Festspielhaus Bregenz (AT)
New building,
Further construction,
Refurbishment
Client: Stadt Bregenz, Land Vorarlberg, Republik Österreich
Location: A-6900 Bregenz, Symphoniker Platz 1
Architecture: Dietrich Untertrifaller
Project management: Susanne Gaudl, Heiner Walker, Albert Rüf
Competition: 1992, 1. prize
Construction: 1st phase: 1995 – 1997, 2nd phase 2005 – 2006, 3rd phase: 2022 – 2024
Area: 42,770 m²
Programme: 1st phase: New construction of lakeside studio, lakeside foyer, workshop stage and administration wing, 2nd phase: Refurbishment and extension of main building (large hall extended to 1,800 seats, building and stage technology, foyer), extension of lakeside grandstand to 7,000 seats plus lounge, 3rd phase: Expansion of infrastructure, new multi-purpose building, refurbishment of lakeside grandstand
Photos: Kurt Hoerbst, Bruno Klomfar, Kongresskultur Bregenz, Dietrich Untertrifaller
Team
1st phase: 1995 – 1997: Hermann Boss, Alex Fetz, Alex Früh, Susanne Gaudl (Project management), Albert Rüf, Herwig Teuschl
2nd phase: 2005 – 2006: Bernhard Breuer, Tobias Dieng, Susanne Gaudl (Project management), Felix Kruck, Heiner Walker, Thomas Weber
3rd phase: 2022 – 2025: Susanne Gaudl (Project management), Marcel Mathis. Dominik Österlein, Tamara de Sousa
Text: Gerlinde Jüttner
Partners
Statics: Mader & Flatz Plankel, Bregenz
Building services: Pflügl-Roth, Bregenz
Stage: Kottke, Bayreuth
Acoustics: Müller-BBM, Planegg
Lighting: Keller, St Gallen
Landscape: Vogt, Zürich
Master builder: Rhomberg Bau, Bregenz
Awards: 2010 Apex Award, Clients Award Vorarlberg, 2007 International Architecture Award
Awards
- BTV Bauherrenpreis , Award
- International Architecture Award, Award
- APEX-Award, Award
Like a city on a small scale
The renowned Festspielhaus on Lake Constance has been modernised, reorganised, greatly expanded and developed into a multi-purpose cultural, social and economic centre of international standing. The project impressively demonstrates how an unsightly conglomerate of buildings from the late seventies can be transformed into clearly structured and graceful architecture.
Thanks to extensive and precise pre-planning and prefabrication, we were able to realise the complex construction work, carried out in several stages, without interrupting operations. In the first stage, which lasted until 1997, the workshop stage, lakeside foyer and lakeside studio as well as an administrative wing were built.
In 2005, the festival theatre was renovated and extended. Guests are now greeted by a light-flooded glass façade and an inviting forecourt instead of grey concrete. The main foyer, Great Hall, foyers and lakeside gallery were redesigned and the building's technology was modernised. From 2022 to 2024, we refurbished the outdoor grandstand and Seebühne (Lakeside stage), updated the technology of the workshop stage and built a new multi-purpose building.
Structured into three main sections
The transformation of the rather restrictive building from 1979 into a multifaceted, inviting facility is the result not of formalistic gimmickry, but of a well-thought-out unbundling of operational problem nodes. Two eye-catching, oversized bars hovering above the building divide the spacious complex into three main sections: studio and workshop stage, great hall and lakeside tribune. A new public square with a view of the lake was created around the sculpture by Gottfried Bechtold at the front of the building.
Formative prisms
The floor plans of the festival theatre function like a city on a small scale. The two long, protruding prisms are the defining element. The tall, two-storey supporting structure at the rear contains offices for administration and production. Essential, spacious cross-connections have been created underneath. From below, the glass lift tower slides into the spatial prism.
The Lakeside stage
The historical starting point for the Festspielhaus was the Seebühne, the tiers of which were extended to 7,000 seats and supplemented with a covered lounge. In addition, the lake stage now has a theatre hall with a capacity of 1,800 spectators and a lake studio. In summer 2023, we completely renovated and extended the lake stage. All folding seats were replaced and the concrete steps on which the chairs were fixed were renovated.
The Great hall
The Great Hall was equipped with state-of-the-art technology and acoustics and extended by 594 seats with a tier. Walls and floor in acacia wood, the suspended ceiling made of stainless steel mesh and the red upholstered chairs give visitors a theatre atmosphere in a contemporary design language.
The multi-sectioned main foyer accommodates an enormous number of visitors. The wide main staircase descends like a landing stage to the entrance, where the ticket counter and cloakrooms are located. Behind the glazed square façade are foyer areas and two smaller halls on the upper floor. The bright white interiors overlook the square.
From restrictive to inviting
In 1980, the 1,765-seat festival and congress centre designed by Wilhelm Braun was opened. The rather restrictive building soon proved to be too small and did not fulfil the functional, technical and aesthetic requirements of the world-famous cultural festival. For this reason, an international architectural competition was organised in 1992, which was won by our then still very young and almost unknown office.
The first festival took place in 1946 as a "play on the lake" in the gondola harbour. From 1950, the festival had the largest lake stage in the world at its disposal with a 6,400-seat grandstand.
The "Propter Homines" hall
The second long prism inserted between the Seebühne and the Great hall provides access to all performance venues. It projects far beyond the main entrance at the front with the two-storey multi-purpose hall "Propter Homines". The hall opens onto the square with its glazed front and is completely clad in Canadian maple like a precious wood casket.
At the other end of the prism, the floor-to-ceiling glazed lakeside foyer offers a breathtaking view of the lake and mountains. Fine woods, restrained colours and sensitive lighting design create a festive and elegant atmosphere.
Workshop stage
The cuboid structure of the spacious workshop stage at the rear of the building can be flexibly extended and offers one of the largest, non-specifically designed spaces for performing arts in the region.
Multi-purpose building
As the first component of the third construction phase, the new multi-purpose hall was completed in September 2023. The building houses an entrance foyer with sanitary facilities for the workshop stage, an assembly hall for the production of stage sets, a metalworking and carpentry shop as well as other small workshops with associated offices.
