Eco artist was ahead of his time

“Without an environment which is befitting to man and without peace with nature an existence worthy of man is impossible. These peace negotiations with nature must begin soon or it will be too late.”

It sounds like something an environmentalist might have said in recent years, but the speaker’s ideas were formed well before the current rush to be green.

Friedrich Stowasser  (December 15, 1928 – February 19, 2000) was an Austrian painter who made up and took on the unwieldy name, Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser, which means “Peace-Kingdom Hundred-Water.”

A controversial but popular figure in his home town of Vienna, Hundertwasser had distinct ideas about architecture being in harmony with man and nature, and he often lectured on this topic.

The federal chancellor suggested to Vienna’s mayor that Hundertwasser be given the opportunity to design public housing. And thus Hundertwasser House was born. It took years to find the right spot and negotiate Hundertwasser’s requirements. The original architect left the project, skeptical that this artist’s crazy ideas would ever be implemented. But it was completed in 1986 and is still a point of pride for the city.

Believing that “an uneven floor is a divine melody to the feet,” Hundertwasser designed the apartment complex to have undulating floors. The roof is covered with earth and grass, and trees grow from inside the rooms, branches protruding from windows. Speaking of these “tree tenants,” as he calls them:

“They are a gift of the house to the outside world, for the people who pass by the house. Man gives voluntarily small territories of his dwelling space back to nature, from which we unlawfully appropriated and destroyed large areas.”

Another feature of the apartment complex springs from Hundertwasser’s belief that every tenant has a  “window right” to personalize the area around his windows on the outside of the building.

Composting toilets contribute to the eco-conscious atmosphere, as does a whole water-treatment system that cleanses used water for reuse.

What happened? With all this forward thinking thirty years ago, why aren’t there variations of Hundertwasser Houses all over the world? It’s not just a theoretical concept—it’s a proven commodity. It’s a living example that’s been in operation long enough to deem a success on many fronts: government-sponsored housing, art, architecture, and environmentally friendly habitation in the middle of a big city.

So I’m formally challenging governments and private industry around the planet: follow Vienna’s example. I propose tree tenants, window rights, and composting toilets for all!