27 Storeys – Alterlaa Forever
FOOD & FOOTAGE – Independent movies in combination with food
12 NOVEMBER 2025 / starting 19:00
ZK/U BerlinSiemensstr. 27, 10551, Berlin, Germany
The spirit of Vienna’s 1970s social utopias is still alive in the city’s 23rd district, where Wohnpark Alterlaa rises as Austria’s largest social housing complex. Designed by architect Harry Glück, it embodies a vision of urban life where comfort and community are central. The director takes a humorous look at the surprisingly happy residents of this "city within a city”, middle and working class’ people living a comfortable life: enjoying sunbathing on rooftop pools, shopping in the next stairwell or using services that make life outside the complex gray and unattractive. As a personal song of praise for the building, where the director actually grew up, the dark side of this life is also revealed through a colorful, nostalgic and disturbingly idealistic utopia.
Beyond its local context, the film invites for reflection on a cooperative housing model that today evokes so many negative associations, enabling comparisons on the reality of housing in Poland, Austria and Germany, where modernization of large buildings are currently sparking mixed feelings as well.
An important theme in the stories is the community of people over 70, most of the residents of Artelaa, who thrive thanks to the shopping, healthcare, leisure and greenery infrastructures of the complex. In this sense, Alterlaa becomes a living case study of “long-life design” and the possibilities of architecture to shape not only our spaces but the rhythms of human life
27 Storeys – Alterlaa Forever
by Bianca Gleissinger
82’02’’
Austria, Germany, 2023
German with English subtitles
The film screening is free of charge; purchasing a meal is not required to attend the movie night.
The price is 15 euros per person (drinks not included).
Doors open at 19:00
Dinner will be served at 19:30
The film starts at 20:30 followed by a discussion with Alexander Sandy Kaltenborn.
Alexander Sandy Kaltenborn is a communication designer, artist, and activist who among other projects is involved in the Kotti & Co. tenants' association. Following the film, he invites the audience to a discussion about the lack of new architectural utopias and the housing crisis.
The event is organised in cooperation with the Wrocław Film Foundation and the MIASTOmovie project, thanks to the support of the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation.
