Vienna 2013: Hundertwasser Buildings and Museum

Having seen the works of Antonio Gaudi when we visited Barcelona several years ago, we were very surprised to learn about Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who seemed like Gaudi's artistic soul mate.  The buildings designed by Hundertwasser have a very similar whimsical, vivid and dynamic look and feel to Gaudi's works.  Compare  Gaudi's buildings and structures found in Parc Guell with the Spittelau District Heating Plant that Hundertwasser renovated in Vienna.

Hundertwasserhaus, a social housing apartment complex which opened in 1986, is a prime example of Hundertwasser's style and his affinity towards nature.  The floors in the courtyard and lobby are not flat, but rather undulate to simulate hills and bumps and crevices that you would find in nature.  He is quoted as saying that "The uneven floor becomes a symphony, a melody for the feet and brings back the natural vibrations to man." - (April 1991)

The facade of the building is painted in vibrant shades of blue, yellow, red and white, with each different colour representing a separate apartment unit.   Hundertwasser called the facade of a building a person's "third skin" after his actual skin and his clothing.

Trees or folliage grow out of the windows of some of the upper units.  Hundertwasser installed planter boxes by the windows with a self watering system to support the growth of what he calls "tree tenants" who "pay rent" by purifying the air.  He also frequently planted an entire forest of trees on the rooftops of his buildings.  

Hundertwasser shared Gaudi's love of colourful mosaics, which can be found on his exterior walls and pillars.  This was even true of his interiors, as shown by some photos that were on display.  We could not go inside to see the apartments since they are occupied residences.  It must be weird for these tenants to have tourists constantly gawking at their home, but then, I had the same thought when viewing Gaudi's Casa Battlo in Barcelona.

 Even the adjoining gift shop shares the same funky vibe as Hunderwasserhaus.  The highlight was the "Toilet of Modern Art" which presented a visual wonderland enroute to the washrooms.  For a mere 0.20 Euros, you not only get to pee, but you get an art show as well! 

A few blocks away, the KunstHausWien museum is dedicated to the life, art and architecture of Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Both the exterior and interiors of this museum is very typical Hundertwasser, from the pillars and mosaics to the slopes in the floors.  His paintings, sketches and tapestries are as vibrant and full of colour as his architecture.

The museum showed models of other architectural works of Hundertwasser, including an entire village which never passed the planning stages.  One common theme was to have grassy slopes traverse the top of his buildings, providing a natural path for people to walk on and enjoy.

We learned that Hundertwasser was an extremely talented but also a very eccentric man who was prone to writing manifestos.  One written in 1958 called "Mouldiness Manifesto Against Rationalism Architecture" (might have lost something in the translation), argues that tenants should be allowed to change the facade of their buildings as they wish and that their creativity in adorning their "third skin" should not be stifled.  When Austria moved to change their license plate backgrounds to white, Hundertwasser led a campaign to maintain the original black colour.  Hundertwasser's designs are far-reaching.  In addition to buildings, as he has been called upon to design stamps and created new covers for encyclopedias.  He even created, unprompted, a new design for an alternate flag for New Zealand, where he owned a home and was buried upon his death.