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| Motto | Fidelitas, Amor et Artes – "Fidelity and Love of the Arts" |
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| Colors | Azure and Sanguine |
| Flower | White Rose |
| Nickname | Archi |
| Founded | April 11, 1914 at Hotel Sherman, Chicago, Illinois |
| Founders | Leo M. Bauer and Chandler C. Cohagen |
| Fraternity type | Professional |
| Scope | National, Architecture and the Allied Arts |
| Chapters | 19 active chapters, 1 colony |
| Homepage | alpharhochi.org |
Alpha Rho Chi (ΑΡΧ) 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, αρχιτεκτονική.
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History
Founding
APX was founded on April 11, 1914, with the joining of Sigma Upsilon at the University of Michigan and the Arcus Society at the University of Illinois to form a national fraternity for Architecture and the allied arts. Sigma Upsilon was founded four year prior by eight architecture students at Michigan, with the intent of eventually forming a national architecture fraternity, and had drafted their constitution and laws to reflect that. Two years after they were founded in 1912 they were recognized by their school as a fraternity and started negotiation with other schools to open up more chapters. In 1911 the Arcus Society was formed by 15 architecture students, at first secret and then becoming public a year later. After their recognition by their school, they started correspondence with several other schools in an effort to expand as well. One of those schools was the University of Michigan, which was the start of the collaboration of the two founding brothers of APX, Leo M. Bauer of the Arcus Society and Chandler C. Cohagen of Sigma Upsilon. The two founding brothers met on April 11, 1914 at the Hotel Sherman in Chicago, where they selected the new name of the combined organization, the new constitution and by-laws, and the coat of arms. The brothers decided to keep the colors of the Arcus Society, azure and sanguine, and the white rose, a symbol of Sigma Upsilon to represent both organizations. They also selected the names of the new chapters from a list of prominent Greek, Roman (and later on Egyptian) architects. Illinois selected Anthemios as their name and Michigan Iktinos
Expansion and World War I
Alpha Rho Chi set expansion as their first goal, wanting to embody their vision of being a national architecture fraternity. Several existing architecture organizations petitioned to join, but the only Tau Epsilon Chi of Ohio State University was accepted, being installed as the Demetrios Chapter on February 25, 1916. The Cyma Club became the Mnescles Chapter at the University of Minnesota on October 10, 1916. Recruiting efforts remained active, but with the start of World War I, most of the brothers entered the armed services and the number of chapters stayed at four.
The Great Depression, World War II and Contraction
After the war, the Kallikrates Chapter was installed at the University of Virginia on February 15, 1922. The Andronicus Chapter was installed a month later, on March 22, 1922, with eleven charter members at the University of Southern California. Expansion continued at a rapid pace with the addition of members at Kansas State, which formed the Paeonios Chapter on February 10, 1923. Ten members of the Delta Club at the University of Texas were initiated on April 19, 1924 to form the Dinocrates Chapter. The Polyklitos Chapter at Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie-Mellon University) was established on May 24, 1924. With the addition of the Theron Chapter at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University) on May 23, 1926, the fraternity stood at ten active chapters and was truly national in stature.
Recent history
The Anthemios chapter house is currently a landmark at the University of Illinois.
The Alpha Rho Chi Medal
The Alpha Rho Chi Bronze Medal is presented annually at over 100 schools of architecture to honor graduating seniors who have demonstrated leadership, service, and the promise of professional merit. The recipents of the medal are decided by the faculty of each National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)-accredited school. Membership in the fraternity is not a criterion for the award, nor is membership conferred to the medal's recipients. The medal program was established in 1931. Designed by sculptor Merrill Gage, the medal is cast in bronze and features an image of a seated Athena holding a skyscraper. On occasion, Alpha Rho Chi recognizes other individuals with two other classes of medals. The fraternity awards the Alpha Rho Chi Silver Medal for fraternal service. The Gold Alpha Rho Chi Medal honors an outstanding practitioner of architecture or an allied art. Recent recipients of the gold medal include I.M. Pei and Samuel Balen.
Master Architects of Alpha Rho Chi
"Master Architect" is a special classification of membership in the fraternity to honor brothers who have gained national prominence in the field of architecture, the allied arts, or who have made significant contributions to the built environment. The following individuals have been installed as Master Architect (with year honored):
- Nathan Clifford Ricker (1914)
- Cass Gilbert (1924)
- Eliel Saarinen (1942)
- John Wellborn Root, Jr. (1951)
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1966)
- Richard Buckminster Fuller (1970)
- I.M. Pei (1981)
Pei is the only Master Architect of Alpha Rho Chi not to be a member of the fraternity.
Chapters
Chapters take their names from architects of ancient Egypt, Greece, or Rome.
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Professional Fraternity Association |
