League Prize winner
Luis Beltrán del Río García and Andrew Sosa Martínez of Vrtical
Vrtical | Tlaxco Artisan Market, Tlaxco, Tlaxcala, Mexico, 2017. Image credit: Rafael Gamo.
The League Prize is an annual competition that has been organized by The Architectural League since 1981. Open to designers ten years or less out of school, it draws entrants from around North America.
Luis Beltrán del Río García and Andrew Sosa Martínez of Vrtical won a 2020 award.
Mexico City-based studio Vrtical was founded in 2014 by Luis Beltrán del Río García and Andrew Sosa Martínez. The practice is “dedicated to the democratization of architectural service,” as the architects describe it, aiming to understand and respond to the needs of the individuals and communities it serves.
Recent projects include:
- Casa Valentina, a rural housing prototype for a family affected by Mexico’s 2017 earthquake.
- Threshold Temple, a low-budget brick temple for a Hare Krishna community in Guanajuato.
- Tlaxco Artisan Market, a transformation of an existing market as part of an effort to develop tourism in the region.
del Río holds a BArch from the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM) and a Masters of Urban Development from the Technical University of Berlin. He currently teaches at UNAM and Universidad Iberoamericana.
Sosa holds a BArch from Anahuac University, Mexico. He currently teaches at CENTRO.
Vrtical was awarded the 2018 Architectural Digest Design Icons award for its building renovation category. The practice was selected for the Young Latin American Architects exhibition at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale.
