Associate Professor, Architecture
Art, Architecture + Art History Honors Faculty Liaison
- M.Arch. University of California, Los Angeles
- B.Arch, IBERO Universidad Iberoamericana
- FAAR 2019 Frances Barker Tracy/Arnold W. Brunner/Katherine Edwards Gordon Rome Prize in Architecture. American Academy in Rome
Marcel Sanchez Prieto is an Associate Professor in the Architecture program at the University of San Diego and co-founder of CRO Studio, a collaborative practice that originated in the border region of Tijuana-San Diego. Sanchez was born in Tijuana, México; he received his Bachelor of Architecture from Universidad Iberoamericana and his Master of Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was awarded the Director's Scholarship Award. He received the Rome Prize in Architecture from the American Academy in Rome in 2018-19.
Scholarly Work
Sanchez's scholarship and architectural practice center architecture as a social catalyst to address societal challenges, particularly in the border region. His research emphasizes the critical role of architecture in rethinking power relations underlying urban space production.
As co-founder of CRO Studio, bridging research and architectural practice, Sanchez explores the relationship between political-economic forces, environmental policies, social inequalities, and urban development. CRO Studio's work involves the sustainable revitalization of city neighborhoods, addressing the impact of industry and material technology, emergent growth on urban peripheries, the resurgence of civic space, migrant populations, and architectural border typologies. Sanchez's research aims to develop architecture and social entrepreneurship processes that offer new perspectives on city development and a deeper understanding of the complex interplay of the border region.
CRO Studio has been recognized with several AIA Honor and Merit Awards by the American Institute of Architecture San Diego Chapter. It was also selected among the 32 housing prototypes built in Apan Hidalgo, Mexico, as part of the Social Housing Laboratory for INFONAVIT Institute of the National Housing Fund for Workers, 2013 P/A Progressive Architecture Award, two XXII CEMEX awards, and recognized among the 2014 IX BIAU Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism in Rosario Argentina.
Sanchez was previously Associate Professor of Architecture and ARCUS Social Justice Faculty Director at the College of Environmental Design UC Berkeley, UC Berkeley Spring 2020 Howard A. Friedman Visiting Professor of Practice, Professor at Woodbury University, and has taught at The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia University, RMIT in Australia, ITESO Mexico, Southeastern University in China, Universidad Iberoamericana, and The New School of Architecture and Design, where he co-directed the Rome study abroad program. He worked for Kieran Timberlake and Frank Gehry on technology-driven projects. For several years, he participated in various urban studies along the México-US border with San Diego State University, the University of California San Diego, COLEF-College of the Northern Border, the Municipal Planning Institute of Tijuana, and the San Diego Association of Governments.
Areas of Interest
Sanchez's architectural design studios explore the intersection of social and cultural factors with materiality, technology, and social entrepreneurship. By foregrounding design as a social practice and investigating the impact of borders on architectural typologies, his courses emphasize the importance of collaboration for achieving social inclusion.