During the complete renovation of the former "Viennart" hotel next to the museum quarter, the owners initially established consistent sustainability as the main focus and USP in the newly defined concept. This claim is already visible from the outside; the Hotel Gilbert, with its restaurant "& flora", has one of the first and few buildings in Vienna with an elaborate, modern green facade – a flagship project that was planned jointly with experts from Green4Cities, an international competence center for urban greens and sustainable infrastructure in the urban space, and implemented with a local partner
The green facade provides cooling, clean air and noise reduction
The green facade of the Gilbert has now been taken over by a research project of the BOKU University of Vienna, in which the actual effects of planted facades on the local microclimate are scientifically measured and evaluated for the first time. The investigations have already brought several benefits for the hotel, but also for its surroundings:
- The approximately 350 square meters of green space on the facade does not heat up, but cools the surrounding area, avoiding tropical nights.
- Harmful pollutants and dust are held by the dense foliage. Together with their evaporation performance, green facades represent a natural "air purification system" with very low space requirements, they also produce oxygen and bind carbon dioxide.
- Evergreen plants show an isolation effect in winter and save heating costs. At the same time, green walls "cool" the green areas in summer by preserving them from strong heating.
- The plant cover forms a "protective shield" against rain and UV radiation, thereby increasing the lifespan of the facade.
- Green walls absorb sound waves. This contributes to noise protection.
- And not least, the green facade also provides habitats for animals in the city.
Everything is green
The Gilbert is not only the exterior facade that is green, but also the majority of the interior. All public areas in the hotel and restaurant with their Scandinavian-inspired architecture made of glass, concrete and lots of light wood are densely planted with plants. Of course, each room is also decorated with a plant. The - non-publicly accessible - green roof over the courtyard provides cooling in summer and insulation in winter. In addition, it is used for growing herbs, figs and other edible plants, which are then used in the kitchen and as decoration on the guests' cocktails. Since April 2023, the Gilbert has also taken over a bee partnership, since then bee colonies from the 17th district of Vienna, near a cozy inn at Stift St. Peter in Dornbach 5 "&flora" live! Honey is said to be produced, with a taste as diverse as that of country honey, as the city's plants offer even more variety than those in the countryside. The honey from the hotel's own bees is available at the &flora breakfast buffet and as a giveaway in the shop, as long as the stock lasts. In the summer, the bees are of course also visited on site.
Cuisine dominated by nature
Vegan and vegetarian cuisine is the focus of the award-winning restaurant "&flora". The head chef, Parvin Razavi, works almost exclusively with food of organic quality and relies on regionality and seasonality.
Partnerships with local producers, fair payment and short production and delivery times are given the same attention as the humane treatment and sustainable breeding, if Austrian meat or fish from Vienna is served on the plate.
The head chef focuses on flavor and vegetables.
In the hotel's restaurant, guests can enjoy a rich gourmet breakfast buffet with a wide selection of different salads and regional delicacies. The evening cuisine, as a logical consequence of the overall concept, is vegan-vegetarian - Quote head chef Parvin Razavi: "Meat and fish at most as a side dish". The regional and seasonal orientation means that one can unsuccessfully search for avocados and other exotic products on the menu. The fact that this culinary concept still works, or even because of this, is shown by the award of "& flora" with 3 stars and the title "Gault Millau Newcomer of the Year" for head chef Parvin Razavi. And this is already in the first year since opening.
Core principles of the kitchen: "Farm to Table" and "From Leaf to Root"
Selected suppliers and high-quality products form the basis of Parvin Razavi's kitchen. This includes vegetable producers such as "Krautwerk" or "Dirndln am Feld", bread from the family-run bakery "Öfferl". The juicy Viennese ham, a regional specialty that has been "endowed" by Slow Food as "Passenger of the Ark of Taste", has a long tradition: since 1860, the Thum family has produced it in Vienna and thus enriches the breakfast offering in the Gilbert.
In the processing, the head chef uses the products in a holistic way and preserves them for later use. In order not to have to forego a variety of flavors, the topic of pickling and fermentation plays a major role – sour-pickled raisins, quince chutney or green almonds are used, for example.
Every peel, every herb, every section is further processed into stocks or pickles. This way, large quantities of vegetables and fruit are preserved in the summer months, which then appear on the plate all winter long.
Culinary style: colorful and detailed
Born in Teheran, Parvin Razavi came to Vienna with eight years at the age of eight. She combines the products, spices and scents of her childhood with a variety of other flavors, preparation methods and influences. Quote: "Recipes are there to be changed." Parvin Razavi's creations do not allow for categorization, as they are inspired by Japanese, oriental, Lebanese but also Austrian influences. While vegetables are the star on the plate in most cases, meat and fish also adorn the menu – from Mangalitz shoulder to X.O. beef from the Austrian Alpine foothills to Viennese wels. Parvin Razavi processes vegetables into intense, highly aromatic dishes. The head chef takes quite unconventional paths in the preparation, for example, when creating a portobello mushroom dish, she is inspired by the flavors of a roasted onion.
Consistent sustainability
Regarding climate control, the hotel is serious about sustainability: All air conditioning systems in the house must be set to below 22 degrees. Cooling is only possible from mid-May to mid-September, and only at outdoor temperatures of more than 27 degrees. The green facade does its part. Uniform and pleasant room temperatures have a positive effect on the well-being of the guests. The heating is carried out via district heating, whereby the rooms are heated to a maximum of 23 degrees. Detail: The generation of Viennese district heating is already 50% from industrial waste heat, incineration, biomass and geothermal energy, and only 50% with natural gas. By 2040, the remaining natural gas should also be replaced and the Gilbert district heating should be climate-neutral.
The cosmetics in the rooms come exclusively from the company Lederhaas in Austria, which uses 100% animal testing-free and relies exclusively on biological active ingredients. Small shampoos & Co. are dispensed with – the housekeeping team fills all dispensers daily and cleans them. When purchasing everyday items, great care is taken to ensure their environmental compatibility. This applies to paper as well as to amenities made of bamboo and wood, blankets made of sustainable fabrics and much more. The laundry and many suppliers are environmentally, bio or demeter-certified.
And another project is already in the planning: In the future, the Gilbert will only be cleaned with hot steam at 90° Celsius without any cleaning agents. With the rental of bicycles and E-Vespas, the hotel guests are motivated to discover Vienna in a sustainable way.
Part of the "Change maker"-network
The Hotel Gilbert is a member of a cooperation of innovative family- or owner-run businesses, the "Change Maker Hotels". These tourism visionaries raise ecological, economic and social questions and develop ideas and solutions to enable their guests to have a high-quality stay with respect for nature, animals and people.
When selecting Change Maker partners, 11 criteria are specified, at least three of which perform special innovative work. The factors relate, among other things, to the areas of healthy food, employee fairness, regional value creation, circular economy, social responsibility and mobility.
https://www.hotel-gilbert.at/
https://www.undflora.at/
Food suppliers:
https://www.slow-food.at/arche-des-geschmacks/l/wiener-beinschinken
https://www.slowfood.at/genussfuehrer/l/krautwerk
https://dirndlnamfeld.bio/
https://www.oefferl.bio/
Cookbooks by Parvin Razavi:
https://neukirchener-verlage.de/vegan-oriental.html
https://verlagshaus24.de/teheran
Cosmetics:
https://www.lederhaas-cosmetics.com/
Hotel cooperation:
https://changemakerhotels.com/
