Rice (p.&nbsp;2–5)
* ''Rogers revolution: Lloyd's remarkable new headquarters in: Building Design'', 1986,807, by P. Rice (p.&nbsp;32–33)
* ''Il punto di vista di Peter Rice | An engineer's view in: L'Arca'', 1987,5, by P. Rice (p.&nbsp;70–75)
* ''Unstable structures in: Columbia documents of architecture and theory'', 1992, by P. Rice (p.&nbsp;71–89)
* ''Stratégie de l'araignée in: L'architecture d'aujourd'hui'', 1987,252, by P. Rice (p.&nbsp;78–79)
* ''Menil Collection museum roof: evolving the form in: Offramp'', 1991,4 by P. Rice (p.&nbsp;117–119)
* ''Gleichgewicht und Spannung | Equilibre et tension in: Archithese'', 2/1990, by P. Rice (p.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;42–52)
* ''Peter Rice: Performing Instability'', 2015, by Dr Greg Kerr, Enlighten Publications, University of Glasgow<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/107748/|title=Peter Rice: Performing Instability|date=2015|website=Glasgow University, author Dr Greg Kerr|access-date=7 April 2024}}</ref>
* ''Traces of Peter Rice'', Kevin Barry (ed) (Lilliput Press, 2017)

==Projects==
[[File:La Défense Grande Arche 20070316 Nuage.jpg|alt=Canopy "Le Nuage" by structural engineer Peter Rice|thumb|Canopy "Le Nuage" at La Défense in Nanterre, situated under the Grande Arche]]
* ''[[Sydney Opera House]], Sydney, Australia; 1957''
* ''Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England; 1967''
* ''Amberly Road Children's Home, London, England; 1969''
* ''National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace, London, England; 1970''
* ''Arts Centre, [[University of Warwick]], Coventry, England; 1970''
* ''Perspex spiral staircase, [[Andrew Grima]] jewellery shop, 80 Jermyn Street, London, England; 1970''

[[File:London Stansted Airport.jpg|thumb|London Stansted Airport]]
[[File:Pabellón del Futuro, Expo'92 Sevilla.jpg|thumb|[[:es:Exposición Universal de Sevilla de 1992|Expo 1992. Pavilion of Future]]]]
* ''Super Grimentz Ski Village, Valais, Switzerland; 1970''
* ''Conference Centre, [[Mecca]], 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-4<sup>ième</sup>, France; 1971''
* ''Jumbo jet hangar, Johannesburg, South Africa; 1976''
* ''Residential complex in Corciano, Italy; 1978–82''
* ''[[Lloyd's building]], London; 1978-86''
* ''"Quartierslaboratorium" für Stadterneuerung Otranto, Italy; 1979''
* ''IBM Traveling Pavillon; 1980–84''
* ''[[Menil Collection]], Houston; 1981–86''
* ''[[Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie]] Paris-19<sup>ième</sup>, France; 1986''
* ''[[Louvre Pyramid]], Paris-1<sup>er</sup>, France; 1988–93''
* ''[[London Stansted Airport]]; 1988-91''
* ''Canopy "Le Nuage" at La Défense, Nanterre, France; 1986–89''
* ''Roof of the postal coach station in Chur, Switzerland; 1989–92''
* ''The Full Moon Theatre; Gourgoubès, France; 1991–92''
* ''Pabellón del Futuro; Seville, Spain; 1991–92''
* ''[[:fr:Japan_Bridge|Japan Bridge]] (passerelle Kupka) at La Défense, Nanterre, France; 1990–93; project completed posthumously by collaborating engineers Kate Purver, Lionel Pennison and Pat Dallard and by collaborating architectural technologist Hugh Dutton''
* ''Elektronikfabrik Thomson Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France; 1990''
* ''West facade of Lille cathedral, France; 1991–99; project completed posthumously''
* ''TGV Station Roissy, France; 1991–94''
* ''Mobiles Zelt in London, England; 1992''
* ''TGV Station Lille, France; 1994''

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|Architecture|Engineering}}
* [http://www.rfr.fr/ RFR]
* [http://www.arup.com/Home/News/Events_and_exhibitions/Exhibition_Spaces.aspx Peter Rice Exhibition at Arup Phase 2 Gallery, London]
* [https://www.structuremag.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/p52-56D-GA-RiceJan071.pdf The Imaginative Engineer]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150630060039/http://www.lilliputpress.ie/book/144232513/kevin_barry_ed_-traces_of_peter_rice.html Barry, Kevin, ed. Traces of Peter Rice. Dublin: Lilliput Press, 2012]
* [http://www.thedsproject.com/portfolio/peter-rice-performing-instability/ G. Kerr, ‘Peter Rice: Performing Instability’]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rice, Peter}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Imperial College London]]
[[Category:Alumni of Queen's University Belfast]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish engineers]]
[[Category:Ove Arup]]
[[Category:Engineers from Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:People from Dundalk]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal]]
[[Category:Structural engineers]]
[[Category:Military personnel from County Louth]]
[[Category:Engineers from County Louth]]