That's an Apartment?!?

Yes, people live here, and some even work here. In fact, Vienna's popular Hundertwasserhaus features 52 apartments, 16 private terraces, four offices, three communal terraces and about 250 trees and bushes. The artistic city-owned building is rented out to individuals who can swing the crazy rental prices, but that doesn't mean you can't take a gander at its fascinating façade or drop euros at the overpriced cafe across the street at the similarly quirky Kalke Village.

So what exactly is a Huntertwasser? It's actually a person, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, an Austrian artist and architect who passed away in 2000 at the age of 71. He is one of the country's most famous contemporary artists thanks to his vision for vibrant colors, interaction between man and nature and a lack of straight lines.

Take the Hundertwasserhaus for example. The block-long structure, designed and built in the 80s, features uneven floors, a kaleidoscope of colors each representing a different apartment, a fanciful fountain at the entrance, two golden onion spires, irregularly shaped pillars and glass-enclosed spiral staircases. As an early environmentalist, he even made the roof out of grass and dirt and planted trees inside the units that actually have limbs stretching out from the windows. Unless your name's Gilligan you don't see that ever day. And speaking of eco-friendly designs, the cafe Kalke Village across the street features a stream that runs along the café bar and was built in an old Michelin factory possibly making it the most expensive Meal on Wheels you'll find.

Now are you ready for the real kicker? For the chance to make such a bold piece of art living space, Hundertwasser drew up the architectural designs for free. As he famously said, it was worth it to "prevent something ugly from going up in its place." Spoken like a true artist.

Photos courtesy of Zinni and Marcel Germain via Flickr.