Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena was selected in July as the winner of the Marcus Prize for Architecture, which recognizes an emerging architect or firm. The $100,000 prize, administered by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning, has two components: Aravena will receive $50,000, and the school will receive $50,000, which it will use to administer the competition and to bring Aravena to the school as a studio critic for the spring 2010 semester.

Aravena, a member of the Pritzker Prize jury, is the third winner of the biannual prize, following MVRDV in 2005 and Barkow Leibinger in 2007. The Marcus Prize is funded by the Wisconsin-based Marcus Corporation Foundation. Aravena told RECORD, “An important prize like this one allows you to spend less energy on explaining who you are or what you are good at, and more time on achieving quality in the projects themselves.”