There are many interesting places in Europe that attract tourists like a magnet. One of them is the Hundertwasser House (Vienna, Austria). Located on a cozy street in the very center of the city, it attracts passers-by with its original architecture, bright colors and a riot of greenery. The building stands out so much from the rest of the houses in the Austrian capital that it is simply impossible not to notice it and pass by.
Short description
The Hundertwasser House in Vienna was built during 1983-1986. It is a residential high-rise building consisting of 52 apartments, 4 office spaces, 16 private and 3 common terraces. The building is surrounded by greenery: more than 250 shrubs and trees are planted in its niches located at different levels and on the roof. It was designed by Austrian architect and artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser in collaboration with architect Josef Kravina. The creators tried to build the ideal house of the future, in which a person can live among natural forms and in complete harmony with nature.
Outrageous building causedunprecedented excitement among the local population, and there was no end to those wishing to acquire real estate in it. But not everyone can survive for a long time in a house near which hundreds of tourists crowd daily (they are forbidden to enter the building itself), therefore, after living in it for a couple of years, people sell their apartments and move to other, more peaceful areas. Despite the high turnover, real estate prices in the Hundertwasser house are consistently high, because there are still many who want to live in it early.
Childhood and youth of a genius
Before you start looking at the Hundertwasser house, you need to take a closer look at the brief biography of its creator, because the life of this man deserves no less attention than the building he built. Friedrich Stowasser (this is the real name of the architect) was born in Vienna back in 1928. His father was Austrian and his mother was Jewish. The father of the future genius died immediately after the birth of his son, so the boy was raised by his mother. In the 1930s, the Nazis came to power in Germany, and the persecution of Jews began in Europe. To avoid this, in 1937, my mother decided to baptize little Friedrich in the Catholic rite.
The Second World War destroyed all relatives of the future architect in concentration camps, including his mother. He himself managed to escape. Hiding his Jewish origin, he even served in the youth Nazi organization "Hitler Youth". The terrible years of the war shaped the young man's love for the world and the desire to live in unity with nature.
In 1948, the young man began to attend the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. From that moment on, his life becomes inextricably linked with creativity. Stowasser takes the pseudonym Friedensreich Hundertwasser, which consists of several words and literally sounds like "a peaceful country of a hundred waters." Under this name, he became known throughout the world.
Hundertwasser's views in architecture
The architect was sure that living in gray and dull houses resembling boxes is very harmful for both physical and mental he alth. He considered an ideal human dwelling to be a comfortable hole covered with greenery, in which many windows were made for light. This is the dream house he built for himself when he lived in New Zealand. In it, the walls and roof formed a hill, on which rams often climbed in order to nibble fresh grass. Hundertwasser hated regular geometric shapes and straight lines. He believed that there is no symmetry in nature, so there should not be symmetry in architecture either. He created his buildings, whether it was a multi-storey residential building or an office center, without a single right angle. All his projects were distinguished by curved lines and a variety of colors, which he achieved by decorating the walls with mosaics of broken ceramics. This approach made it possible to create bright and unusual houses, capable of raising a person’s mood with just their appearance.
The architect traveled a lot, and at the end of his life he settled in New Zealand, where he died in 2000. Heleft many designed buildings to mankind, but the pinnacle of his work is the Hundertwasser House in Vienna.
Construction
The architect came up with the idea of constructing an unusual building in the late 70s of the last century. For a long time he developed the project of an ideal city house. Hundvertwasser wanted housing to be not only comfortable for a person, but also allowed him to get closer to nature, which is sorely lacking in living conditions in the capital. In 1979, the master built a model of such a house from matchboxes, and a year later the idea of the building was finally formed. Construction began on July 16, 1983 and lasted almost 3 years. Throughout the time, Hundertwasser was personally present during the construction of the house, selected building materials for it, decorated masonry from mosaics, bricks and stones.
Exterior description
The facade of the building turned out to be incredibly colorful. Each apartment on it is separated from the neighboring ones with the help of different colors and curved lines. The architect was convinced that window openings are the main ones in the buildings, through which sunlight enters the premises. For their design, the master developed 13 different types of windows, differing in size, shape and color. To give extravagance, all frames were additionally decorated with a mosaic of broken ceramic tiles. The multi-storey residential building turned out to look like a colorful patchwork quilt, but Hundertwasser did not stop there either. He ensured that all residents of the apartments of this unusual building were given the right to decorate the facades aroundown windows at your own discretion.
Trees and shrubs
The architect paid a lot of attention to the landscaping of the house. He adhered to the theory according to which a person who builds a building steals part of nature's land from nature. In order to restore the disturbed balance, he needs to green the housing itself. For this reason, trees, bushes, flowers and grass grow everywhere on the house: on the roof, terraces, niches, balconies and walls. Some of the representatives of the kingdom of flora manage to grow even from windows. With this ingenious approach, Hundertwasser brought his innovative idea of tenant trees to life. In accordance with it, green spaces pay rent to apartment residents by giving them coolness, purifying the air from exhaust gases and simply pleasing to the eye.
Columns, statues and mosaics
Tourists, accustomed to the fact that the architecture of Austria is characterized by restraint and concise forms, are surprised to see such a bright building on a crowded street in Vienna. A special finish gives it an additional outrageousness: the facade of the house is decorated with numerous columns of various sizes and shades. They not only create a support for a multi-storey building, but also make it look more comfortable and romantic. The same goal is pursued by numerous stone sculptures located in the niches of the walls.
The mosaic that decorates both its facade and the premises of the apartments gives a special flavor to the building. Multi-colored patterns are laid out not according to preliminary sketches, but in an arbitraryorder, which achieves the effect of ease and naturalness, and gives people the impression that there are no right angles in the rooms.
Features of floors and walls
Hundertwasser tried to preserve the natural asymmetry of nature not only in the exterior of the building, but also in its interior. The master was sure that people have problems with their feet because they walk on level ground. In order for the residents of the house to have fewer he alth complaints, the genius created uneven floors in the house, the surface of which spreads in different directions in chaotic waves. Hundertwasser also made the walls in the stairwells uneven and equipped them with plaster, allowing children to draw on them.
How to find the building?
If you want to find the Hundertwasser House in Vienna on the map, then you should look for the Landstrabe district, located in the central part of the capital. It is here, at the intersection of Levengasse and Kegelgasse streets, that the unique multi-colored building is located. This building is a favorite among tourist guides. Tour buses regularly drive up to the building, and guests of the capital take pictures against the backdrop of its richly decorated multi-colored walls. Travelers who independently explore the sights of Vienna will easily find their way to it. A description of how to find a house yourself is in all travel brochures.
You can relate to the Hundertwasser House in different ways. Some people are delighted at the sight of him, others consider him ridiculous and completely tasteless. Butone thing is clear: the architect's creation does not leave anyone indifferent. And in order to get your own impression of the construction, you need to come to Vienna and see it with your own eyes.
