Spittelau Incinerator

The Spittelau waste incineration plant on Vienna's Donaukanal is one of Europe's most visually striking pieces of public infrastructure. After a serious fire gutted the original facility, Friedensreich Hundertwasser redesigned it between 1987 and 1992, covering the industrial structure in brightly colored ceramic tiles, irregular window shapes, and a signature gilded onion dome. Hundertwasser reportedly agreed to the commission only on the condition that the plant be equipped with state-of-the-art emissions filters — making it simultaneously an artwork and an environmental statement. The plant feeds district heating to roughly 60,000 Viennese households. It is best viewed from the opposite bank of the Donaukanal, where its full facade reads as a single expressionist composition against the city skyline.

Friedensreich Hundertwasser's 1992 redesign of Vienna's incineration plant — gold ball, crooked lines, greenery.