The Desert House is located outside the Schönbrunn Zoo, directly at the Hietzing entrance, on the opposite side of the Palm House. Under the glass roof of the Art Nouveau building, once the Sundial House, a desert habitat was created in 2003. The project was a collaboration between Schönbrunn Zoo and the Austrian Federal Gardens. An adventure path leads through desert landscapes from Central America to Madagascar, with a botanical focus on cacti and other succulents. Visitors can observe fascinating animals such as the Zagros newt and the black-tailed rattlesnake. Highlights include a 70-meter-long glass tube labyrinth that houses around 50 naked mole-rats. Special plants include the Fockea from South Africa and the Welwitschia mirabilis from the Namib Desert. The Sundial House, built in 1904, served as a greenhouse until 1989 and, after a period as a butterfly house, was closed in 1998 due to structural issues. The transformation into the Desert House began in autumn 2000. The Desert House provides knowledge about the extreme conditions in deserts, the adaptation strategies of plants and animals, and the role of humans in the creation of new desert areas.