Image: Architekturzentrum Wien, Vienna
The Architekturzentrum Wien will bring together four architects on 2 September for a discussion examining architectural work in Iran, Nepal, Lebanon and São Tomé and Príncipe, and the role of architecture in international cooperation during the Cold War. Titled ‘Global – Neutral: Zeitzeug*innen im Gespräch’, the event will take place at 6pm at the Az W Podium in Vienna, with free admission.
The conversation is presented in connection with the exhibition ‘Global – Neutral. Architecture from Austria in Africa and Asia 1955–1989’, which is on view in the institution’s Exhibition Hall 2 through 5 October 2026. The exhibition traces the work of Austrian architects active in Africa and Asia between 1955 and 1989, situating their projects within the political conditions of decolonisation and the Cold War.
According to the Architekturzentrum Wien, Austria’s self-understanding as a neutral state without a colonial past gave its architects a particular position between East and West. Their projects, however, were also connected to political, economic and cultural interests, including development programmes, diplomatic rapprochement and transnational collaboration. The exhibition draws on the Az W collection and presents plans, photographs and models related to projects by architects including Hannes Lintl, Carl Pruscha, Roland Rainer, Shahrzad Seradj-Kraupp and Anton Schweighofer.
The September discussion will focus on personal accounts from architects who worked across these international settings. Eugen Gross, Carl Pruscha, Shahrzad Seradj-Kraupp and Gunter Wratzfeld are scheduled to discuss their experiences at the intersection of development cooperation, cultural exchange and the political realities of the Cold War. The programme describes the participants as contemporary witnesses whose projects provide a direct perspective on the period addressed by the exhibition.
Monika Platzer and Susanne Rick, the curators of ‘Global – Neutral’, will moderate the event. Their exhibition is part of the Architekturzentrum Wien’s broader effort to examine architecture through its social and political dimensions, rather than treating buildings solely as formal or technical objects. The institution’s collection focuses on Austrian architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries, and its current programme places archival material alongside public discussions, guided tours and research-based publications.
The event is one of several public programmes accompanying ‘Global – Neutral’. A curators’ tour is scheduled for 8 September, a dialogue tour with architect and former TU Wien urban-planning professor Erich Raith for 22 September, and a further exhibition tour for 29 September. The exhibition’s accompanying book, ‘Global – Neutral. Architecture from Austria in Africa and Asia 1955–1989’, is published by Park Books and edited by Monika Platzer, Susanne Rick and the Architekturzentrum Wien. The discussion will be held on Wednesday, 2 September, at the Az W Podium, Museumsplatz 1, in Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier.
