“Hundertwasserhouse” is one of the main tourist attractions in Vienna. And if you look at this photo and everything “ripples” in your eyes, it’s not just distortion by perspective. The lines of this apartment building are distorted and for a reason.
Hundertwasserhouse a family name
The name “Hundertwasserhouse” comes from the name of the spiritual creator (German: Geistiger Schöpfer) of this building Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Few people realize, however, that “Hundertwasserhouse” also has a second creator – architect Josef Kravina, who helped transfer the artistic idea into practice. However, the first project presented by Kravina was categorically rejected by Hundertwasserhous due to the fact that the architect presented him with a model of an apartment building with simple lines and modules. It was exactly this architectural style that Hundertwasserhouse fought against during his artistic career. He believed that architecture should harmonize with nature – and in nature, modules are rare.
As you can see from the architecture of this apartment building, Krawina came to an understanding with the Hundertwasserhaus. This expressionist monument of Vienna was built in the Landstraße district at the corner of Kegelgasse and Löwengasse (Kegel/Löwen Street). After the construction work was completed in 1985, Hundertwasserhaus refused to be paid for the project – it felt it was worth seeing its vision embodied instead of seeing another ugly building.
