Friedensreich Hundertwasser was a visionary in the field of architecture and ecology. His utopias of near-natural construction contributed significantly to the anchoring of ecological thinking in people’s minds.
1. Kunst Haus Wien – Hundertwasser in Vienna
The only permanent exhibition of the world by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser is housed in the Kunst Haus Wien: on all 1,600 m², the colorful work is exhibited and is complemented by numerous, changing shows by other artists.
Even the four-storey building of the Kunst Haus Wien is entirely in the Hundertwasser style: colorful mosaics and ceramics as well as lots of plants dominate the picture. The floors are partly awry.
Only half a kilometer from the Kunst Haus Wien, the residential building known as “Hundertwasserhaus” of the municipality of Vienna can be discovered:With the support of the city of Vienna, Friedensreich Hundertwasser was able to realize his artistic ideas of lifelike living and living here in the early 1980s. This was realized by the provided architect Josef Krawina.
The complex, completed in 1985, is today one of the most photographed buildings in Vienna – no wonder: to this day, the Hundertwasserhaus finally stands out. It has a dense vegetation by trees and shrubs, numerous terraces and over 50 apartments or business premises.
3. District heating plant Spittelau
The district heating plant Spittelau is particularly innovative – because it was designed by Hundertwasser in the late 1980s. Since 1992, it has stood out visibly – and in all colors and forms – over the city. Since the artist was a great advocate of waste avoidance and recycling throughout his life, he had to be persuaded to do this task. Especially the then mayor Helmut Zilk was in charge of implementing the colorful design of the facility. Only after it could be assured that district heating would use state-of-the-art techniques for cleaning emissions, did Hundertwasser finally accept the offer.