Daughter of award-winning Dundalk engineer Peter Rice to attend life exhibition in town

Heidi Rice, daughter of award-winning Dundalk engineer, Peter Rice (1935-1992) will attend a special event at the exhibition honouring his life and works, ‘When an Engineer Imagines’ at County Museum Dundalk, Roden Place, Jocelyn Street, Dundalk, on Wednesday, February 27 at 8pm. 

Born in Dundalk, Peter Rice worked on many of the most iconic architectural constructions in the second half of the 20th century, including the Sydney Opera House, Lloyd’s of London ‘inside-out’ building, and the inverted pyramid at the Louvre in Paris. Rice also worked as a structural engineer on transport hubs such as Charles De Gaulle TGV station in France, Kansai International Airport in Japan and Stansted Airport in the UK. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) shortly before his death in 1992.

‘When an Engineer Imagines’ features scale models of Rice’s works constructed by students from DIT. The exhibition also explores the life of Rice through a short video, photos and reproductions of his own notes and sketches, and includes a special ‘building area’ where young visitors can make their own creations from LEGO.

Mr Walsh said: “Peter Rice is one of Ireland’s greatest ever engineers and best kept secrets. He played a key role in the development of some of the world’s most well-known buildings and County Museum Dundalk is delighted to bring the story of this remarkable Dundalk native to the town. We hope that this exhibition goes some way to give him the profile his legacy deserves. We look forward to welcoming Heidi Rice to the exhibition and to hearing her first-hand account on the life and work of her father.”

‘When an Engineer Imagines’ received funding from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.