Hundertwasserhause Friedensreich Hundertwasser was one of the most controversial architects in history. He was called "the king of five skins ” (It was taken from his theory, that every man possesses five skins: natural skin, clothes house, social environment and planet). He maniacally postulated the protection of environment. So on one of the meetings he even prepared a meal of nettles that caused stomach inflammation the long standing treatment. He died in 2000.
He crated one of the main tourist attractions of Vienna and Europe. The Hundertwasserhaus, that is the House of Hundertwasser, is the attempt to show in architecture a union of man and nature. The escape from regularity , symmetry and straight lines proves his exceptionality. Hundertwasser hated straight lines treating them as "ungodly and immoral ”. Therefore his house looks like it is of rubber and it seems not to have right to stand stably. The postulate of rejection of straight lines the architect contained in his “Mould Manifesto”, which was read for the first time in 1958 during the International Meeting of Art and Architecture in Seckau. Besides these specific views, he became famous because of the way of performing - he often appeared in public completely naked.
In 1983 the town council of Vienna offered Hundertwasser to build a house at Lowegasse. It was quite risky order because the architect mixed baroque colonnades, irregularily put windows, different colours of each flat, mosaic and cupola or plants. It was also risky because Hundertwasser did not give the workers exact instructions so they worked according to their individual inclinations. He claimed that "everyone, who works for him, likes him ”. The building was led by the architect Jozef Krawin. The house was open in 1985, but it was given to use a year later, and on the first day over 70 thousand visitors wanted to sightsee it.. The plants are natural element of Hundertwasser's projects. He thought that planting trees is an ecological action and cutting them down is a political move.
In the building there are 50 flats (from 30 to 150 m2), four restaurants, doctor's surgery, 16 private and 3 public terraces. Around the house there are over 250 trees and shrubs. The house area is about 3550 m ² and it cost 6 millions Euro . The architect did not want the money for the project. He claimed that the consciousness that nothing ugly was built in this place was a sufficient payment for him .
Although this is one of the most significant places for sightseeing , tourists can admire it only from outside - because this is normally functioning house where residents live. The neighbouring places offers the wide choice of accomodation in hotels Vienna and apartments.
The Hundertwasserhaus is the first, but not the only apartment complex of this kind in the world. Similar buildings were also constructed in Plochingen (1998/1999), Darmstadt (called Waldspirale) and Magdeburg (Grune Zitadelle).
Hundertwasser was underestimated by critics and the public, because of his extremely difficult theories. He was a man who presened unconventional opinions. And he created the building which is well-known in the whole world and about which students learn at art history or architecture studies . Thanks to Hundertwasserhaus Vienna has its symbol of postmodermistic art and hundreds of thousands of interested tourists. 21.10.2007. 14:09 This article hasn't been commented yet.
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