Bruce Rickard (1 December 1929 – 22 September 2010; born Bruce Arthur Lancelot Rickard) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

landscape designer Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...

. Throughout his career, he was involved with the production of commercial, landscape and urban planning projects, but much of his work was residential, including the design of more than 80 family homes around the north shore and northern beaches of Sydney. He was one of the longest-serving Chapter Councillors with the

Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

, serving 16 years, and a founding member of the

Australian Institute of Landscape Architects The Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) is the Australian non profit professional institute formed to serve the mutual interests of Australian landscape architects. History The AILA was established in 1966 with an interim committ ...

. He was the first Australian to be awarded a Masters in Landscape Architecture.

Early life

Childhood

Rickard was born on 1 December 1929 in

Roseville Roseville may refer to: Australia *Roseville, New South Wales Canada * Roseville, Ontario Malta * RoseVille (aka Villa Roseville), a house in Attard, Malta South Africa *Roseville, Pretoria, a suburb United Kingdom *Roseville, Dudley United S ...

, Sydney, to Arthur Lancelot Rickard and his wife Myfanwy. He grew up with his family, including his siblings, at their 5

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

property in

Turramurra Turramurra is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. It shares the ...

, who then moved to a small flat in Roseville during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He attended

Barker College , motto_translation = Seek Honour above Rewards , location = Hornsby, Sydney , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image ...

, a boys’ private school in the nearby suburb of Hornsby.

Education

In 1947, Rickard began his architectural studies at

Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now known as the TAFE New South Wales Sydney Institute, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education in ...

. Whilst studying, he was offered a full-time job as a junior by his great-uncle, fellow architect Harry Ruskin Rowe, son of

Thomas Rowe Thomas Rowe (20 July 1829 – 14 January 1899) was a British-born architect, builder and goldminer who became one of Australia's leading architects of the Victorian era. He was also a politician, who was the first Mayor of Manly. Early life ...

, with the promise of a partnership with his firm. Rickard continued working for Rowe until 1949, when he began working as a junior for

Sydney Ancher Sydney Edward Cambrian Ancher ARAIA ARIBA (25 February 19048 December 1979), was an Australian architect from Woollahra, Sydney. His fascination with Europe contributed to the introduction of European internationalism in Australia. He also h ...

. He stayed in the job until 1953, and was able to complete his first residential design project within this time. He completed his

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

of Architecture in 1954 and subsequently left for

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, where he spent his time exploring architecture and working in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Whilst in London, he began studying Landscape Design at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, however the course was more horticulture-based rather than landscape design which led to him accepting a fellowship in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, where he began studying a

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Landscape Architecture at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

under

Ian McHarg Ian L. McHarg (20 November 1920 – 5 March 2001) was a Scottish landscape architect and writer on regional planning using natural systems. McHarg was one of the most influential persons in the environmental movement who brought environmental co ...

, a Scottish landscape architect who founded the department of landscape architecture at the Institution. His other tutors were

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the p ...

Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...

, and

Lewis Mumford Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a w ...

Career

After spending several years in America, Rickard returned to Australia in 1957 where he lectured in landscape architecture in Denis Winston’s Town Planning course at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

while setting us his architectural firm – Bruce Rickard and Associates, Architects, Landscape Architects and Urban Architects. In 1967, together with Harry Howard and Allan Correy, he became a founding member of the

. Throughout his career, Rickard designed more than 80 houses, mainly single-family dwellings, as well as car washes, a

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or movie theater) where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollersk ...

restaurant, a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Ch ...

, several

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

, several project homes,

medium-density housing Medium-density housing is a term used within urban planning and academic literature to refer to a category of residential development that falls between detached suburban housing and large multi-story buildings. There is no singular definition of m ...

developments and coastal town developments.

Death

Rickard died at the Sacred Heart Hospice in

St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney is a leading tertiary referral hospital and research facility located in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Though funded and integrated into the New South Wales state public health system, it is operated by St Vincent's He ...

on 22 September 2010 from

non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tire ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickard, Bruce Architects from Sydney 1929 births 2010 deaths