School of Architecture faculty member receives ARCC New Book Award
Marci S. Uihlein, associate professor and associate director for research in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has received the Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) New Book Award for her edited volume The Elements of Construction: N. Clifford Ricker, Architecture, and the University of Illinois (University of Illinois Press, 2025).
The ARCC New Book Award recognizes distinguished works of architectural research completed by scholars at ARCC member institutions. The award honors books published within the past three years that make significant contributions to architectural research through rigorous or innovative methods and evidence.
Edited by Uihlein, The Elements of Construction examines an unpublished nineteenth-century construction textbook written by pioneering architecture educator N. Clifford Ricker. The book explores how Ricker’s teaching and writing reflected rapid changes in architecture, building materials, and construction technology during the rise of the skyscraper era. In addition to presenting the original text, the volume includes contributions from scholars examining construction practices, masonry, iron and steel construction, and architectural education in the late nineteenth century.
A structural engineer and architectural historian, Uihlein’s research focuses on the history of the structural engineering profession, the relationship between architects and engineers, and creativity in design practice. Before joining academia, she worked as an engineer with Arup in San Francisco and Los Angeles, contributing to a range of public and private building projects.
