Architect and urban researcher Teddy Cruz is the winner of the 2018 Vilcek Prize in the Arts and Humanities, this year recognizing the field of architecture. Awarded annually, the Vilcek Prizes call attention to the breadth of immigrant contributions to American society.
Cruz studied architecture at Rafael Landivar University in Guatemala City and continued his studies at California State Polytechnic University-San Luis Obispo and completed his architectural education at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.
From 1994 to 2000 he was founding director of the LA/LA Latin America / Los Angeles studio at SCI-Arc in Los Angeles. From 2000-05, he was Associate Professor of Architecture at Woodbury University.
Cruz is recognized internationally for his urban and architectural research of the Tijuana-San Diego border, advancing border immigrant neighborhoods as sites of cultural production, from which to rethink urban policy, affordable housing, and civic infrastructure.
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.
The Vilcek Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation, to honor the contributions of immigrants to the United States and to foster an appreciation of the arts and sciences, was inspired by the couple’s respective careers in biomedical science and art history, as well as their personal experiences and appreciation of the opportunities they received as newcomers to this country. The foundation awards annual prizes to prominent immigrant biomedical scientists and artists and manages the Vilcek Foundation Art Collections.
To learn more about the Vilcek Foundation, please visit vilcek.org.
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