Today I immersed myself in all things Hundertwasser.
The Vienna app, ivie, recommended him. The app is a rare example of something useful that doesn’t have adverts. I assume it’s provided by the city. The app tells you about Vienna’s highlights, makes personalised recommendations based on your preferences, suggests walks, and lists events.
Hundertwasser was an artist, architect, ecologist, and many other things. He was unique although there are some similarities to Gaudi. Kunst Haus Wien, the museum housing his works, was designed by him. He wanted to create architecture that was more in harmony with nature. He also disliked straight lines!
As a consequence, his designs are crooked. They’re an accessibility nightmare! The floors and stairs of the museum are uneven. The roof is covered with earth and grass. Trees grow from inside the rooms, with branches spreading out of windows.
He was not paid for the design of the house. He felt it was worth the investment to “prevent something ugly from going up in its place”.
Apart from the building, the art itself is interesting. I liked the colourful works, which drew inspiration from many styles. Being experimental, Hundertwasser travelled around the world. For a particular set of works, he convinced Japanese woodblock creators that the technique could be used to produce his colourful paintings.
When I finished looking around the museum, I had some coffee and cake in the museum’s beautiful cafe.
I found myself in a conversation with a couple sitting on the next table. The man was of Chinese origin and explained (defended) China’s political system. He likened it to an hourglass. In the upper half, sand flows to the centre. At the centre, in the West, is the individual.
In China, the reverse is true. The base, society, is what’s important. For development, societal benefits outweigh individual benefits. Individual protest, for example, is stopped if it threatens to destabilise society.
The person claimed that although China appears undemocratic and a dictatorship, the reality is that no leader can remain if they don’t have broad party support.
He went to say that the society-based thinking resulted in China being more forward-looking than the short-term thinking in the West. For example, China has penalised large technology companies because they threatened societal harmony. This is something the West has been reluctant to do.
Although I didn’t agree with everything, he made some interesting points.
Before leaving the cafe, I consulted the ivie app. It recommended going to a nearby housing complex, also designed by Hundertwasser. This was equally stunning!
Finally, I decided I had enough time to see a third Hundertwasser building. Before scrolling down, see if you can guess what the purpose of this building is:
It’s a plant for burning rubbish! It’s also a giant boiler. Some houses in Vienna don’t have their own boilers. Heated water is provided centrally. The incineration plant is one source.