Caritas plans magdas hotel reopening with reused materials

Caritas plans to reopen its magdas hotel in Vienna’s Leopoldstadt district in May 2027, using reused materials including panels from the Song Contest at Vienna’s Stadthalle, ORF reported.

The panels have been turned into a bed headboard and furniture, according to Carmen Tomasch-Schmidinger of Caritas Vienna’s construction project management. Other reused materials include glass blocks from the former commercial and technical evening school of the Chamber of Labour in Vienna’s fourth district, terrazzo surfaces from the Chamber of Labour’s roof and parquet strips from two other projects. The parquet will be used in the hotel’s event rooms.

The operators aim to renovate rather than build anew. The building on Laufbergergasse, formerly a retirement home, has already operated as a magdas hotel and is now being converted into a permanent, climate-friendly hotel for guests with different budgets.

Reuse is not expected to increase costs, but preparation and certification mean it is not cheaper than using new materials either. The operators also want to be as self-sufficient as possible and are avoiding additional utility connections apart from electricity. A photovoltaic system will be installed on the roof, while a groundwater project will pump water from the ground for the hotel’s heating and cooling.

The hotel is due to reopen with 103 rooms, seminar rooms and food services. The total budget is 22 million euros, and it will take decades for the hotel to recover that investment.

Magdas managing director Gabriela Sonnleitner said the project would remain focused on sustainability and on integrating people with refugee backgrounds into the workforce. She said it was still particularly difficult for young people who had fled, did not speak the language well or were not yet familiar with the culture to find suitable training places.