Green Meetings & Events are in greater demand than ever. According to figures from the Meeting Industry Report Austria (mira), nearly 20 percent more have been held across Austria compared to last year. The trend is also noticeable at the Festspielhaus Bregenz. “As a certified Green Location it is predestined for sustainable events. Just by choosing the Festspielhaus Bregenz, clients fulfil a number of the criteria required for Green Meetings and Events,” the marketing manager Ursula Kaufmann points out.
At the beginning of 2024, the Festspielhaus Bregenz renewed its ÖKOPROFIT Certificate, with re-certification of the Austrian Ecolabel to follow next year. Currently the convention centre is improving its energy efficiency even further in a comprehensive renovation which will place greater emphasis on renewable energy sources – from spring 2025, the Festspielhaus Bregenz will use water from Lake Constance for heating and cooling. As part of its 2030 climate strategy, the municipality of Bregenz, the Vorarlberg State capital, is constructing a thermal plant at the new lakeside resort that lies next to the festival grounds. The Festspielhaus Bregenz will be connected to the system, which will supply approximately 80 percent of the energy it requires.
Solar power plant on the roof
In addition, the roofs of the new multi-purpose building and the Werkstattbühne stage will be turned into solar power plants by the end of 2024. Photovoltaic arrays measuring 6,000 square metres in total will cover around one third of the basic electricity requirements in future. Extensive roof greening will lower room temperatures and with it the amount of energy consumed by cooling in summer. “We want to become more independent of fossil fuels. Participating in this forward-looking municipal project will bring us very close to that goal,” declares Festspielhaus director Gerhard Stübe with conviction.
New home for stage technology units
Overall, the Festspielhaus extension and renovation project is comfortably on schedule. About 70 members of the personnel have already moved into the new multi-purpose building, which unites all the technical and stage-related departments under one roof: metalworking shop, carpentry shop, decor and scene painting, props and costumes along with offices for the colleagues from the lighting, sound, multimedia and stage technology units. On the ground floor the new building houses a hall for assembling large-scale stage sets for the Bregenz Festival as well as a new entrance foyer. Visitors to Werkstattbühne events have entered through this foyer – modern, light-flooded, and barrier-free – since spring 2024.
Optimised operation
In July the modernised, newly equipped kitchen went into operation. Not only does it offer the ten-member team of the catering business evenTZ by foodaffairs more space, it also allows them to optimise workflows. This means even better service for attendees when events are running in parallel. The Werkstattbühne stage, the main stage and side stages including the air ducts, air conditioning and communication systems along with the terrazzo floors in the foyers are all undergoing general modernisation.
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