anthemios.org


home chapter national alumni actives pledges join acc anthem gallery calendar blog forum about	> Anthemios Chapter The University of Illinois Anthemios chapter is one of the strongest of the active chapters of Alpha Rho Chi. With our expanding membership and devoted active members, our chapter and our chapter house are experiencing constant improvement and renovation. We have a diverse brotherhood that fosters creative talent, professional networking, and social interaction. During our rush process, we have always considered it much more valuable to have quality over quantity in our membership. We welcome all races, genders, creeds and ideas to come and experience Alpha Rho Chi, Anthemios Chapter. As you will see, we have something extremely special here, and it is apparent from your first step onto our lawn. > Chapter House Our chapter house was built between 1927-1931 by Daniel Royer, who also built several other fraternity and sorority houses on our campus. Modeled after the Red House in Bexleyheath, England, our chapter house represents the ideas of the Arts and Crafts movement. This movement emphasized the use of manual labor, personal creativity, master mason's input, and the elimination of machines in production. Furniture created during this time period is sought-after for its high-quality materials and execution, and its rarity. One oversight, however, was the enormous expense of all this "old-world" production. The pieces of furniture were originally designed to be good-quality, hand-built items that the common man could afford and use in his home. As it was, however, the pieces were too expensive for anyone but nobility. Fraternity houses are usually built to look nice and simply provide the necessary living arrangements for its members. The Alpha Rho Chi chapter house is much more than that. It is an expression of our respect for architecture, and our belief that good design and tasteful aesthetic is sometimes more important than the bottom line.
	> Anthemios Anthemios of Tralles was a distinguished Greek architect and mathematician who, with the help of Isodorus and Miletus, planned and built the famous Church of St. Sophia at Constantinople. This structure was started in approximately 532 AD. In addition, Anthemios wrote several treatises on physics and mathematics. Aside from architecture and mathematics, Anthemios was interested in the use of mechanical devices. He worked with properties of burning mirrors and gave the first practical use of the directix. Using the directix, the focus, and two coordinates, he obtained any number of points on a parabola. Our chapter's namesake is taken from this famous Greek architect, and we are proud to honor his accomplishments.
	> Dr Nathan Clifford Ricker The University of Illinois has the second oldest architecture program in the United States. In 1873, Dr. Nathan Clifford Ricker, the first-ever graduate of an American architecture school, took the helm of the U of I program and embarked on the long journey towards a new architecture. While at the U of I, Dr. Ricker was a member of the organizational team which created Alpha Rho Chi, and he was honored as our first Master Architect. During the century of its existence, many Alumni have been recognized for their architectural creativity and innovation. These include: Max Abramowitz, Cesar Pelli, Ralph Johnson, George Keck, and William Keck.