Peter Rice

Who was Peter Rice?

Peter Rice was an Irish structural engineer. Born in 52 Castle Road, Dundalk in County Louth, he 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. 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".