This is what it looks like

Everything but luxury: the new Lower Austrian state parliament chamber

Bright, modern and open: meetings will be held as shown in this visualization from 2027. The hall will also be rotated by 180 degrees.(Bild: Atelier Architekt Palme)

By autumn 2027 - i.e. during the current legislative period - the Lower Austrian state parliament chamber will be renovated at a cost of 11.2 million euros. The "Krone" knows the plans.

In Lower Austria, the austerity pen reigns supreme: as reported, local politicians want to treat themselves to a new assembly hall. And the costs in particular were a contentious issue, causing a planned five-party resolution to fail. All the more attention is now being paid to the costs of renovating the state parliament. The price was already weighted at 40 percent in the jury's decision, whereas the usual maximum is 20 percent.

This is how the conference room in the Landhausschiff currently looks - at the end of 2025, the building will be moved to the alternative quarter.(Bild: Imre Antal)

The architectural office of Gunther Palme, based in Vienna with a branch office in Kapelln an der Perschling, won the contract. A new hall has now been planned from the center of Lower Austria, which is to become the center of blue and yellow democracy. At the same time, the visitors' galleries were enlarged and the plenum and the speaker's platform swapped places. Incidentally, this proposal was first announced by the Second President of Parliament, Gottfried Waldhäusl (FPÖ), via the "Krone" newspaper.

Concrete is cheaper than glass
In future, MPs will be able to look directly out into the countryside - even if the view will no longer be quite so unobstructed. This is because two thirds of the glass front will be covered. This also saves costs, as concrete is cheaper than the originally calculated triple glazing. The new building is intended to be sustainable, as Karl Wilfing (ÖVP), President of the Provincial Parliament, said at yesterday's presentation. Less glass also means better insulation, and the air conditioning is provided by cooling elements in the ceilings and walls. In future, the plenum will be designed in a traffic circle and will also be barrier-free with ramps.

"We are currently even looking into whether reupholstering the old, 30-year-old seating is cheaper than new chairs," says Wilfing. Savings will also be made on the alternative venue: from summer 2025 to fall 2027, meetings will be held in the Leopoldsaal of the Landhaus - and everything that can be recycled will be taken from the old hall. What is left after that will be auctioned off.