Peter Rice (structural engineer)

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".

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.

His team developed the gerberette [fr] which enabled the counterbalancing of the weight of the building with light tubing, lightening the external appearance.

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.

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.

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.

A sign has been put up outside his childhood home, 52 Castle Road, Dundalk, County Louth, saying "Birthplace of Peter Rice, Engineer, 1935–1992".

Peter Rice has been influential in the development of building technology; he thus contributed to extend architectural engineering as a professional field.

Rice's book, An Engineer Imagines, was posthumously published and came to be considered an important work in the history of building design.

[10] 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 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.”[18]