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David Joseph Jacob (born July 8,1928) is an American architect and visionary who explores the architectural form with a humanist perspective. He developed the Unified Shell Principle in architecture.

David J. Jacob

Born: David Joseph Jacob, July 8, 1928; Detroit, Michigan, USA Education: Syracuse University School of Architecture (B.S. Arch), Cranbrook Academy of Art (M Arch and Urban Design), Fellow, American Academy in Rome (1956-58) Known For: Visionary Architecture Spouse: Marian Jacob (m.1953) Children: 5

Early Life, Education

David Jacob was born in Detroit, Michigan. His father, Saul Jacob, was a business owner whose life was cut short in 1940. His mother was Ruth (née Finkelstein) Jacob Blumberg. He had two siblings: an older brother, Herbert, founder of AJAX Paving Company, and a younger sister, Joanne (Jacob) Goldfarb, also an architect. The family lived in Detroit, MI, Syracuse, NY and Scranton, PA. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1951 with a Bachelors in Architecture and continued his studies at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI, where he was awarded the first Eliel Saarinen Scholarship and earned a Master of Fine Arts in Architecture and Urban Planning in 1952. Upon graduation Jacob enlisted in the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School and went on to serve in the Office of Naval Intelligence at the Pentagon for three years.

Career

Architectural Practice: David Jacob was hired by Eero Saarinen and Associates in 1955-56 and resumed employment there in 1958-61, continuing with Roche-Dinkeloo 1965-69 and 1972-82. He worked on the iconic Saarinen TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport and Dulles International Airport in Virginia; he also worked on numerous corporate headquarters including John Deere in Moline, IL, College Life Insurance Company in Indianapolis, IN and General Foods in Rye, NY.

Research Design: In 1956-58, David Jacob was awarded the Rome Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome where he investigated architecture that would reflect integrity with the human form. He developed the Unified Shell Principle in architecture, a system describing an open, continuous architectural form. This is exemplified in the model Simulated Dwelling for a Family of Five Project (1970), which was acquired by Arthur Drexler, Director of the Museum of Modern Art, NY, for the exhibit Transformations in Modern Architecture. He was awarded other fellowships and continued to develop the Unified Shell Principle for multiple living arrangements. He shared a lifelong creative partnership with his wife, sculptor Marian Jacob. Since 1972, David and Marian have lived and worked in Stony Creek, CT and Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy.

Simulated Dwelling for a Family of Five Project, 1970. Fiberglass, polyester resin, metal, paper, plastic and synthetic polymer paint. Museum of Modern Art

Awards and Honors

Eliel Saarinen Scholarship, 1951 Fellowship, American Academy in Rome, 1956-58 Architect in Residence, American Academy in Rome, 1970-71 Graham Foundation Fellowship for Advanced Studies in Fine Arts, 1961-62 and 1974-75. Guggenheim Fellowship, Architecture, Planning & Design, 1969

Exhibits

Passage, American Academy in Rome, Italy, 1971

Transformations in Modern Architecture, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 1972

Architecture & Design, North Gallery Rotation 2, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2005

Endless House: Intersections of Art and Architecture, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2015

Photomontage of a visionary environment from "Passage" exhibition, American Academy in Rome, 1970.

Body Constructs, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, January 2024 - December 2025

Publications

"Lo spazio architettonico "monoplastico" overro: ritorno alle grotte.” Architettura : cronache e storia; September, 1958, p. 290

“Mountain of a Thousand Temples: Satrunjaya.” Architectural Forum, July 1959, Vol. 111, p119-126

“Vigorous Roofs on Formal Facades”, Architectural Forum, October 1960, Vol 113, p118-123, and cover photo of Isfahan's Masjid-i-Jami by David J. Jacob

“Free Form Space in Building”; Arts and Architecture, August 1962 by Marian and David Jacob, p.16-17

Hayes, Bartlett H. “Up From the Ground”. New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. 1973; p. 30

Drexler, Arthur. “Transformations in Modern Architecture”. The Museum of Modern Art: Distributed by New York Graphic Society. 1979; p. 54. ISBN: 087070608X

Bua, Max and Goldfarb, Maximilian “Architectural Inventions: Visionary Drawing of Buildings”, Quercus Publishing. October 22, 2012; pp. 8, 88-89. ISBN: 1780674015, 9781780674018

Personal

David married fellow student Marian Ruth Mueller (MFA Sculpture, Cranbrook Academy of Art) on May 15, 1953; they had five daughters.