Bruce Rickard

Bruce Rickard (1 December 1929 to 22 September 2010) was an Australian architect and landscape architect who worked in Sydney. He was the longest serving NSW chapter councillor of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects and a founding member of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture.

Bruce Rickard was born in Roseville on 1 December 1929 to Arthur Lancelot Rickard and his wife Myfanwy. He studied at Sydney Technical College in 1947, whilst working for his uncle, Ruskin Rowe at the Sydney Ancher 1949 to 1953. His work has been said to be heavily influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright. Rickard believed this was due to the use of the same principles that Frank Lloyd Wright espoused. The main principle being space, its creation and manipulation horizontally and vertically. This was shown overlapping rooms to get more space as opposed to lining walls and creating rectangular spaces. It was not until Rickard moved to the United States in 1954 that he embraced the American architect's principles fully. Rickard died on 22 September 2010 of non-hodgkin's lymphoma.

Treetops, Cottage Point was built in 1989–90. Originally designed as the family home, it was awarded the RAIA 20th Century Register of Significant Buildings. It is designed as three pavilions including a bedroom pavilion, pool house at lower level and the living pavilion. The pool and bedroom pavilions on different levels create separated experiences.

The living area displays the different conditions of light throughout the day, creating different experiences dependent on time and season. The space is closed on two sides creating privacy from the street. The centre of the room is a monumental stone fireplace, dividing the space into a night entertainment area and the open kitchen, dining area.

Cottage Point uses Rickard's first use of a grid of timber columns. This was later replicated in a series of projects. This allowed for greater open space, which helped to blend better with the surrounding eucalypt tops.

The Marshal House, was completed in 1967. Built on a site with a restrictive site with a steep gradient. Due to this Rickard chose the top of the block for the siting of the house. This overcame the restrictions and secured more encompassing views. The building has no front door, the formality it and general solid nature would have blocked the views of the land. Rickard's building ensures that all major living spaces have accesses to the outdoors to extend living space in summer. Rickard puts heavy emphasis on the materials of building, the building consist of elegant cedar timber panelling and rough exposed brick both in the interior and exterior of the building. The large amount of glazing blurs the line between indoors and outdoors, giving the building a far more open feel.

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