Elements of Construction: Nathan Clifford Ricker and the University of Illinois.

Join the Champaign County History Museum as we welcome professor and author Marci Uhlein. A pioneer of architectural education, Nathan Clifford Ricker (1843 – 1924) served as the head of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois, dean of the College of Engineering, and the chair of the Illinois State Board of Examiners of Architects. While leading the School of Architecture (1873 – 1916), it is estimated that he educated a quarter of all architectural students in the United States at the time. Ricker emphasized building construction in the education and practice of architects. This was needed during the late nineteenth century as architecture, architectural technologies, and construction methods were transforming at a rapid pace. One artifact of his work is an unpublished, but evolving manuscript, The Elements of Construction. In this text, Ricker captured the existing standards of practice and the knowledge needed as construction moved from iron to steel and from six-story buildings to skyscrapers. This lecture tells the story of Ricker at the University of Illinois and reflects on his influential textbook, The Elements of Construction.