Hundertwasser

I had a lot of fun putting together this village painting. As I worked, each building developed its own personality-- and yet they all seem to channel Austrian architect Hundertwasser's aesthetic sensiblity. One of my favorite architects, Hudertwasser used the topography to integrate colorful, eco-friendly structures right into the landscape. Would love to name the piece after him but wonder if it is too literal. Thoughts?

For the Love of Color

Brace yourself-- Shocking revelations today in the New York Times: The Guggenheim was supposed to be red!
That Platonic white ideal of modernism-- shattered. Our expectations of modern architecture do not include color. Instead we like to think in terms of the purity of the materials, sometimes losing out on the playfulness of color. For example, check out Friedensreich Hundertwasser's hostel for the Ronald McDonald House for convalescing children. The cheery, fanciful color must help lift spirits in such dire circumstances. Even the Victorian era, despite its prudishness, or perhaps because of it, used color in bold ways, expressing the architectural details with flair. And what a joy it is to see all of the lovely colorful buildings standing side by side like a pack of crayons in the small towns of Ireland. But color can be a commitment, and fear of choosing the wrong color can lead one to go the safe route: beige. One way to kill some time and test out color schemes is to go on the Benjamin Moore website. Their exterior options are fun to configure and before we painted our house in Islip, I tested many different combinations. Ultimately, we settled on no less than four different colors-- the overall house a customized blue that I fear we can never duplicate, periwinkle shutters, cranberry trim, and taupe accents. Now that we are looking at repainting Potic cottage with its new addition, I am anxious to test out some new ideas-- perhaps we'll have a vote?

Architecture in Harmony with Nature

What could be a more economical housing situation than one you carry around on your back? I take it as a good sign that several snails took up residence in our garden, as well as a family of house sparrows in our bird house.
And what could be a more primal need than that of shelter? To Viennese architect Friedrich Hundertwasser (1928-2000), buildings meant protection and security, but also color and whimsy. One could argue he held the mole as the father of all architects, admiring its predilection to using the ground in establishing shelter. Hundertwasser began integrating nature into his buildings through window plantings, rooftop gardens, and earth roofs. The earth roof is incredibly efficient, using the earth's own cooling and heating properties to help regulate temperature. Achieved on a large scale in his Blumau Hot Springs Village in Styria, he was ahead of his time in promoting a more integrated notion of architecture: one that connects to nature, not distances people from it. This idea is gaining traction. Yesterday's New York Times had an article about the possibilities of using green roofing on low income housing in the Bronx. It seems that those living in the high rise buildings really appreciated the increased dose of greenery and the decrease in allergens in the building.
After years of designing homes with no sense of climate context nor direct connection to the earth itself, integrating those elements into the design of the building seems natural enough.