KunstHausWien

The KunstHausWien is a museum in Vienna, Austria, located in the Landstraße district at Untere Weißgerberstraße 13. Designed by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, it houses the world's only permanent exhibition of his works and also hosts regular temporary exhibitions of other artists. The museum opened in April 1991 and operates as a private business without government aid. In 2009, it received 174,000 visitors. The institution is owned by Wien Holding.

The museum was created through the renovation of an 1892 building that formerly housed the Thonet furniture factory, the creator of the iconic bistro chair. The renovation was planned by Hundertwasser himself and carried out from 1989 to 1991 with sponsorship from BAWAG P.S.K., with the bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft serving as the builder. The official opening took place on 9 April 1991. The architectural planning was executed by architect Peter Pelikan. In 2003, Hundertwasser's colleague and co-author Professor Joseph Krawina initiated a lawsuit against the museum board, claiming violation of his rights to jointly created art. The Austrian Supreme Civil Court (OGH) issued an injunction in favor of Krawina, and both parties were advised to resolve the dispute out of court. In 2014, Bettina Leidl became sole managing director of the KunstHausWien. During her directorship, the museum became the first in Austria to be awarded the Austrian Ecolabel. In 2022, Gerlinde Riedl was appointed as Leidl's successor as managing director.

The KunstHausWien contains the world's only permanent exhibition of Friedensreich Hundertwasser's works, displayed on the two lower floors. The museum also regularly hosts temporary exhibitions of other international artists on the third and fourth floors. The total exhibition area is variously reported as approximately 1,600 square meters or 4,000 square meters. The institution's dual function as both a single-artist museum and a venue for rotating contemporary exhibitions distinguishes it within Vienna's museum landscape.

The core holdings consist of the permanent collection of Hundredwasser's own works, making the museum the definitive repository for his artistic output. While specific individual works are not detailed in the available sources, the permanent exhibition on the lower two floors represents the comprehensive display of his paintings, prints, and other artistic productions. The temporary exhibitions on the upper floors have featured works by international artists, though specific exhibition histories are not recorded in the provided sources.

The entire building is designed in Hundertwasser's characteristic style, with wavy, undulating floors and a notable lack of straight lines. Bright, glaring colors are used throughout, and foliage is integrated into the interior design. The foyer contains a fountain designed by Hans Muhr, and a restaurant with abundant plant life reminiscent of a winter garden. An unevenly winding staircase connects the floors. To ensure ample daylight, Hundertwasser had a glass-fronted extension built in front of the facade. The building was constructed traditionally but decorated with enamelled checkerboard mosaics on non-load-bearing facade elements and adjacent sections. Unlike Antoni Gaudí's approach, Hundertwasser used symmetrical mosaic stones in careful, non-random arrangement, with deliberate stone sizes that were previously unusual for non-industrially manufactured architectural mosaics. The mosaics contribute to two trademark features: the incorporation of nearly every facade element into an overall picture, and the deliberate concealment of boundaries between floors. The museum stands less than half a mile, or approximately 400 meters, from the Hundertwasserhaus, a municipally owned apartment block also designed by Hundertwasser and completed in 1985.

The KunstHausWien is located at Untere Weißgerberstraße 13 in Vienna's third municipal district, Landstraße. It is owned by Wien Holding and operates as a private business without government subsidy. The museum's website is http://www.kunsthauswien.com/. Visitors can access the permanent Hundertwasser exhibition on the lower floors and temporary international exhibitions on the third and fourth floors. The ground floor also contains a museum shop and the plant-filled restaurant. The building's distinctive architecture, with its irregular surfaces, abundant vegetation, and colorful mosaics, forms an integral part of the visitor experience.