Hundred Waters Village

A Quiet Person – That’s how Klaus Kalke Sr., the building’s owner, described Friedensreich Hundertwasser: a creative yet meticulous enforcer of his ideas. During construction, Hundertwasser often visited the site, sometimes even lending a hand himself. “This floor wave needs to be higher,” he would say, taking a trowel and pushing the concrete around until the curve met his satisfaction. It was clearly a joy for both—the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser and the art enthusiast Klaus Kalke Sr.—to transform a tire workshop into an architecturally stunning building.

Originally, the building served mundane purposes. Around the turn of the century, it was a post office horse garage, later converted into a car garage and gas station. In 1971, Klaus Kalke Sr. took it over and established what was then Vienna’s most modern tire workshop. A few years later, the Hundertwasser House was built across the street. Kalke often gazed in admiration at its unique and fascinating architecture.

After its completion, Friedensreich Hundertwasser wanted to meet his neighbors and knocked on Kalke’s door. During their conversation, Hundertwasser lamented that most people couldn’t see the interior of his architectural masterpiece because the apartments inside were privately rented. That’s when the idea was born—perhaps part of the workshop could be redesigned according to Hundertwasser’s plans. They agreed to think about it.

Later, the flood of visitors to the Hundertwasser House even disrupted the smooth operation of the tire workshop. After a long transcontinental discussion—from Vienna to New Zealand—a profound and far-reaching decision was made. Kalke agreed to transform the entire building based on Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s designs, making the artist’s architecture accessible to the public.