The University of Illinois School of Architecture is an academic unit within the College of Fine & Applied Arts at the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

. The school is organized around four Program Areas - Building Performance, Detail + Fabrication, Health + Well-being, and Urbanism. Faculty teach and conduct research in these areas in support of the School's primary objective to promote critical engagement with the design of a healthy and sustainable built environment.

History

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was among the first American institutions of higher learning to offer a curriculum in architecture. Until 1868 there were no architectural schools in the United States, although

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

had proposed one at the University of Virginia in 1814. American architects were trained through apprenticeships or pursued studies abroad. The profession's growing awareness of the need for a professional architecture school in the United States was evidenced by the report of the Committee on Education at the first annual convention of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

in 1867. In October 1868 the

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

architecture department opened with four students in the four-year course. Almost a thousand miles to the west, newly appointed Regent

John Milton Gregory John Milton Gregory (July 6, 1822October 19, 1898) was an American educator and the first president (regent was his official title) of the University of Illinois, then known as Illinois Industrial University. Early life John Milton Gregory was ...

, at the newly established center of learning, the Illinois Industrial University (renamed the University of Illinois in 1878), also realized the need for formal professional training in architecture. Architecture was included in the Polytechnic Department of the proposed administrative structure Gregory presented to the trustees in May 1867. The first student in this curriculum, Nathan Clifford Ricker arrived in Urbana on January 2, 1870. Ricker became the first graduate of an architecture program in the United States in March 1873. He later became head of the Department of Architecture and oversaw the architectural education of many students. One, Mary Louisa Page, was the first woman to graduate with a degree in architecture in North America when she graduated from the University of Illinois in 1879.

Degree Programs

The Illinois School of Architecture awards the following degrees: a NAAB-accredited professional degree of Master of Architecture (M.Arch), Master of Science in Architectural Studies (MSAS), Bachelor of Science in Architecture Studies (BSAS), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Architecture. Two tracks are provided for students in the professional M.Arch degree program. The first is for students who hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Architecture or its equivalent; the second is for students holding a bachelor's degree in a field other than architecture or in architecture but not equivalent to a Bachelor of Science in architecture. For graduate students, the School also offers a series of joint-degree programs, allowing students to earn two master's degrees in an accelerated timeframe. These include the M.Arch + MBA (

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

) program, offered jointly with the College of Business at Illinois, the M.Arch + MUP (

Master of Urban Planning Urban planning education is a practice of teaching and learning urban theory, studies, and professional practices. The interaction between public officials, professional planners and the public involves a continuous education on planning process. ...

) program, offered with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Illinois, The M.Arch + MS in Civil Engineering - Structural Engineering and the M.Arch + MS in Civil Engineering - Construction Management programs, offered with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Illinoi. Additionally, the school offers a Minor in Architecture to non-architecture undergraduate students and Discover Architecture, a two-week summer program which provides high school students and beginning college students the opportunity to be introduced to architectural graphics, design, and modeling.

School traditions

* Architecture Award Banquet (A3) * Annual Beaux-Arts Ball * Critical Mass * East St. Louis Action Research Project (ESLARP)

School facilities

* Architecture Building (Arch) * Temple Hoyne Buell Hall (TBH) * Architecture East Annex One (Annex) * Ricker Library of Architecture and Art (Ricker) * The Erlanger House * Chicago Studio

Directors

* Nathan Clifford Ricker (1873–1910) * Fredrick Mann (1910–1913) * Loring Provin (1913–1948) *

Turpin Bannister Turpin Chambers Bannister (1 October 1904 – 15 March 1982) was one of the leading American architectural historians of his generation. A long-time professor at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida, he is best known for his w ...

(1948–1954) * Alan Laing (1954–1961) * Granville Keith (1961–1966) * Jack Swing (1966–1973) * Richard Tavis (1973, 1980–1981) * Day Ding (1973–1980) * Alan Forrester (1981–1995, 1996–1998) * Hub White (1995–1996) * Michael Andrejasich (1999–2004) * David Chasco, FAIA (2004–2014) * Peter Leslie Mortensen (2014–2017) * Jeffery Poss, FAIA (2017–2019) * Mohamed Boubekri (Fall 2019) * Francisco J. Rodríguez-Suárez, FAIA (2020–present)

Student organizations

Alpha Rho Chi Alpha Rho Chi () is a professional co-educational college fraternity for students studying architecture and related professions. The fraternity's name is derived from the first three letters of the Greek word for architecture, ἀρχιτεκτ� ...

(APX) architecture fraternity *

American Institute of Architecture Students The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) is an independent, nonprofit, student-run organization providing programs, information, and resources on issues critical to architecture and the experience of education. The core focus of AI ...

(AIAS) * Architecture Student Advisory Council (ASAC) * Architecture, Regional & Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture Open House (ARUPLA) * Ecological Design Consortium (EDC) * The Gargoyle Architecture Honor Society * Global Architecture Brigade * Hispanic Organization for Urban Studies and the Environment (HOUSE) * National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS) *

Society of Architectural Historians The Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) is an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. Based in Chicago in the United States, the Society's 3,500 members include ...

(SAH) * Society for Business and Management in Architecture (SBMA) * Society for Evidence-Based Architecture (SEBA) * Women in Architecture (WIA) *

Illinois Solar Decathlon Illinois Solar Decathlon (ISD) is an interdisciplinary organization based in the Champaign-Urbana, IL and is the official Solar Decathlon team for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is also closely affiliated with the Illinois ...

(ISD)

Plym Distinguished Visiting Professorship

The Plym Distinguished Visiting Professorship at the School of Architecture brings recognized architects to the school so that they can serve as lead studio critic with a School of Architecture faculty member as liaison and students in the studio have often traveled to the main office of the Plym Professor. The Plym Distinguished Professorship is made possible by a 1981 gift to the school by the late Lawrence J. Plym of Niles, Michigan, past president of the Kawneer Corporation. Plym Distinguished Professors: *

Gunnar Birkerts Gunnar Birkerts ( lv, Gunārs Birkerts, January 17, 1925 – August 15, 2017) was a Latvian American architect who, for most of his career, was based in the metropolitan area of Detroit, Michigan. Some of his notable designs include the Corni ...

(1982–83) * Paul Rudolph (1983–84) *

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

Esherick (1986–87) *

Edmund Bacon Edmund Bacon may refer to: *Sir Edmund Bacon, 2nd Baronet, of Redgrave (c. 1570–1649), English MP for Eye and for Norfolk in 1593 and 1625 *Sir Edmund Bacon, 2nd Baronet, of Gillingham (c. 1660–1683), see Bacon baronets *Sir Edmund Bacon, 4th B ...

(1991–92) *

Thom Mayne Thom Mayne (born January 19, 1944) is an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles. In 1972, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he is a trustee and the coordinator of the Design of Cities p ...

(1992–93) * Carme Pinos (1994–95) *

Dominique Perrault Dominique Perrault (born 9 April 1953 in Clermont-Ferrand) is a French architect and urban planner. He became world known for the design of the French National Library, distinguished with the Silver medal for town planning in 1992 and the Mies v ...

(1998) * Frances Halsband (2001) *

Norman Crowe Edgar Norman Crowe OBE (known as Norman) (1905 – 1992) was Chairman of the Executive Council from 1967 until 1971. He was also previously Chairman of the Finance Board. ReferencesThe Isle of Man at rulers.org 1905 births 1992 deaths ...

(2003) *

Ken Yeang Ken Yeang (6 October 1948) is an architect, ecologist, planner and author from Malaysia, best known for his ecological architecture and ecomasterplans that have a distinctive green aesthetic. He pioneered an ecology-based architecture (since 1 ...

(2006) *

Kengo Kuma is a Japanese architect and professor in the Department of Architecture (Graduate School of Engineering) at the University of Tokyo. Frequently compared to contemporaries Shigeru Ban and Kazuyo Sejima, Kuma is also noted for his prolific writings ...

(2007–08) *

Kenneth Frampton Kenneth Brian Frampton (born 20 November 1930) is a British architect, critic and historian. He is the Ware Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, New York. He has b ...

(2008–09) *

Juhani Pallasmaa Juhani Uolevi Pallasmaa (born 14 September 1936 in Hämeenlinna, Finland) is a Finnish architect and former professor of architecture and dean at the Helsinki University of Technology. Among the many academic and civic positions he has held are ...

(2010–11) * Gong Dong (2019) * Suchi Reddy (2019) * Mark Raymond (Spring 2021) * Solano Benítez (Fall 2021)

Notable alumni

Max Abramovitz Max Abramovitz (May 23, 1908 – September 12, 2004) was an American architect. He was best known for his work with the New York City firm Harrison & Abramovitz. Life Abramovitz was the son of Romanian Jewish immigrant parents. He graduate ...

, B.S. 1929, architect of the

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, desi ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

and

Assembly Hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the st ...

on the Illinois campus *

Henry Bacon Henry Bacon (November 28, 1866February 16, 1924) was an American Beaux-Arts architect who is best remembered for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. (built 1915–1922), which was his final project. Education and early career Henr ...

, 1884, architect of the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in the ...

in Washington D.C. *

Clarence Blackall Clarence Howard Blackall (February 3, 1857 – March 5, 1942) was an American architect who is estimated to have designed 300 theatres. Life and career Blackall was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1857. He attended college at the University of Ill ...

, B.S. 1877, architect for Wang Center in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Temple Hoyne Buell Temple Hoyne Buell (September 9, 1895 – January 5, 1990) was an American architect, real estate developer and entrepreneur namesake of the Buell Theatre in Denver Center Complex, Buell & Company, and the Temple Buell Foundation. Buell was bor ...

, B.S. 1916 * Alfred T. Fellheimer, B.S. 1895, lead architect of

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

Jeanne Gang Jeanne Gang (born March 19, 1964) is an American architect and the founder and leader of Studio Gang (established in 1997), an architecture and urban design practice with offices in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Gang was first widely re ...

, B.S. 1986, founder and principal of the Chicago architecture firm Studio Gang * Ralph Johnson, B.Arch 1971, principal architect of the

Perkins+Will Perkins&Will is a global design practice founded in 1935. Since 1986, the group has been a subsidiary of Lebanon-based Dar Al-Handasah (Arabic: دار الهندسة). Phil Harrison has been the firm's CEO since 2006. History The firm was establ ...

* David Miller, M.Arch. 1972, founding principal of the Miller/Hull Partnership; fellow of American Institute of Architect *

César Pelli César Pelli (October 12, 1926 – July 19, 2019) was an Argentine-American architect who designed some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. Two of his most notable buildings are the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur a ...

, M.Arch. 1954, architect of

Petronas Twin Towers The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or KLCC Twin Towers, (Malay: ''Menara Berkembar Petronas'') are 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1998 to 2003, they were officially design ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

William Pereira William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Remarkably pr ...

, M.Arch. 1930, architect of

Transamerica Pyramid The Transamerica Pyramid is a 48-story futurist skyscraper in San Francisco, California, United States, and the second tallest building in the San Francisco skyline. Located at 600 Montgomery Street between Clay and Washington Streets in the ci ...

and

Geisel Library Geisel Library is the main library building of the University of California, San Diego. It is named in honor of Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel. Theodor is better known as children's author Dr. Seuss. The building's distinctive architecture, des ...

* Alberta Pfeiffer, 1923, architect, one of the first women to attend the college * Nathan Clifford Ricker, D.Arch. 1873, architecture educator * Carol Ross Barney, B.Arch. 1971, founder and principal of the Ross Barney Architects, which designed the Champaign Public Library *

Lebbeus Woods Lebbeus Woods (May 31, 1940 – October 30, 2012) was an American architect and artist known for his unconventional and experimental designs. Known for his rich, yet mainly unbuilt work and its nonetheless significant impact on the architec ...

References

External links

Official website of the School of Architecture

Ricker Library of Architecture and Art

AIAS Illinois

Building Research Council
{{Coord, 40, 6, 12.1, N, 88, 13, 44.7, W, region:US-IL_type:edu, display=title Architecture schools in Illinois

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

Educational institutions established in 1867 1867 establishments in Illinois