Filmscreening "All buildings are beautiful"

The short film "All Buildings are Beautiful" explores the abandoned former Vienna University of Economics and Business (Alte WU) and asks why an existing building should be demolished to make way for a supposedly more sustainable new one. After the screening, we invite you to join us in a discussion about demolition, transformation, and how we can continue building with what is already there.

In his short film All Buildings are Beautiful, Christoph Schwarz ventures into the now inaccessible former Vienna University of Economics and Business (Alte WU) in Vienna’s 9th district. His camera moves through the abandoned spaces, revealing not only the building’s history but also its qualities and potential. The film starts from a striking contradiction: a building complex completed only in the early 1980s is set to be demolished to make way for a new university campus planned as a sustainable development. The film poses a simple question: wouldn’t it be more sustainable to renovate, adapt, and further develop what already exists?

The event is organized in cooperation with smartvoll Architekten, who will contribute their perspective on existing buildings, transformation, and the future of the Alte WU in the discussion following the screening. Together with them and the audience, we want to explore the value of existing buildings, when demolition can be justified, and what possibilities a culture of transformation and adaptive reuse can offer.

• Date: 08.09.2026, 6 pm

• Address: smartvoll, Kirchengasse 23, 1070 Wien