2. The Architecture


The architecture of the building complex "Hundertwasser in den Wiesen" (Hundertwasser in the meadows) is described as a 'Wohnburg' or 'Wohnhügel', literally a living mound, and shows strong conceptual affinities to the pueblo architecture of the American Indians in the South-West of the USA. Not only the overall shape of the various elements of the structure, but also the rough finish of the external wall surfaces with irregularly rounded-off edges underlines this concept. The internal partition is also very much a multi-level affair, signalling a clear departure from the standard, regular and symmetrical, horizontal design of most condominiums. Thus it would appear warranted to use the term 'pueblo' to characterise the overall structure.

The overriding design element was the development of a balanced distribution of the masses without the need to resort to any symmetrical arrangement. In fact, the design appears to go out of its way to prevent any replication in design. While horizontal lines have been avoided, the vertical structural elements remain, governed by reasons of statics, but are cleverly camouflaged with the application of rounded edges, rounded and irregular interiors, as well as wavy lines as decorative external elements.

The initial intent to develop a viewing terrace for the expected tourists and visitors had been abandoned while the establishment of one or more paths through the pueblo as open public spaces (Kalinowski 1898, 1990) is still unsettled as the city council and the builder cannot agree on aspects of this agreement and the matter is before the courts. These open spaces lead to the entrances of the few elevator shafts and units.

Left:
Figure 2.1. The proposed public space in the pueblo. The historic structure is at the right of the narrow path. Note the placement of the Victorian replica streetlamps.

The paths as built (figure 2.1) are lit by replica Victorian street lanterns in a green coat of paint, a type which forms the standard street architecture of the centre of Bad Soden. While debatable at best, these lanterns out out of place in this pueblo setting and create a visual disturbance.

The design of the building makes frequent references to architectural concepts and design elements which are alien to traditional German architecture. This makes the building visually very 'different' from the norm and inevitably and purposefully challenges and polarises the audience. The overall character of the building as a pueblo, the elaborate ornamentation with glazed beaded columns resemblant of the onion-shaped gilded domes of Islamic mosques, the baldachin-like use of roofs, resemblant of temple architecture, the plantings echoing hanging gardens.

Figure 2.2.
Left: Enclosed Baldachin structure on top of the central tower.
Right: Open Baldachin structure on top of the northeastern tower

The structure is dominated by the central tower, which has a flat roof and a large finial in the shape of of a gold ball on the top of a post (figure 2.2). This is a much more mundane concept that the initial design which saw a large goldleaf covered onion-shaped roof, similar to that of a mosque (cf. drawing in Kalinoswksi 1989; 1990; Mies 1993).

The door and window openings vary in dimensions and proportions, thus providing an additional challenge both to the structural engineer and the builder on site. The need to depart from straight lines as pure vertical lines (the latter are structurally pretermined and thus the irregularity had to be created by visual illusions) caused serious conceptual problems for some of the construction workers who took pride in their accurate work (Kalinowski 1992). The external ornamentation extends only as a design plan and model, with only the major elements marked out. The realisation of the plan and the microdetailing of the elements was left to the interpretation of the construction workers. Thus the final outcome was dependent on the imaginative skills of the crafts people, a drastic departure from the "traditional" architecture of the 20th century.

The necessities of modern car travel were accommodated by the development of a private car park, affording each of the units two parking spaces. In addition, as part of the permitting procedure, the town council required the provision of 29 public parking lots. The entrance to the Parkdeck opens like a cavernous mouth (figure 2.3).

Left:
Figure 2.3.
Entrance to the park deck and building seen from the east

The total design of the building continues even in the public parking garage, where the driveway is set apart from the road by a bulbous hump and where the floor shows a pavement of small stones laid out in patterns and where the walls of the partitions continue the design with large numbers. The car park, which forms the base of the pueblo, shows an untreated concrete ceiling.

The external surface of the building is ornamented with wavy lines running from the roofline. These lines, executed in blue glazed tiles, are meant to symbolise falling rain running down the walls (Iwan 1996), and thus an integration of nature with the building (figure 2.4, right).

From a structural point of view the building was erected on more than 250 piles driven into the sediments in order to avoid changing the flows of groundwater--in view of the proximity of several mineral springs forming part of the spa precinct a very serious issue. In the event, the construction of the foundations caused some contoversy (see below), as did the partial rerouting of a creek.

The building materials used range from concrete for the foundations, external and internal structural elements, bricks and concrete blocks for the walls and the ornamentals, such as the variety of bricks used in the cladding of the facade.

In addition to the permanent wall decorations and reliefs, the courtyards, balconies . and multilevel roof tops of the pueblo are liberally planted with a variety of trees, shrubs and creepers which, as they grow, will continually change the appearance of the structure, thereby giving rise to the overall concept of a living installation. It is planned to have the trees grow to a height which would ultimately obscure much of the elaborate ornamentation during summer and expose it during winter except where covered by creepers).

Left:
Figure 2.5. A view of the roof area..

The surfaces of the terraces and open spaces are covered with granulate (hydroponic-type) plant base and have been seeded with grass, with the intent to let nature take its course - accepting that given the location of the pueblo at the bottom of the valley below scrubs and meadows weeds would flourish if left unchecked (as they do).

Such a concept certainly introduced elements of energy-efficiency, where wall and window spaces are shaded by decidious trees in the summer, while exposed to the sun in winter. However, unlike Australia, the temperature regime in Bad Soden is rarely such that much cooling in summer is required.

Similar to the external structure the internal lay-out, as well as the ornaments, are fixed in the design. The wet areas of bathroom, toilet and shower were decorated with a mosaic of wavy-line and irregular curvilinear designs. The mirrors are 'framed' by irregular shaped stucco borders which provide a three-dimensional element to the ensemble. All tile pieces have been fired and glazed in the shapes used and none of the tiles were broken to complete a design.

During implementation of the design, the craftpeople had free hand, constrained by the designers' overall intentions but not by rigid plans, whereas the future owners of the unit had little influence on the events. As such, the interior decoration was a piece of art which was to be accepted without a choice and without the option to modify the design at a later stage. The plumbing and sinks are regulation sets where artistic freedom had been regulated and which only imperfectly integrate into the design.

Left:
Figure 2.6. The bathtub arrangement in one of the bathrooms. Shower and sink are part of the original design, the ceiling lamp is added by the tenant.

The use of some of the materials is rather extravagant. The cupolas as well as a dozen ornamental balls set on the parapets of the Hundertwasser-designed kindergarten at Frankfurt-Heddernheim (Deckenbach 1990) were covered with DM 120,000 (approx. Aus $ 130,000) worth of real gold leaf (Frankfurter Rundschau 27 October 1992).

Even though the structure may have underlying ecological concepts and design principles it is not an ecological building as such. The building materials used are off-the-shelf materials such as concrete, concrete blocks, bricks of various types as well as ceramics and tiles (even though the shapes of the latter are designed). Truly ecological, ie.non-manufactured raw materials such as quarried stone used for puposes other than cladding, treated or untreated wood and mud/earth, such as adobe or rammed earth (pisé) have not been used (Huber 1993).

Compared to other condominium developments in the area, the $ >20 million Hundertwasser building is with DM 8,000/m2 aproximately 30% more expensive per square metre. At the time of writing (May 1996) several of the units were still unsold.

The pueblo complex incorporates a historic building, the first spa building of the town erected in 1722 (heritage debate). This building follows the symmetrical design criteria of the time and is dominated by horizontal lines created by rows of windows. As such, then, the building provides a stark contrast to the pueblo, a contrast which is enhanced by the architect with the use of dark brown paint borders to delineate the individual stories. This horizontal is then counterpointed by two wooden balcony towers which have been added to the original structure. While brown in appearance, the profiling of the wooden posts reiterates some of the beaded themes of the pueblo. The roof facing the public space on the Quellenpark is dominated by three oversized dormer windows set at even spacing on the roof, yet contrasting and conflicting with the symmetry of the windows below. The ground floor of the building has been extensively modified to allow its usage as shops and professional or commercial premises.

© 1996 Dirk H.R.Spennemann, Albury

This document forms part of :
Spennemann, Dirk H.R. (1996) Hundertwasser Wohnen in den Wiesen". Art, Architecture and Heritage in Bad Soden, Germany. A hypermedia resource. Johnstone Centre of Parks, Recreation and Heritage, Charles Sturt University, Albury NSW, Australia. URL: http://life.csu.edu.au/~dspennem/Varia/Hundertwasser/100W_Start.html