Global – Neutral

The exhibition Global – Neutral examines the era of global political upheaval between 1955 and 1989, when many countries achieved independence from colonial occupiers and international cooperation was shaped by Cold War tensions. It pieces together clues about the Austrian architects who had commissions in African and Asian countries.

In the second half of the twentieth century, architecture increasingly became part of the global context. Political upheavals and new alliances changed the world—many newly founded states in Asia and Africa became important venues for international architecture and urban development projects. Architecture and urban planning also reflected political attitudes in a newly emerging world order. Austrian architects operated from a unique position in this context: due to their country’s political neutrality, they did not act as representatives of an ideological bloc, but as seemingly independent partners without a colonial past. Yet their projects—in countries such as Burkina Faso, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Nepal, and Tanzania—were also interwoven with political, economic, and cultural interests: they were part of development programs, served as symbols of diplomatic rapprochement, and were venues for transnational cooperation.

Plans, photographs and models from the Az W’s extensive collection shed light on these multi-faceted connections. We’re presenting projects—some were built, while others remained on paper—by about 25 Austrian architects, including, for example, Carl Auböck, Djamshid Farassat, Eugen Gross, Eva Mang-Frimmel & Karl Mang, Norbert Heltschl, Hans Hollein, Helene Koller-Buchwieser, Shahrzad Seradj-Kraupp, Hannes Lintl, Carl Pruscha, Roland Rainer, and Anton Schweighofer. By placing the projects within the broader context of the political, cultural, and globalized force fields in play, the exhibition Global – Neutral opens up new perspectives on Austrian architecture.

Curators: Monika Platzer, Susanne Rick