Wojciech Czaja was born in 1978 in Ruda Slaska, Poland. He has been living in Vienna since 1981. From 1996 to 2004 he studied architecture at the Technical University of Vienna. After several years as an architect, he gave it up entirely and decided o join the writing trade.

Since then, he has been working as a freelance architecture journalist for daily papers and professional journals in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Croatia. He is well-known as the architecture and real estate critic of the Austrian daily newspaper Der Standard for which he has been working since 2005. Until now, he has written approximately 2,000 articles and papers – including six books so far.

In 2006, he was awarded the Signa Tour Awards for sustainable tourism for a paper on sustainable rice cultivation in the Philippines. From 2007 to 2008 he was editor-in-chief for the Austrian and Danish architecture magazine 91° More than Architecture.

Besides that, he has been giving lectures and speeches at several universities. Currently, he is honorary professor at the University for Applied Arts in Vienna

Lectures and speeches

1998 Planning and designing schools with children, Vienna

2001 Architecture of the Zeros, Vienna

2005 Construction site: School, Vienna

2005 Let’s play architecture!, Children’s Museum ZOOM, Vienna

2006 Architecture and the science of education, Vienna

2006 Architecture for children, Graz

2006 Places and non-places for kids, Ried im Innkreis

2007 The importance of public space, Graz

2007 One day in the life of an architecture journalist, Linz

2008 Architecture and open spaces, Linz

2011 The architecture of Studio Mumbai, vai Dornbirn

2012 Quo vadis, office? How we will work in the future, Plenos Plenum, Salzburg

2012 Architecture and urban planning in Europe, University of Mashhad, Iran

TeachinG

2000 Lecture and workshop at the high school Billrothstraße, Vienna

2005–2007 Instructor at the Technical University Vienna

2007 Lecture and Workshop at the Fashion School Herbststraße, Vienna

2008 Architecture and political power, Technical College Spittal an der Drau

2009 The people behind the media image, Technical College Spittal an der Drau

2010 Sustainability and media, Technical University Vienna

2010 One day in the life of an architecture journalist, Technical University Vienna

2010 Architecture and public spaces in Europe, Webster University Vienna

since 2011 Honorary professor at the University for Applied Arts in Vienna

BROADCASTING

2003–2009 Beautiful architects, weekly live broadcast magazine on Radio Orange

2005 Von Tag zu Tag, Ö1, ORF, Austrian Broadcasting Company

2012 Building in the Alps, in: Bundesland heute, ORF Salzburg

2012 Leporello, Ö1, ORF, Austrian Broadcasting Company

2012 Zum Beispiel Wohnen, in: Mahlzeit Burgenland, Radio Burgenland

Publications in newspapers and magazines

2001–2005 Daily newspaper Die Presse

2002–2005 Weekly Viennese newspaper Falter

2007–2008 Editor in chief for architecture magazine 91° More than Architecture

since 2010 Design magazine H.O.M.E.

since 2002 Professional architecture magazine FORUM

since 2005 Daily newspaper Der Standard

since 2006 Editor for architecture and real estate at Der Standard

since 2008 German architecture magazine Baumeister

since 2010 German architecture magazine Deutsche Bauzeitung

since 2010 German weekly magazine Spiegel

since 2011 German architecture magazine BUILD

since 2011 Neue Zürcher Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Book contributions

2000 Ich schaue in einer anderen Seite. Vorstellungen von Schule, in: UmBau 17

2001 20x3. Review architektur in progress

2001 LIVING. Jubiläumsausgabe zum 80-jährigen Bestehen der GESIBA

2006 Als die Rohre sprechen lernten. Über die Darstellung des Forschergeists im Bild, im bewegten Bild und in der Architektur, in: Exploration F. Österreichs Forschung im Fokus

2007 Architektur hat mit dem Menschen zu tun, in: Wolfgang Kaufmann. Bauwerke

2008 Das Wunder von hier und jetzt, in: Stadien. Marktplätze der Zukunft

2008 In einem Zusammenhang, in: Gernot Hertl

2009 Die Revolution der Ressourcen, in: Markus Pernthaler 902010

2010 Erdberger Mais

2010 Stadt am Prater

2010 I entered a strange and fascinating world, in: VIC-M Vienna International Centre

2010 Lederhose war gestern, in: Wohnraum Alpen

2010 Im Werden und im Wachsen, in: Yo.V.A. 3 Young Viennese Architects

2010 Alles ist Baukunst, in: Österreich gestern heute morgen by Hannes Androsch

Own book publications

2005 Wir spielen Architektur, Verständnis und Missverständnis von Kinderfreundlichkeit, Sonderzahl Verlag

2007 persicope architecture. gerner°gerner plus, Holzhausen

2009 STAVBA, The new STRABAG Headquarter in Bratislava

2010 Light / Night, The Nouvel Tower in Vienna, Christian Brandstätter

2011 Living in Vienna. 20 projects by Albert Wimmer, Springer Wien New York

2012 Zum Beispiel Wohnen. 80 ungewöhnliche Hausbesuche (in cooperation with

Michael Hausenblas, Verlag Anton Pustet

2014 In progress: Stadtgedanken. Ein Reiseführer ohne Nutzen, Metroverlag

Miscellaneous

1998–1999 ÖGFA Austrian Society for Architecture, Vienna

2000–2004 querkraft architekten, Vienna

2006 Signa Tour Awards for sustainable tourism

2007–2010 Advisory counselor for Arts in public space, Lower Austria

such as anchorman in panel discussions and attendee in several judging panels