Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Friedrich Stowasser (15 December 1928 – 19 February 2000), better known by his pseudonym Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser (Austrian German: [ˈfriːdn̩sraɪç ˈreːɡn̩taːɡ ˈdʊŋkl̩bʊnt ˈhʊndɐtˌvasɐ]), was an Austrian visual artist, architect and activist.

Hundertwasser stood out as an opponent of "a straight line" and any standardisation, expressing this concept in the field of building design. He was also a vocal environmentalist who integrated nature in his architectural designs. His best known work is the Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna, which has become a notable place of interest in the Austrian capital, characterised by imaginative vitality and uniqueness. He also designed KunstHausWien, an art gallery which houses a permanent collection of his works, and dozens of other buildings. He emigrated to the Far North of New Zealand in the 1970s, where he lived and worked for most of the rest of his life.