After the COD event in Berlin in September of 2014, I made my way to Darmstadt, Germany. I chose Darmstadt for two reasons; the presence of a Hundertwasser apartment building (Waldspirale, illustrated in this post), and the work of Joseph Maria Olbrich to be featured in my next post.
Friedensreich Hundertwasser, 1928-2000, artist cum architect, completed approximately twenty structures, mostly in Austria. He developed the idea of the "Window Right", that is, every apartment dweller must be free to paint all of the exterior wall around their windows within arm's reach (though this freedom is not evident at Waldspirale).
Waldspirale, completed in 2000 is an excellent model for dense urban domicility in more conventional ways. The entire site is an underground parking garage, and the south half of the site is devoted to a park and low rise supporting services.
Hundertwasser has been quoted as saying, "an uneven floor is a delight to the feet."
For more about his 2 dimensional art
www.hundertwasser.at/english/oeuvre/malerei/malerei.php
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Mike Mense FAIA
Owner
mmenseArchitects
Anchorage AK
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