infra-x

The mission of infra-x is to enhance the operational performance of infra-systems, structures, and components used by the urban dweller.

The research trajectory of Infra-X is motivated by human-centered empathy in acknowledging the demonstrated and special needs of urban dwellers. These needs are contested by a range of 21st-century threats and hazards to which urban dwellers are particularly vulnerable. This urban risk is observable and documentable, and serves as the basis for conducting original research and contributing to the shared body of knowledge across built environment disciplines.

Infra-X is inquiry-led, and establishes rigor by constraining overall methodological possibility to better pursue design-actionable research outcomes. Its research action includes cataloging operational failures to lifeline infrastructure systems impacting urban populations, documenting the scalability of urban risk between community resilience and national security, and designing hybridized infra-structures with multi-regenerative capabilities.

Infra-X is an interdisciplinary group whose work bridges the Design and Engineering domains. Specifically, Infra-X is a post-graduate level design research lab in the [College/School] at [University].

Chris Ford, PhD, AIA is the principal investigator of Infra-X. Chris is a design professional, design educator, and design researcher in the areas of both Architecture and Infrastructure design. He is a registered architect, full member of the AIA, and an inaugural committee member of the Infrastructure Resilience Division of the ASCE. He is also a co-founder of “Technology | Architecture + Design” (TAD Journal), a peer-review journal published by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and printed by Taylor & Francis (Routledge). Chris has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD Minor in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Stanford University, where he was also a Stanford Interdisciplinary Graduate Fellow (SIGF).