First competition of ideas for planning the Bregenz Festival Hall occurred in 1955, although approval of the construction project happened not until 1974 and new construction of the Festspielhaus started in 1977/78. The Festspielhaus is connected to the water stage, so if the weather suddenly turns bad, about 1,700 of the 4,500 audience members can be accommodated there for an indoor performance. The stage has comparable dimensions to the stages of international opera houses. The new water stage has a concrete core in which the most important facilities and amenities are located, along with the orchestra pit. The core is surrounded by wooden piles, which support the foundations of the stage set. The Festival House Bregenz is located right on the waterfront of Lake Constance. The building not only houses one of the largest theatre stages in Europe.