Peter Rice – Life and Work

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Republic of Ireland Branch Session 2007-08 The Institution of Structural Engineers in association with Engineers Ireland Peter Rice – Life and Work Presentation by Professor Philip O’Kane, University College Cork Abstract Peter Rice was an Irish structural engineer (born in Dundalk, graduate of Queen’s University Belfast) who started to work at Arup Consulting Engineers in London in 1956. In his early career he was the resident engineer at the Sydney Opera House. Rice went on to collaborate with Piano and Rogers on the Centre Pompidou, Paris. Other notable structures that he worked on include the Lloyds building in London, the Pyramids at the Louvre and Kansai International Airport Terminal. Speaker Professor Philip O’Kane, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UCC, has previously given this presentation in London to IStructE/EI (Eastern Region) members and guests, and to Engineers Ireland in Dublin. Professor O’Kane has for many years studied the works of Peter Rice and revisits many of the finest examples of Peter’s work. 20.00 Tuesday, 4 March 2008 in Lecture Theatre IT 3, Cork Institute of Technology Preceding the Lecture (18.00) there will be a cheese and wine reception – sponsored by Arup Consulting Engineers – in the Main Hall of the Tourism and Hospitality Building of the Institute. The President of the Institution of Structural Engineers, Sarah Buck, will attend and the occasion will be used to announce the setting up of the “Peter Rice Virtual Archive – PRVA” Further information: Martin P Mannion , Chartered Engineer, Phone: 021 4326312; email: [email protected] John J Murphy , Chartered Engineer, Phone: 021 4326741; email: [email protected] .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Renzo Piano Building Workshop Renzo Piano Antonio Belvedere Founding Partner, Chairman Partner-director In charge of the V-A-C Cultural Space, Moscow Company Profile Renzo Piano was born in Genoa in 1937 Born in 1969, Antonio Belvedere graduated into a family of builders. in architecture from the University of The Renzo Piano Building Workshop While studying at Politecnico of Milan Florence. He joined RPBW’s Paris (RPBW) is an international architectural University, he worked in the office of office in 1999, working on phase three practice with offices in Paris and Genoa. Franco Albini. of the Fiat Lingotto factory conversion In 1971, he set up the “Piano & Rogers” project, particularly on the design of the The Workshop is led by eight partner- office in London together with Richard Polytechnic and the Pinacoteca Agnelli. directors, including the founder and Pritzker Rogers, with whom he won the competition He was subsequently lead architect on Prize laureate, architect Renzo Piano, and for the Centre Pompidou. He subsequently the masterplan for Columbia University’s 3 partners. The company permanently moved to Paris. Manhattanville development in New York. employs nearly 130 people. Our 90- From the early 1970s to the 1990s, he Following promotion to Associate in 2004, plus architects are from all around the worked with the engineer Peter Rice, he worked on the masterplan for the ex- world, each selected for their experience, sharing the Atelier Piano & Rice from 1977 Falck area in Milan. enthusiasm and calibre. to 1981. He became a Partner in 2011. Recently The company’s staff has the expertise to In 1981, the “Renzo Piano Building completed projects include the Valletta City provide full architectural design services, Workshop” was established, with 150 staff Gate in Malta.
[Show full text]
Peter Rice (1935-1992) and Richard Rogers (1933)
Module 8 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE PETER RICE (1935-1992) AND RICHARD ROGERS (1933) Peter Rice was one of the most imaginative and gifted structural engineers of the late 20th century. He was much loved by the architects with whom he collaborated, and together they achieved some of the most technically ingenious buildings of the period. He was born in Dundalk, Ireland, in 1935 and studied engineering at Queens University in Belfast and Imperial College London. In 1956, he joined the engineering practice of Ove Arup and Partners, which he collaborated with for 30 years. His first major project was working on the Sydney Opera House (designed by Jørn Utzon) when he was only 28. It was this project which gave him the experience of working on a large and complex project – a knowledge he would put to good use in his future career. Rice worked closely on major projects with architects such as Norman Foster, Ian Ritchie, Kenzo Tange and Renzo Piano. Piano said of him, “Peter Rice is one of those engineers who has greatly contributed to architecture, reaffirming the deep creative inter-connection between humanism and science, between art and technology.” The long list of significant buildings for which his rigorous approach created poetic results includes a series studies of structural forms and the possibilities of various materials – concrete at Lloyd’s of London (designed by Richard Rogers), glass at Les Serres at La Villette in Paris, ferro-cement and iron at the Menil Collection Museum in Houston (designed by Renzo Piano), and stone at the Pabellón del Futuro, Expo ’92 in Sevilla, Spain, to name a few.
[Show full text]
The Imaginative Engineer
GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS notable structural engineers He used these materials to express the ideas within the architecture. The Imaginative Engineer Peter and his team combined advanced structural analysis tech- Peter Rice (1935-1992) niques with investigations of materials By Lorraine Lin, Ph.D., P.E. and Bruce Danziger, S.E. to develop structural systems appropri- ® Peter Rice’s approach to structural engineering expands our under- ate for each material. He believed that standing of the engineer’s role. Peter contributed to the design of build- materials should be detailed to express ings considered icons of structural achievement today. These include their true nature. the Pompidou Center and the “greenhouses” at La Villette in Paris, the “I have noticed over the years that Pavilion of the Future for the 1992 World’s Expo in Seville, Lloyd’s of the most effective use of materials is Greenhouses at LaVillette, London and the Sydney Op- often achieved when they are being Paris. Materials: Tempered era House. Many of his col- explored and used for the first time. Glass and Cables. Architect: laborators, such as architects The designer does not feel inhibited by Adrien Fainsilber. (©ARUP) Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers precedent. In any of these structures, and I.M. Pei, areCopyright today re- there is a simple honesty which goes straight to the heart of the nowned in their field partially physical characteristics of the material and expresses them in as the result of their collabo- an uninhibited way.” ration with Peter. An Engineer Imagines, Peter Rice Peter was a humanist and these beliefs are clearly pres- The design team for the Pompidou Center, which included Peter ent in his work.
[Show full text]
The Pritzker Architecture Prize1998[1]. RENZO PIANO 2
Photo by M. Denancé Reconstruction of the Atelier Brancusi, Paris, France — 1997 Photo by C. Richters Photo by M. Denancé The Beyeler Foundation Museum Basel, Switzerland 1997 Ushibuka Bridge linking three islands of the Amakusa Archipelago, Japan — 1997 Photo by Paul Hester The Menil Collection Museum Houston, Texas — 1987 Photo by Paul Hester Drawing illustrating the roof system of “leaves” for adjusting the amount of light admitted to the galleries. Photo by Hickey Robertson The Cy Twombly Gallery at the Menil Collection Museum Houston, Texas — 1995 Photo by Hickey Robertson THE ARCHITECTURE OF RENZO PIANO — A T RIUMPH OF CONTINUING CREATIVITY BY COLIN AMERY AUTHOR AND ARCHITECTURAL CRITIC, THE FINANCIAL TIMES SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE WORLD MONUMENTS FUND It was modern architecture itself that was honored at the White House in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1998. The twentieth anniversary of the Pritzker Prize and the presentation of the prestigious award to Renzo Piano made for an extraordinary event. Piano’s quiet character and almost solemn, bearded appearance brought an atmosphere of serious, contemporary creativity to the glamorous event. The great gardens and the classical salons of the White House were filled with the flower of the world’s architectural talent including the majority of the laureates of the previous twenty years. But perhaps the most significant aspect of the splendid event was the opportunity it gave for an overview of the recent past of architecture at the very heart of the capital of the world’s most powerful country. It was rather as though King Louis XIV had invited all the greatest creative architects of the day to a grand dinner at Versailles.
[Show full text]
Renzo Piano 1998 Laureate Essay
Renzo Piano 1998 Laureate Essay The Architecture of Renzo Piano—A Triumph of Continuing Creativity By Colin Amery Author and Architectural Critic, The Financial Times Special Advisor to the World Monuments Fund It was modern architecture itself that was honored at the White House in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1998. The twentieth anniversary of the Pritzker Prize and the presentation of the prestigious award to Renzo Piano made for an extraordinary event. Piano’s quiet character and almost solemn, bearded appearance brought an atmosphere of serious, contemporary creativity to the glamorous event. The great gardens and the classical salons of the White House were filled with the flower of the world’s architectural talent including the majority of the laureates of the previous twenty years. But perhaps the most significant aspect of the splendid event was the opportunity it gave for an overview of the recent past of architecture at the very heart of the capital of the world’s most powerful country. It was rather as though King Louis XIV had invited all the greatest creative architects of the day to a grand dinner at Versailles. In Imperial Washington the entire globe gathered to pay tribute to the very art of architecture itself. Renzo Piano was not overwhelmed by the brilliance of the occasion, on the contrary he seized his opportunity to tell the world about the nature of his work. In his own words, he firmly explained that architecture is a serious business being both art and a service. Those are perhaps two of the best words to describe Renzo Piano’s work.
[Show full text]
The Things They've Done : a Book About the Careers of Selected Graduates
The Things They've Done A book about the careers of selected graduates ot the Rice University School of Architecture Wm. T. Cannady, FAIA Architecture at Rice For over four decades, Architecture at Rice has been the official publication series of the Rice University School of Architecture. Each publication in the series documents the work and research of the school or derives from its events and activities. Christopher Hight, Series Editor RECENT PUBLICATIONS 42 Live Work: The Collaboration Between the Rice Building Workshop and Project Row Houses in Houston, Texas Nonya Grenader and Danny Samuels 41 SOFTSPACE: From a Representation of Form to a Simulation of Space Sean tally and Jessica Young, editors 40 Row: Trajectories through the Shotgun House David Brown and William Williams, editors 39 Excluded Middle: Toward a Reflective Architecture and Urbanism Edward Dimendberg 38 Wrapper: 40 Possible City Surfaces for the Museum of Jurassic Technology Robert Mangurian and Mary-Ann Ray 37 Pandemonium: The Rise of Predatory Locales in the Postwar World Branden Hookway, edited and presented by Sanford Kwinter and Bruce Mau 36 Buildings Carios Jimenez 35 Citta Apperta - Open City Luciano Rigolin 34 Ladders Albert Pope 33 Stanley Saitowitz i'licnaei Bell, editor 26 Rem Koolhaas: Conversations with Students Second Editior Sanford Kwinter, editor 22 Louis Kahn: Conversations with Students Second Edition Peter Papademitriou, editor 11 I I I I I IIII I I fo fD[\jO(iE^ uibn/^:j I I I I li I I I I I II I I III e ? I I I The Things They've DoVie Wm.
[Show full text]
Steel and Beyond
Metals, Machines and Modernity Crystal Palace, london, Joa&p/1 Paxton, t85t. Paradigm lor mau -prochx'ed 1, l teml bY lldlng. 6 One day'" OIIlput. Ford Mo!or Company, H ~hl.nd Pari< , Michigan, 1\1 14. 7 The building industry is currently undergoing the The decades following the construction of most rapid and radical transformation it has e)(pe· the Crystal Palace saw the deyelopment of econom rJenced in over a century. This change is in large ical steel smelting methods. The conditions were measure being led by the exploitation of new design, thus created for the steellrame - made 01 standard fabrication and assembly processes which make components that were mass-produced in widely possible the realization of buildings and structures dispersed factories and brought together for rapid that would not have been technically or economi dry assembly on site - t o become the paradigm cally feasible even ten years ago. The dogma of for the systems buildings that would dominate the mass production that dominated the 20th century. 20th century. The intrOduction of steel was impor epitomized by the universal steel section, is being tant, not only because it was shaped by industrial challenged by the liberating potential of computer processes of production, but also for its inherent aided design and manufacture, with profound impli material attributes. For the first time, architects and cations for the conceptualization and construction engineers had at their disposal a very strong mate of built form. rial with enormous capacity in tension as well as The last period of comparably fundamental compression.
[Show full text]
The Arup Journal
THE ARUP JOURNAL 25TH YEAR SPRING 1990 THEARUP Foreword Povl Ahm JOURNAL Chairman Ove Arup Partnership Vol.25 No.1 Spring 1990 Editor: David J. Brown Published by Art Editor: Ove Arup Partnership Desmond Wyeth FCSD 13 Fitzroy Street, Deputy Editor: London W1 P 680 Caroline Lucas Contents Foreword, The Arup Journal is now beginning its 25th year. It is difficult to believe, since by Povl Ahm 2 it seems only yesterday that Peter Dunican wrote his 'personal view' on the occasion of 10 years of the Journal. At least it seems only yesterday to me. Structural engineering: To some of our younger members it may seem like an eternity. some social and political implications, Sadly, Peter is not here to help to celebrate the birthday of what was so by Peter Dunican 3 definitely his baby. His love for communication and his commitment to this publication was essential for the creation of The Arup Journal in the first Stansted Airport Terminal: instance, and for its continued existence and growth over most of its life. the structure, Fortunately, he has not been alone in this effort. Rosemary Devine saw The by Jack Zunz, Martin Manning, Arup Journal through its first difficult years. Then Peter Haggett took over as David Kaye and Chris Jofeh 7 Editor in September 1968 and managed the difficult task of not only Liffey Valley Bridge, maintaining the high standard that had been set from the beginning, but in by Bill Smyth and John Higgins 16 fact developing and improving it through almost 20 years in charge.
[Show full text]
UK Pavilion, Expo '92, Seville Architect: Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners Ltd
THE ARUP JOURNAL AUTUMN 1992 ARUJP Front cover: View from beneath canopy suspended from fac;;ade of Pabellon del Future, Expo '92, Seville (Photo: Fernando Alda) THEARUP Back cover: JOURNAL The UK Pavilion (Photo: Reid & Peck) Vol.27 No.3 Editor: Autumn 1992 David J . Brown Published by Art Editor: Ove Arup Partnership Desmond Wyeth FCSD 13 Fitzroy Street, Deputy Editor: London W1P 680 Helene Murphy 3 UK Pavilion, Ove Arup & Partners were the structural and services engineers for the Expo '92, Seville UK Pavilion, Expo '92 in Seville. This was constructed to conform with Ian Gardner, David Hadden 'The Age of Discovery' theme. 8 Frankfurt School Arup Associates prepared a design for a day care centre in Frankfurt. Greg Pearce, Peter Warburton one of the objectives being to achieve a 'low entropy' building. 9 Usine Thomson CSF The brief for the Thomson Factory, 15km south west of Paris, required Richard Hough, John Hewitt open spaces, a clear approach to circulation and scope for future expansion. Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd. were subcontractors to Renzo Piano Building Workshop for the superstructure. 10 Usine l'Oreal The new production and administrative headquarters building for Richard Hough, Mike Santi French cosmetics manufacturer l'Oreal in north-eastern Paris was carefully planned for an owner-occupier client. Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd. were bureau d 'etudes for the steel superstructure. 14 'II Grande Blgo', Genoa The Bigo. built to celebrate the Columbus quincentenary, is now a Peter Rice, Alistair Lenczner well-known Genoese landmark, for which Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd. were design engineers.
[Show full text]
Peter Rice – Truth and Originality of Architectural Form Structures and Their Details
DOI: 10.23817/2020.defarch.5-2 BEATA MAKOWSKA ORCID: 0000-0002-1221-9216 Cracow University of Technology, Poland PETER RICE – TRUTH AND ORIGINALITY OF ARCHITECTURAL FORM STRUCTURES AND THEIR DETAILS PETER RICE – PRAWDA I ORYGINALNOŚĆ KONSTRUKCJI FORM ARCHITEKTONICZNYCH I ICH DETALI Abstract The paper analyses selected projects by Peter Rice focusing on their originality, and the truthfulness of materials and technologies. The purpose of this work is to highlight the importance of Rice’s legacy and its influence on contemporary designers. The conclusions drawn from the study the method of solving material-related problems elaborated by Rice has produced solutions that emphasize the truthfulness of the structure and the clarity of design ideas. Keywords: structural engineer, architectural detail Streszczenie Praca analizuje wybrane realizacje Petera Rice’a pod kątem ich oryginalności, prawdziwości mate- riałów i technologii. Celem pracy jest podkreślenie znaczenia twórczości Rice’a i jego oddziaływania na współczesnych projektantów. W wyniku badań wyciągnięto wnioski, że przyjęta przez konstruktora metoda rozwiązywania problemów materiałowych prowadziła do rozwiązań podkreślających prawdzi- wość struktury i czytelność idei projektowych. Słowa kluczowe: inżynier konstruktor, detal architektoniczny 1. INTRODUCTION Peter Rice (1935–1992) is one of those structural engineers who have left their major mark on contemporary architecture. The Royal Gold Medal (in 1992), a prestigious award conferred by the Royal Institute of British Architects in recognition of his input to the development of architecture, is just one proof of the relevance of his work. The engineer has contributed numerous new and creative material-related and technological solutions to projects by renown architects. Their buildings reflect modernity and are timeless, going beyond ephemeral fads and established schemes.
[Show full text]
The Arup Journal
THE ARUP JOURNAL WINTER 1992/93 Front cover: Legal & General. Kingswood. (Photo: Peter Mackinven) Back cover: THEARUP United Overseas Bank Plaza, Singapore. Brian Simpson's Brick Model was used to analyze the soft clays in which the new 66 storey tower block was founded. JOURNAL (Photo: Ove Arup & Partners. Singapore) Vol.27 No.4 Editor: Winter 1992-93 David J. Brown Published by Art Editor: Ove Arup Partnership Desmond Wyeth FCSD 13 Fitzroy Street. Deputy Editor: London W 1P 680 Helene Murphy 3 Legal & General, Kingswood: Arup Associates' new headquarters building for Legal & General Architecture in landscape Assurance Society Ltd. was conceived as a formal and sophisticated Mike Bonner, Don Ferguson design to complement a Downland site of outstanding natural beauty. 10 ESPRIT Arup Research & Development collaborated with Thorn EMI Central Bob Venning, Steven Blackmore Research to produce an ESPRIT computer program for the accurate simulation of various lighting ettects in computer visualizations of building interiors and exteriors. 12 The Second Sevem Crossing Ove Arup & Partners' second-placed design for the new bridge Angus Low combined precast, segmental approach viaducts with a slender steel box girder main span, cable-stayed from A-frame pylons. 14 The intelligent structure 'Intelligent' electronic feedback systems are already used extensively Ian Gardner for self-monitoring of building services systems. This article discusses the possibilities of extending such active control to the structure itself. 15 'Soil behaves like This paper, drawn from the British Geotechnical Society 1992 Rankine bricks on strings' Lecture, presents a new model for the prediction of soil behaviour Brian Simpson based on an analogy with a man pulling around a set of bricks by strings.
[Show full text]
Patscenter, New Jersey Richard Rodgers 1978
Similar to a man carrying an even load, the load is suspended from the frame by two centre members suporting the roof structure Perspective Front Elevation showing frame and Mast Apect Connection Plate suspending members. Detail Mid Ringplate Cable Connection Detail Pin Joint Connection Detail below Bi-Pod Mast Section Sketch of the Structural Frame, noting the Primary structure and Secondary Structure of the building. Exterior Wall to Roof Detail Sketch-up Building Structure PATSCENTER, NEW JERSEY RICHARD RODGERS 1978 Perspective Side Elevation Mast Apect Connection Plate Detail Mid Ringplate Cable Connection Peter Rice Detail Rice born 1935 in Dundalk, County Louth. Hestudied at Queen University, Belfast where after ward he was taken on by Ove Arup & Partners, his first job being the Sydney Opera House. Finished Sketch-up Model His Influence has shaped a new generation of architects and engineers, who renew there own work his exploration of materials, his commitment to the integrity of a structure, his refusal of precedent and his courage as a designer. Pin Joint Connection Detail below After years of breathtaking and inovational Bi-Pod Mast work which has had a world of influence, Peter was tragically diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1991 at the age of just 57. In rememberance of peter he was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture. The Patscenter Peter Rice wanted to create a hight tech Fabric Model 1:20 Structure Model 1:50 research facility which would be aesthetically pleasing but more importantly modular. The result was a structurally expressed A- Framed building in a 9.0m x 4.5m grid, for the Section Throught Structure to Show possibliity of future extentsion.
[Show full text]