The School of Architecture’s Russell Chair, Seth McDowell, was recently named a runner up in the prestigious Pamphlet Architecture 30 competition, which sought proposals aimed at inventive, new infrastructure for the United States.

McDowell was one of five runners up for his proposal “Drift City: A Continental Transient Infrastructure,” a hybrid condition where architecture and infrastructure operate as one mechanism. McDowell’s proposal describes an infrastructural city for a mobilized, nomadic working society, where home is merged with the road and the rail. His transient city attempts to condense all aspects of a production-oriented society into one strip of infrastructure.

McDowell is a recent graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, where his research and interests centered on examining how emerging technologies associated with communications, energy and fuel can aid in the reinvention of infrastructure so that the built environment supports a healthier condition of life.

Pamphlet Architecture 30 is a widely respected series of publications. Founded in 1977 as an alternative to mainstream architectural publishing, it encourages architects and writers to put forth their ideas, theories and designs in modest, affordable booklets.