Whangarei’s Hundertwasser Art Centre Due to Open

The last gift of Austrian-born artist, painter and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser to his adopted homeland, New Zealand, is being built in Whangarei, three decades after its inception, Malaysia’s The Star Online reports.

The Covid-19 pandemic put a brief stop to the construction, but now it is due to open in December 2021. Once complete, it will be the world’s last authentic Hundertwasser building, The Star reports.

Heinz Springmann, an architect on many Hundertwasser projects, was brought in to help capture the artist’s vision.

The building, costing $30mil will include a gallery of Hundertwasser’s art as well as the country’s first contemporary Māori art gallery. The inclusion of the gallery was part of Hundertwasser’s original vision.

“A gift to a people he held a deep and abiding respect for and with whom he shared a holistic connection to the natural environment and its preservation, ” project plans state.

Whangarei is also home to the Hundertwasser toilets, the last building he built with his hands.

Original article by The Star Online, October 27, 2020.