Launched in Spring 2021, the student journal Infra-Structures was recognized but the AIA/NY and received the  2021 Douglas Haskell Award for Student Journals. The Center for Architecture’s Scholarship Committee granted to the award, which was “founded to encourage student journalism on architecture, planning, and related subjects, and to foster regard for intelligent criticism among future professionals.” The journal was conceived of and produced by architecture students and the editor-in-chief is Sterling Yun (BS Architecture Class of 2023). The student team was advised by Assistant Professor Ang Li and Associate Professor Amanda Lawrence.

Begun as a response to the challenges the pandemic presented to the design studio and learning process, Infra-Structures was one way for students to recreate the community and camaraderie lost when the studio space had to shut down. As Sterling notes in his welcoming remarks, he hopes that the journal can “spark curiosity, instigate discussion, and above all, create a space for architectural thinking beyond the confines of the academy.”

In responding to the news of the award,  Sterling had the following thoughts: “I’m both energized and humbled by the Center for Architecture’s recognition of Infra-Structures. Of course, this couldn’t have happened without the wonderful editors and writers whose hard work this past spring is what got our publication to the presses. I am also thankful to the School of Architecture and our wonderful studio community for their positive reception towards this project. Looking to the future, I am encouraged by the Center’s acknowledgement of our ‘fresh and relevant content’; it signals to me that there is a space in architectural discourse for the balance of rigorous yet accessible content that we aim to promote. This is a space that seems to be underdeveloped among publications in this field, and I’m really excited to continue exploring it with the team as we embark on our upcoming second issue.”

The initial publication was supported by the School of Architecture and the College of Arts, Media and Design.