First celebration of the new multi-purpose building at the Festspielhaus
©Dietmar Stiplovsek
Bregenz (BRK) – The third major expansion stage at the Bregenz Festival Hall should be completed by 2024.
The workshop stage will be modernized and an extension will be added, the outside grandstand will be completely renewed, the floating stage will be completely overhauled, the existing facades and flat roofs will be renovated and the stage technology in the main building and the kitchen and catering area will be modernized. On Wednesday, January 25, 2023, the ridge celebration for the new multi-purpose building took place, which was the first component of the third construction phase to be completed.
In the future, the building will house an entrance foyer with sanitary facilities for the workshop stage, an assembly hall for the production of the stage sets, a metalworking shop and carpentry shop as well as other small workshops with the associated offices. The new premises make room in the existing building for the new prescribed kitchen and its adjoining rooms. The start of construction was almost exactly one year ago, on January 10, 2022, and the handover to the user will take place in September 2023.
In addition to the new construction of the indoor swimming pool, the third stage of expansion at the Festspielhaus is also one of the largest single investments in the state capital of Bregenz. The project, known as “Construction Stage III”, has become necessary due to the high capacity utilization and intensive use of the Festspielhaus and serves in particular to improve quality. “The Festspielhaus is one of the largest cultural centers in the Lake Constance region. Even if Bregenz is not a big city with its 30,000 citizens, it offers an international format with the festival program with around 200,000 visitors. This success is based on the perfect networking of the three venues Seebühne, Großer Saal and Werkstattbühne. I would like to thank the subsidy providers and in particular the chairman of the project commission, Vice President Ing. Wilhelm Muzyczyn, for supporting the project,” said Mayor Michael Ritsch.
“The Bregenz Festival shines with its performances and productions across national borders into the whole world. The state attaches great importance to enabling and supporting broad access to art and culture in Vorarlberg. Because the diversity of our cultural scene and the cultural offerings is largely based on the initiative of many committed people throughout the country. A creativity that we support. Therefore, the Vorarlberg state government has also agreed to make the urgently needed major investment in modernizing the infrastructure of the Bregenz Festival Hall possible together with the city of Bregenz and the federal government. It is an important sign for art and culture in order to continue to live up to the excellent reputation,” emphasizes State Governor and State Councilor for Culture Barbara Schöbi-Fink.
City Councilor for Culture Michael Rauth: “The Bregenz Festival and Kongresskultur Bregenz together attract 400,000 to 450,000 visitors a year. Above all, their service, safety, catering and the increased requirements for production in the workshops and the kitchen make expansion stage III necessary. The new multi-purpose building also opens up new opportunities for cultural events, and the renovation of the spectator stands and the lake stage mean more comfort for the spectators and an even better experience of the game on the lake.”
Ecological aspects play an important role in all conversions and new buildings. For example, the new heating and energy concept envisages moving away from gas and electricity as energy sources in the medium term. According to the existing plans, the Festspielhaus will be connected to the use of lake water planned by the public utility company, which in a first step will provide the required cooling energy and later also part of the heating energy through the use of highly efficient heat pumps.
“Construction III”, which should be completed in 2024, is the third major renovation in the last 30 years. There have already been two major structural changes in the recent history of the festival. From 1995 to 1997 the workshop stage including the lake foyer and lake studio was built, and in 2005 and 2006 the main building was redesigned.
