Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser (literally ‘Kingdom of Peace Hundred-Waters’ – a pseudonym, his birth name was Friedrich Stowasser) is famous for his colourful paintings and architectural designs which seem to defy gravity and bring nature indoors. His humanistic approach to building (for instance: ‘everyone should be entitled to a window to lean out of and contemplate the world’, ‘corridors should be like paths through a forest’ and his distaste for the straight-edged ruler and ‘chicken or rabbits in a cage’ approach of functional architecture) is very inspiring. He was a provocateur and a rebel all his life. My parents used to huff and puff with disdain when they saw him being interviewed on TV in my childhood, but I was entranced. You can read more about his achievements on this excellent website. Here are some of my favourite examples of his work.
Lovely pics, especially number two. I am rather ashamed to say that I had never heard of him…
Yes, he is perhaps not that well-known outside architectural circles, but, of course, growing up in Vienna, they were very proud of him and featured him often on TV (he would sometimes appear naked in interviews etc. which was soooo shocking for the solid Austrian bourgeoisie – and for my parents).
I love these! I wish I’d found time to see the Hundertwasser House when we were in Vienna last year.
There is also a Kunsthaus – art centre – designed by him in Vienna, well worth a look. Ah well, always a good reason to go back to Vienna! (They should employ me at their tourist office.)
A friend lives opposite the Kunsthaus. I love sitting on her balcony gazing at the building. They also have interesting exhibitions of works by other artists as well as Hundertwasser’s work.
Thank you, thank you for pointing that out. Always happy to spread the word about my ‘home’ town – well, the town of most my childhood.
Also the cake…
I blame Vienna for my sweet tooth, absolutely… As a Viennese friend of mine said: ‘There’s no such thing as a naturally slim Viennese.’
Weirdly enough I had never heard of him until this year when my 6 year old granddaughter came home from school saying they had been learning about his work!!
Great post! 😊
He’s perfect for schools, as children just naturally take to his quirky colours and style. A much more human-centric architecture, sadly we see too little of it.
Marina, thanks for introducing me to Hundertwasser’s work. If only more architects thought outside those red brick boxes!
I couldn’t agree more! Sadly, looking at the skyscape of London, it seems those phallic skyscrapers are winning the battle…
Love it! We need more of this irreverence in architecture for sure 🙂
I want to live in that estate in Magdeburg!
What lovely ‘photos, Marina Sofia! And that architecture is so alive! I’m really glad it’s cared for and left intact. It’s got so much energy. Thanks for sharing.
I’d never heard of him. Some of these look as though they belong in a theme park.
Those are glorious! I’d never heard of him either but I’d love to live in a building like that!!
What joy-inspiring colours and shapes! I’d never heard of him nor seen any of his projects. What fun to trudge home to one of these after a hard day’s work 🙂
These are wonderful. Smiley, happy looking buildings accepting of people and pleasingly growing out of the earth, rather than menacing great slabs diminishing everything crawling past their oppressive concrete hulkishness. Architecture for people to engage with, rather than be oppressed by.
Exactly, that’s what I love about them: playful, fun – why does utilitarian have to mean ugly?
Yes, I do think proper function must also involve the fact that aesthetics itself, a sense of pleasure in form, is a part of proper function. We respond to beauty, and there is a very definite sense of a kind of mirroring harmony, which we can viscerally sense in ourselves, when we see or hear ‘harmonious’. Which can, and probably must) also include dissonance or edge as a kind of dynamic tension. I’m not sure if I have expressed this with enough clarity, but, I had a really lovely and strong sense of it yesterday, seeing a friend’s new house. One room in particular was just delicious in terms of particular colour combinations, arrangement of objects, purpose of the room etc etc and I felt a kind of well being , emotionally, arising out of aesthetic happiness. I thought, also of your post, travelling back to London and seeing the great clumps of brutal architectural blocks we were passing through, and sensing how THEY made me viscerally feel
Oh, yes, I couldn’t agree more! But I think some people are more sensitive to it than others. I have this kind of instinctive sense of well-being in certain buildings or landscapes, while others don’t even seem to notice their surroundings. However, given the number of ‘office strain syndromes’ there are, it may be having a negative effect on them even if they are not aware of it.
Well, this is what I also believe. I think being sensitive to this kind of thing – or, at least, being more consciously aware of how you might be attuned to your environment, has swings and roundabouts – you might be a degree hypersensitively reactive, so that you are aware of being somewhat weakened and less vital, but the payoff is also being more sensitive to where wellbeing and vitality might lie, for you, so that you go to where you CAN get recharged. I DO think ‘sick buildings’ exist, and those less aware of how surroundings effect them may NOT realise till they are more depleted, later down the line.
Ugggghh! My God, they’re hideous. The first two might be bearable if they lost the domes and turned down the colours a bit, or rather, a lot.
But they are fun, like visiting the Sugar Plum Fairy!
Hmm… I quite like the block of flats at the top and I like the idea of a bright and colourful incineration plant. But otherwise I fear the traditionalist in me shudders a little… maybe they just take a bit of getting used to!
Dear Marina Sofia, we went to Bad Blumau for our honeymoon so I’m a fan too! It was kind of hard to navigate the non-flat corridors but it was so much fun!
Oh, how lovely! I’d love to go and see it…
I loved the Hundertwasser Haus in Vienna. It was a nice change from Habsbourg’s cream puffs.
He’s done stuff in New Zealand as well, I think
He did indeed – he bought land in New Zealand (even became a citizen, I believe) and did all sorts of projects there. I agree with you about the cream puffs, but I do like the decadent and slightly morbid Jugendstil buildings in Vienna.