Scribd
Upload
315 views4 pages

Peter Rice: Innovator in Structural Engineering

This document provides a biography of Peter Rice (1935-1992), an influential structural engineer. It discusses his career working for Ove Arup from 1956-1977 and then founding his own engineering firm. Key points made are that Rice believed in collaboration between architects and engineers, taking risks in design, and innovating to support architectural creativity. Some of the major projects he worked on included the Sydney Opera House, Louvre Pyramid, and Lloyd's of London building. The document also describes some of Rice's engineering innovations for structures like the Centre Pompidou and Cité des Sciences.

Uploaded by

Thura Ag
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
315 views4 pages

Peter Rice: Innovator in Structural Engineering

This document provides a biography of Peter Rice (1935-1992), an influential structural engineer. It discusses his career working for Ove Arup from 1956-1977 and then founding his own engineering firm. Key points made are that Rice believed in collaboration between architects and engineers, taking risks in design, and innovating to support architectural creativity. Some of the major projects he worked on included the Sydney Opera House, Louvre Pyramid, and Lloyd's of London building. The document also describes some of Rice's engineering innovations for structures like the Centre Pompidou and Cité des Sciences.

Uploaded by

Thura Ag
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Introduction to Peter Rice
  • Major Architectural Works
  • Technical Innovations and Awards
  • Legacy and Recognition

Peter Rice (1935-1992)

By Renato Cilento
Friday, 15 April 2011

The aim of this post is to present one of the celebrities in the engineering and facade world. It is a introduction to those who are unaware of Peter Rices achievements. This great engineer contributed in facades and structures with such a important innovations. He cooperated to design buildings, nowadays considered icons of structures and faades. Currenlty the most of faades designed and built, in some way contain his essence. He set up as Structural Engineer in Ove Arup firm from 1956 to 1977, afterwards he founded his own engineering firm, partnering with Martin Francis and Ian Ritchie. The following points enhance some of the most important ideas of his philosophy and way of thinking: -He believed the best buildings are the result of a symbiotic relationship between the architect and the engineer, where the engineer is the objective inventor and the architect the creative input. -He was convinced that there was nothing mysterious about the process of innovation. He was never satisfied with mundane solutions. He took risks during the early stages of the design process. - He combined advanced structural analysis techniques with investigations of materials in order to achieve the best structural systems. - Peter confessed to learn just what he needed to know when he needed it. According to Rice, the roles of the engineer are: -To use the engineers understanding of materials and structure to make real the architectural designs. -To innovate and to support the creativity of architects. Among the most renowned construction he was involved in, we can mention the following: -Sydney Opera House (1973, Jorn Utzon)

-Louvre Pyramid (Paris, 1988, Ming Pei)

-Lloyds of London (London, 1986, Richard Rogers)

-Stansted London Airport (1991)

-Cit des Sciences at La Villette (Paris,1987,Adrien Fainsilber)

The Centre Pompidou adopted the gerberette solution to achieve the long spans required to support a heavy library that could be moved anywhere in the building. One of Peters main contributions was his insistence on the use of cast steel for these pieces. The gerberette acted as a short beam propped on a circular column and tied down at the ened with a circular bar. The curtain wall in the Cit des Sciences at La Villette has been the origin of the inexhaustible source of inspiration for the point-supported glass facades worlwide. The main innovations are: -Drilled glass panels with countersunk holes for point fixings supports. -Spherical bearings keeps all loads in the glass plane and eliminate local bending effects. -Horizontal cable trusses resists out-of-plane wind forces. In 1992 he was awarded the Royal Gold Metal for Architecture by the Royal Institute of

British Architects for his achievements which let the advancement of architectures. In 1994, the Harvard University established the Peter Rice Prize in recognition of the ideals and principles that he represented. After his death, the engineering and architecture have lost one of their innovation engines. It is advisable to read his two books: Structural Glass (Peter Rice, Hugh Dutton) and An Engineer Imagines (Peter Rice).

Peter Rice (1935-1992) By Renato Cilento (http://www.facebook.com/renato.cilento) Friday, 15 April 2011 The aim of this post
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N2lML8EaJIA/TaCbyA3kgOI/AAAAAAAAAOk/1gH8nq4wAM0/s1600/the-lloyds-building-city-of-london-3243.jpg
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rDmHPabBieI/TaLsdl5CS6I/AAAAAAAAAOo/_QhGpInof74/s1600/Paris_-_parc_de_la_Villette_-_Cit%2525C3%25
British Architects for his achievements which let the advancement of architectures. In 1994, the Harvard University establis

You might also like