Two GSD alumni have received 2018 Vilcek Prizes, an annual set of awards celebrating the contributions immigrants make to bettering American society through the arts and sciences.

Architectural designer and urban researcher Teddy Cruz MDes ’97 was honored with the prestigious Vilcek Prize in Architecture, which includes a $100,000 award. Born in Guatemala, Cruz is currently Professor in Public Culture and Urbanization at the University of California, San Diego, and Director of Design at Estudio Teddy Cruz + Fonna Forman. He is a past recipient of the Rome Prize in Architecture, and the work of his firm will be included in the American Pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Learn more.

Architect James Leng MArch ’13 is one of six to have received a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, which includes a $50,000 award. He immigrated to the United States from China at the age of nine, and currently leads his own Los Angeles-based practice, Office James Leng, while serving as a Senior Designer at Michael Maltzan Architects. Leng is the 2013 winner of the SOM Prize in Architecture, a travel fellowship for emerging architects, through which he has conducted global research on notions of urban obsolescence and resilience. Learn more.

Photos and video courtesy of the Vilcek Foundation.