Architecture and Society

And What Do You Do?

The program section Architecture and Society this year presents documentary works dealing with people’s inner motivations and passions. Inspired by the slogan displayed on the facade of the Architecture Forum Upper Austria, “Und was machst du so?” (And what do you do?), the focus is on acting parties. The big screen provides room for architects and other protagonists alike, who are depicted in very personal portraits. What they all have in common is a passion for the projects they are working on, which is exactly what makes it possible to overcome their challenges and complications. The drive and, in some cases, staying power brought by the portrayed people is encouraging and shows that failure can also be an opportunity.

We embark on a trip from west to east in four documentaries. In MIRALLES, Maria Mauti portrays the eponymous Spanish architect: Eleven variations of his work have found their way into this film providing an overview of his life’s work with powerful images and in a very poetical style. In VITIĆ DREAMS, Boris Bakal takes us to Zagreb, to a high-rise built by the architect Ivan Vitić that is regarded as an outstanding example of modern Croatian architecture. Left to deteriorate, its residents struggle with the building’s conditions while being caught between bureaucracy, politics, and personal conflicts. The setting of HANGING WITHOUT WALLS is the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava: Jana Durajová and Lena Kušnieriková follow Alexandra Kusá, the director of a museum whose renovation has been dragging along for two decades, and depict the complex challenges of this process. Our arc finishes with Kristoffer Hegnsvad’s film SOVIET BUS STOPS, a voyage of discovery through former Soviet republics. The Canadian photographer Christopher Herwig has a passion for Soviet-era bus stations and tries to capture them before they vanish forever. (Gerald Wöss)