Practice

Studio Jakob Sellaoui is an architectural practice based in Vienna. It believes in creating architecture that deals with what is given. This means embracing that the general state of affairs is non-ideal and far from perfect. This we see as starting point, potential and possibility. The intention is to make work that translates apparent failures and insufficiencies into unexpected and poetic projects. We call this approach “good- enough architecture”.

The method combines a dedication to the pragmatics of craft and construction alongside theoretical investigation. The field of engagement ranges from buildings to temporary installations, publications, domestic objects and exhibition design. Up to date it has realized work in Austria, Nicaragua, the US and currently Portugal.

Bio

Jakob Sellaoui is a US-born architect with Austrian and Algerian background who studied at the Technical University of Vienna and graduated at the Tokyo Institute of Technology as a Monbukagakusho Fellow. He has received several accolades, including the Austrian Cultural Ministry's Margarethe Schütte-Lihotzky Architectural Grant (2017), the Architectural Advancement Award by the City of Vienna (2020), the Ahead Award for best realized hospitality project (2018) and the MAK Schindler Residency in Los Angeles (2019). In addition to his practice he currently holds a teaching position as lecturer at the Institute of Architecture and Design at the Technical University of Vienna.

Awards and Grants