Guatemalan-born architect and urban researcher Teddy Cruz, professor at University of California, San Diego, and director of design at Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman has been named among winners for the 2018 Vilcek Prizes, an award organised annually by The Vilcek Foundation. 

Calling attention to the breadth of immigrant contributions to the American arts and sciences this year, the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science is awarded to Russian-born immunologist Alexander Rudensky, chair of the immunology program at Sloan Kettering Institute, director of the Ludwig Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. 

The Vilcek Prize in Architecture is awarded to Guatemalan-born architect and urban researcher Teddy Cruz, professor at University of California, San Diego, and director of design at Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman. Each winner will be awarded with a $100,000 cash prize.

Image courtesy of The Vilcek Foundation

The Foundation has also awarded to younger immigrants who have demonstrated exceptional promise early in their careers. Mona Ghandi - who awarded for using data-driven design and biofeedback information to create responsively empathetic spaces, James Leng - who awarded for his investigations into the role of defunct buildings and his vision for public, social uses of infrastructure and Jing Liu - who awarded for her innovative interdisciplinary work and for developing new approaches to urban housing, are among the winners for Creative Promise. Each winner in this category will be receiving a $50,000 cash award.

"The social, political, and cultural landscape of America has been shaped by generations of immigrant contributions," said Marica Vilcek, cofounder and vice chairman of the Vilcek Foundation. 

"With the Vilcek Prizes in Architecture, we are pleased to recognize the many ways in which they have shaped its physical landscape as well—through bold, original designs, and through research that challenges the status quo, both in the building arts and in society."

Video by The Vilcek Foundation

The Vilcek Prize in Architecture, which comes with a $100,000 cash prize, is awarded to architect and urban researcher Teddy Cruz, professor at University of California, San Diego, and director of design at Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman.Born in Guatemala, his work is deeply informed by his childhood there and his subsequent immigration to America. 

Arriving in California at the age of 20, he was struck by the many ways that the cities and communities of San Diego and Tijuana were both united and divided. This sparked a lifelong interest in using the tools and framework of architecture and urban planning to redefine the concepts of borders, citizenship, and community. Most recently, this has taken the form of designing, with his partner Fonna Forman, cross-border community spaces that host a variety of arts and educational programming. 

The Vilcek Prize in the Arts is awarded in rotating disciplines, this year honoring the field of architecture. Previous disciplines include music, film, culinary arts, literature, dance, contemporary music, design, fashion, theatre, and fine arts. The Vilcek Foundation also awards corresponding prizes in the field of biomedical science each year.

The prize winners were selected by panels of experts in each field; they will be honored at an awards gala in New York City in April 2018. 

Fonna Forman and Teddy Cruz. Image © Estudio Teddy Cruz + Forman

Created in tandem with local governments, universities, activists, and nonprofit groups, the spaces emphasize the shared values, peoples, and ecology on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Cruz’s writing has been published widely, including features in the New York Times, The Guardian, and Harvard Design Magazine. He has received the prestigious Rome Prize in Architecture, and the work of Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman will be included in the American Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Currently, World Architecture Community talked to Fonna Forman about their design approach and studio's works on immigration, border walls and informal settlements. 

Top image: Teddy Cruz and Fonna Forman, image Vilcek Foundation

> via The Vilcek Foundation