6. The future


One of the key problems with much of the modern architecture is the liberal mixing of construction materials, which once they begin to decay with age, will exhibit different decay characteristics and will require different treatments. In 1993 the builder of the structure, W. Wachendorff, claimed that the design of the building meant it would be staying for centuries as a hallmark for architecture with little need for traditional maintenance.This is hardly the case.

Already in 1995 the coping of the wall tops was found to be deficient, allowing the ingress of moisture and causing falling damp in a number of places. As a result the external paint work had to be patched up even though the effect merges well with the blotchy paintwork applied in the first instance. Now the tops of the walls have been clad with copper sheeting.

The ornamental elements of the structure are a cladding placed on top of a concrete blocksurface. The use of multiple materials poses a special challenge, as the thermal expansion coefficients of the various types of bricks, stone and glazed tile elements differ. In view of the thermal range experienced in that part of Germany, with summer temperatures in the upper thirties and with winter tempertures usually to -15 degrees C, occasionally to -30 degrees, the building has inbuilt conservation management problems that may not have been forseen by the architect.

The shallow root base of the trees and shrubs is posed to provide a serious problem when the trees mature as they become increasingly prone to wind pressure. In addition, the small amount of soil poses water retention problems when the plants have grown, forcing owners to continually water the trees to prevent their die off in dry summers. This a hardly a sound ecological principle.

This mixing is elaborate, with the patchwise mixing of a varity of brick types as well as natural stone. The differences in chemical composition of the stones, the mortar and the bricks may well prove to become a severe conservation problem.

In the meantime the house has become famous in its own right and has been even used in advertisements. It remains to be seen how history and the heritage movement will regard the Hundertwasser building itself. In view of the radical design elements of the site and in view of the overall scarcity of such structures it can be expected that it will be heritage-listed in its own right. Presumably this protection would then include the Haus Bockenheimer as well, thus protecting the modification made to the historic structure. A question to be answered is whether the incorporation of the historic structure into the Hundertwasser structure has enhanced its interpretation, or whether it has been a deleterious effect.

The question remains whether the actions taken were ethical. The Australian heritage legislation is obviously very different from that used in the Federal Republic of Germany and in the State of Hessia in particular. Could this have happened here? Should it have happened at all?

© 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