Environment Agency consolidates offices in renovated Vienna building

Austria’s Environment Agency has moved its four offices into a renovated building on the grounds of a former gas power plant in Vienna’s Landstraße district, ORF reported.

The previous locations in the Alsergrund and Brigittenau districts have been consolidated at the new address, Drorygasse 1/1. The agency said it considered cost-effectiveness, quality and sustainability when selecting the site.

Managing Director Hildegard Aichberger said the agency was pleased to have found a sustainably renovated building with good access to the underground railway and a cycle path. She said reusing an existing building was intended to set an example.

About 60 percent of the existing materials were reused during the renovation. The agency also used second-hand office furniture wherever possible.

Relocation to Lower Austria was discussed

The agency’s relocation had previously prompted political debate between Vienna, Lower Austria and the federal government. Under the former turquoise-blue federal government, a move to Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria was planned and announced by then Environment Minister Andrä Rupprechter, Lower Austria Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner and Klosterneuburg Mayor Stefan Schmuckenschlager, all members of the Austrian People’s Party.

Employees, other political parties, the Chamber of Labour, environmental organisations and the City of Vienna criticised the plan. In spring 2023, Klosterneuburg withdrew the offered plot, saying it had never been accepted and that the municipality needed planning clarity. In summer 2023, the Environment Agency confirmed that it would again search for a new location within Vienna.