infra-x
The mission of infra-x is to enhance the operational performance of infra-systems, tectonics, and products used by the urban dweller.
Infra-X is a graduate-level design research lab in the [School/Dept] at [University]. At the core of its research, Infra-X acknowledges the demonstrated needs of the urban dweller. These specific needs are observable, documentable, and measurable.
Infra-X is an interdisciplinary group whose work reflects sensibilities and utilizes practices found in the overlap of Engineering and Design. Infra-X is inquiry-led, and through its pursuit of original research outcomes, the lab establishes rigor by constraining overall methodological possibility to better support an expanded range of design research topics.
Infra-X contributors are afforded the opportunity to develop as technological innovators who shape the urban environment. Today, this requires an acknowledgment of, and orientation toward, a range of 21st-century grand challenges impacting urban dwellers.
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).