Author: immovestuser

Surface right: its importance for public housing

CASSI (the section of the Italian part of Switzerland of the umbrella organization of the Swiss housing cooperatives) in cooperation with
works with the Ticino regional group from Espace Suisse to spread more knowledge and awareness of the important, still little-known topic of surface law in relation to public housing in our canton.
The instrument of surface law could give new impulses for the development of various and innovative projects and also positively influence territorial development.
with important economic, but also social effects.
In the long term and under certain conditions, renting a property, a property to be built or already built could bring benefits to society as a whole, including future generations. It could encourage the creation of affordable housing, not only to create living space, but also to stimulate neighborhood and business activities, as has already been noted in many places in Switzerland.
The application of the Surface Law, if necessary, in conjunction with the use of capital from the "Fonds de Roulement" (fund fed by Confederation loans) to grant loans at a subsidized interest rate for social housing operators Promote the development of housing projects, especially renovation in this time of change. Housing projects that may be characterized by a mix of generations could foster a sense of solidarity and mutual help and make it easier to organize daily life so that citizens help one another, support one another.
less dependent on the help of the already overburdened state to cope with the crisis.
The vacancies have reached record levels, the value of land remains high and the number of affordable apartments in the metropolitan areas remains insufficient. An increasing number of families, even belonging to the middle section of the population, are unable to find adequate housing solutions or invest in a house due to the high costs. A larger number of households might consider investing in real estate when developing public utility projects using the building rights. Since the capital is not required to purchase the property, the initial capital to carry out the project – the renovation of an existing building or construction – would be significantly less and therefore more families could afford it. If families could spend less on rent, they would have more money to invest in something else and therefore would do more to run the economy, especially the local one.
As a rule, these are public institutions or parapublic
the patricians or parish councils to give theirs
Property. Also hereditary or pro
Historic building owners might consider this tool. Even owners who are emotionally reluctant to sell the property may be interested in finding a finish, i.e. those who rent the property for an extended period and invest their capital in renovation and / or construction.
It is important to know that the owner of the fund can set restrictions in order for the project to be carried out to have certain characteristics. For example, if a municipality decides to give its own property under the Surface Act, this could not only require that the apartments be of public use, not for profit, but that a percentage must also be present.
of apartments for self-sufficient elderly people, large families or economically weak population groups. The municipality could also mandate that the building be built to high energy standards or that the rooms on the ground floor have public functions or more.
Each of these restrictions clearly affects the canon of surface law as it restricts the freedom of those who carry out the project. Constraints are therefore crucial elements in determining the amount of rent; The more there are, the lower the fee due. The constraint community collects less, but it is also thanks to borrowed capital that solutions are found to problems that it would otherwise have to solve with taxpayers' money. This will be one of the topics of the next meeting organized by CASSI with the Ticino regional group Espace Suisse, which will take place next spring: surface law, calculation of its value and financial support.
Not only the amount of rent is a determining element when signing a surface right contract, but also the duration, which must meet the conditions of reversibility, that is, the value recognized for the building and the condition in which it must be found You at the end of the contract that the owner will resume its use.
The great advantage for the municipalities or for any other owner is that after the contract expires, the availability of the property to the public institution or to the heirs and thus to future generations. Retaining ownership is a huge investment in the future and a forward-looking decision. Future generations
The real estate will have real estate to meet their needs, not just housing that has changed over time.
In urban centers, real estate costs are very high and will continue to rise as land is a non-reproducible asset. Certainly it is and will remain difficult for the medium-sized population to access it in the near and medium term. Large centers such as Zurich and Geneva invest in the purchase of real estate and then pass this on to public utility companies in the form of building rights, which build housing there at affordable costs. They do this because they understand that it is important to maintain a mix of populations in cities, as it is thanks to this that the cities stay alive. And it is important to be able to keep a middle section of the population in your cities as they pay taxes.
Closer cooperation between the public and private sectors, including on non-profit housing projects, could also lead to interesting results in Ticino, both in urban areas and in the valleys. The communities in the peripheral areas could be integrated
They want to promote these types of projects that could help revitalize areas that are marked by severe demographic decline, resulting in a reduction in activity and life. Combined with the development of services, including in the technological field, these projects could help revitalize peripheral centers and make them attractive.
A record to close. If the public body makes its property available in the surface right, it must also take into account the law on public contracts. For more information, write to info@cassi.ch or visit the website www.cassi.ch.
In the Events section, the interventions of the speakers Federica De Rossa, professor at the Institute of Law, are published
from the University of Italian Switzerland and Daniele Graber, Lic.Iur Dipl. Ing. HTL di
VIALEX Rechtsanwälte AG.
It is possible to: do more – live better – by spending less. ■

November 2020
A worldwide career

Describing the career of a personality like Mario Botta in a few lines is necessarily a reducing exercise. Born in Mendrisio in 1943, after an apprenticeship in Lugano, he attended the Art School in Milan and continued his studies at the University of Architecture in Venice, where he graduated in 1969 with the tutors Carlo Scarpa and Giuseppe Mazzariol. In Venice he had the opportunity to meet Le Corbusier and Louis I. Kahn and to work for them. In 1970 he opened his own studio in Lugano. In 1976 he was appointed visiting professor at the Polytechnic of Lausanne and in 1987 at the Yale School of Architecture in New Haven (USA). Since 1983 he has been a title professor at the Swiss Polytechnic Schools, and from 1982 to 1987 a member of the Federal Commission of Fine Arts. Countless international prizes and awards as well as honorary doctorates. Mario Botta is, among other things, the creator of the Academy of Architecture and the Theater of Architecture by Mendrisio.
Since the first realizations of single-family houses in Ticino, his work has encompassed many types of buildings all over the world. Some examples: the MOMA Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco; the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Evry; the Jean Tinguely Museum in Basel; the Cymbalista Synagogue in Tel Aviv; the city library in Dortmund; the Dürrenmatt Center in Neuchâtel; the Kyobo Tower and the Leeum Museum in Seoul; the Tata Consultancy Services administrative buildings in New Delhi and Hyderabad; the renovation of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan; the Tschuggen Berg Oase wellness center in Arosa; the Campari headquarters and residences in Sesto San Giovanni; the Tsinghua University Library in Beijing; the twelve at the Hengshan Hotel in Shanghai; the Art Museum of Tsinghua University in Beijing; the Fiore di Pietra restaurant on Monte Generoso. ■

November 2020
Emmi tests hydrogen trucks

Emmi has put two hydrogen trucks from Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility into operation, according to a press release . The company will now test this in logistics. It works together with the Association for the Promotion of Hydrogen Mobility Switzerland .

Emmi transports around 8,000 pallets from A to B every day to supply its customers in Switzerland with fresh dairy products. The company currently has 140 vehicles in use for this, which cover 9.3 million kilometers annually. Emmi has shifted some of its transports to rail. However, this environmentally friendly means of transport is limited in various ways. On the other hand, Emmi sees great potential in the switch to hydrogen trucks.

Compared to conventional diesel trucks, the hydrogen trucks can save around 70 to 80 tons of CO2 per year, the company states in the press release. Instead of CO2, these vehicles emit water vapor.

Emmi will refuel the two hydrogen trucks at the H2 filling station network of the Hydrospider company from Opfikon, which is currently being expanded in Switzerland. This provides 100 percent emission-free hydrogen. According to the information, one tank of fuel is sufficient for a range of up to 400 kilometers. The environmentally friendly fuel also enables auxiliary units such as the cold room to be operated.

November 2020
Film about the Knonauer Amt energy region celebrates its premiere

The Knonau office is “ten years ahead of its time”, said Government Councilor Dr. Martin Neukom in August on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Knonauer Amt energy region. “A driving force for the energy transition,” said Andrew Darrell, a member of the New York Sustainability Advisory Board. He thought that the world should find out about this pilot project, writes the “Affolter Anzeiger”. Together with the Swiss Pro Evolution Foundation and WWF Switzerland , he initiated a film about the exemplary work of the Knonauer Amt energy region. It premiered on Thursday. Its title: ” Full of energy into the future – a region relies on renewables “.

The film reports on the initiatives that the 14 communities in this region in the canton of Zurich have undertaken and are undertaking to curb climate change: the energy-saving house in Stallikon, where children can experience energy in a playful way, the planned solar power plant above the A4, the Circular economy of the biogas plant in Rickenbach, the above-average number of CO2-neutral wood district heating plants. In 2010 the municipalities integrated the key project Energy Region Knonauer Amt into the location promotion. Their goal is to generate 80 percent of their energy needs by 2050 themselves and with renewable energies.

Numerous experts have their say in the film, including Andreas Fischlin, member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) and professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich ( ETH ). “We have the same CO2 concentration as 3.5 million years ago,” he warns. At that time, there was a tropical flora and fauna in Switzerland. ETH professor Anton Gunzinger advocates greater use of local energies. That ensures more independence and that more money stays in the regional cycle: “We need more tax offices in Switzerland!”

November 2020
Vebego joins forces with the ETH spin-off

Vebego Schweiz Holding AG offers various solutions in the real estate industry. The Zurich-based company is now teaming up with Archilyse , a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( ETH ).

Archilyse has developed real estate analysis software. This can create virtual models of real estate, which are integrated into a model of the environment. For example, Archilyse can calculate how much sunlight flows into the rooms or what the view is. The analyzes are offered, for example, to project developers, architects or real estate companies who can market them.

The goal of the partnership between Vebego and Archilyse is to be “at the forefront of the market” and to market real estate technologies internationally, according to a media release . Archilyse will work with the Vebego subsidiary Move Consultants , among others.

"The cooperation with Move Consultants as the actual 'Master of Floor Plan and Areas' takes Archilyse and its business model to a new level", Matthias Standfest, founder and CEO of Archilyse, is quoted in the press release. "On the one hand, Move is number one when it comes to the digital processing of real estate data and, on the other hand, Move's numerous customers can benefit from the extensive Archilyse analyzes without any great effort".

November 2020
Crowdlitoken launches platform in Europe

Crowdlitoken has launched its platform for real estate investments in Europe. According to a press release , the company is playing a global pioneering role. Investors can use the platform to purchase digital bonds on real estate and put together their own portfolio.

Investors can, for example, participate in a commercial property in Switzerland, with which Crowdlitoken decided to work together in October. The property is located in Oensingen SO and has a market value of 9.15 million francs. Investors can use the platform to participate in real estate from CHF 100.

"A great day. With this platform we are finally keeping our promise to investors, ”Domenic Kurt, CEO of Crowdlitoken, is quoted in the press release. "At this point, many thanks to the trust and patience of the investors from the very beginning."

Crowdlitoken is currently preparing the second financing round. To this end, it has only recently brought new personalities to the Board of Directors .

November 2020
EKZ supplies the Limmat Valley with a further 80 megawatts

With the facility in Oberengstringen, the electricity works of the canton of Zurich (EKZ) put their third substation in Limmat Valley into operation. The Limmattal is now supplied by the three substations Schlieren, Dietikon and Oberengstringen. The new substation with an output of 80 megawatts will gradually be put into operation by next February.

"This means that we are very well prepared for the steadily growing energy demand in the region", Hans-Peter Häberli, Head of Construction and Systems at EKZ, is quoted in an interview . The economic upswing in the Limmattal with the settlement of new companies, a large data center and the Limmattalbahn is causing the demand for electricity to rise sharply. Häberli: “We have generally seen strong increases in load in the Limmat Valley over the past few years. In the future, the energy demand will be driven by the Limmattalbahn and the establishment of a data center in the region. The Schlieren substation, which previously supplied the region with energy, must therefore be relieved. Its capacity would soon no longer be sufficient. "

The electrical energy is converted in the new substation. In the case of Oberengstringen, EKZ takes over the electricity with a voltage of 110 kilovolts from the Axpo high-voltage network. The energy is converted to 16 kilovolts with two 40-megawatt transformers, according to the EKZ website. After that, the electricity would be further stepped down until it is fed into the grid for end users such as housing estates.

The connection of the new plant is to take place gradually by February. According to Häberli, Oberengstringen will then be fully connected to the Axpo high-voltage network. The communities of Ober- and Unterengstringen, Weiningen and parts of Schlieren are then supplied.

November 2020
Fehlmann-Areal gets photovoltaic facades

Around ten years ago, BGP built six pavilion-like residential buildings in various sizes on the Fehlmann site in Winterthur. The Zurich architecture office informs in a message that the area development has now been completed with two more buildings. From a distance, the new buildings are indistinguishable from the old superstructures.

On closer inspection, however, an important difference becomes clear, explains BGP. The facades of the buildings erected in 2010 were made of black enameled glass panels. Instead, electricity-producing photovoltaic modules were installed in the new buildings. This means that the facade can take on “a multitude of tasks”, according to the announcement. Specifically, protection, climate regulation, representation and identification are mentioned there.

Before building the development, BGP had measured the electricity demand in the existing buildings. According to the announcement, it had the distribution to be expected for a residential development with peaks in the morning and in the evening. These peaks could be better covered with modules integrated into the facade than with a system installed on the roof, explains the architecture office. In addition, a photovoltaic system was installed on the building roofs. The building complex is also equipped with charging stations for electric cars.

November 2020
EWA – energieUri receives quality label

The association has developed the quality label vsas-certified.swiss in order to promote the profitability, product quality, specialist knowledge and safety of its member companies, writes the Association of Switchgear and Automatic Systems Switzerland ( VSAS ) on its Internet portal. EWA – energieUri has successfully passed the extensive audit to award the certification. This means that the Uri energy supplier is the first company in Switzerland to be awarded certification, writes EWA – energieUri in a press release.

"We build switchgears of all sizes for customers all over Switzerland", Kilian Huwyler, Head of Switchgear Construction and Automation at EWA, is quoted in the press release. "The spectrum ranges from house panels to complex switchgear for industry." This year, the Uri-based energy service provider looks back on the company's 125th anniversary.

November 2020
Uri adopts digitization strategy

According to a press release , the Uri government council has passed its digitization strategy. This defines the general direction that the canton wants to take in the area of digitization. It also serves as an orientation framework for implementing strategic projects over the next five to ten years. Overall, the strategy should give the attractiveness of the residential and business location Uri a positive boost, it is said.

Digitization could "become a real development driver for the canton of Uri and significantly strengthen Uri's positioning", the government council stated in the government program for 2020 to 2024. For this, the “social peculiarities of Uris as well as the special opportunities Uris as an economic and home office location with a quality of retreat” must be taken into account.

The Canton of Uri was also supported by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences ( HSLU ) in developing the digitization strategy. As project manager Stephan Käppeli points out in a communication from the HSLU in February, the canton is suitable “in various ways as a model region for digitization”.

November 2020
The rental agreement is digitally signed for the first time

According to a press release , Flatfox , Verit Immobilien AG and Skribble have reached a milestone in the digitization of rental agreements: their jointly developed electronic rental agreement has now been signed with legally binding effect in Zurich. This was the first time that a rental process was handled digitally in Switzerland.

With the electronic signature made possible by Skribble, prospective tenants and landlords can now sign a rental agreement “simply and securely” on their smartphone, computer or tablet. This means that rental contracts no longer have to be printed out and then time-consuming to be sent back and forth by post.

“I'm a fan of online things,” said the first tenant to ever sign a rental agreement electronically in Switzerland. “I think it's great to sign a rental agreement at the push of a button. The concept enables me to file my rental agreement digitally. "

According to the announcement, the Zurich manager of Verit Immobilien AG, who countersigned this contract, particularly appreciated the user-friendliness and the time saved. The successfully launched pilot project is to be fully integrated into the first and re-letting process of Verit Immobilien AG in the future.

November 2020
Belimo integrates the platform for building data

The Facilio platform is intended to enable Belimo customers to use the Internet of Things (IoT) to collect real-time data on the processes in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC systems) and to check the building performance, explains the HVAC specialist -Systems from the Zurich Oberland in the message . Facilio, which has its headquarters in New York, and Belimo have agreed on a corresponding cooperation, it says there. “The synergy between Belimo’s digital ecosystem and Facilio’s operating and maintenance platform uses available data to unlock the potential of networked buildings and address the new challenges,” Salvatore Cataldi, Global Strategic Building IoT Expert at Belimo, is quoted in the press release.

The data collected are intended to serve property owners and property operators as a basis for implementing efficient sustainability measures, the communication further explains. “Facilio and Belimo will provide customers who are switching to an agile, data-supported operating model with a single, networked operating environment through which they can view and control their rooms and equipment in real time,” said Prabhu Ramachandran, CEO and founder of Facilio, quote there. Through the cooperation, the two partners also want to respond to the growing demand for solutions for efficient building operation.

November 2020
Lidl halves footprint

Lidl has exceeded a self-imposed environmental target. By 2020, the company wanted to reduce its relative CO2 emissions by 35 percent compared to 2013, Lidl Switzerland explains in a press release . Ultimately, however, the CO2 emissions were reduced by 53 percent. Lidl emphasizes a change in its own transport area as a particularly effective measure. Here, the company plans to only use trucks powered by bio-liquefied petroleum gas by 2030.

Lidl Switzerland has introduced a CO2 management system in which the company’s annual CO2 emissions are recorded, the communication further explains. Building on this, the company derives measures to reduce emissions. The remaining emissions are offset.

This is the fifth time that Lidl Switzerland has met the conditions for certification with the Swiss Climate Label CO2-neutral, according to the announcement. According to her, Lidl Switzerland is the first company of its kind in Switzerland whose branches and goods distribution centers are all certified according to the ISO 50001 energy efficiency standard.

November 2020
Energy Lab aims to deliver innovations for the energy transition

The NTN Innovation Booster Energy Lab will officially start its work in January 2021. However, such a dynamic has already emerged that the first of a total of 50 planned projects have already been launched, writes the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences in a media release . They should lead to innovations in the efficient generation, storage and use of renewable energies that are also marketable.

The consortium of over 200 members is strategically managed by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. In addition to the Central Switzerland Innovation Park and NEST – the research and innovation platform of the Federal Materials Testing and Research Institute and the water research institute of the ETH Domain – numerous other institutions, all Swiss universities of applied sciences and ETH Zurich . The Energy Lab is being funded by the Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse with CHF 1.5 million for an initial period of four years.

More than 200 companies are already connected via the Central Switzerland Innovation Park, "and the trend is increasing", the message goes on to say: "Because the Energy Lab is an open network in which interested parties can contribute at any time."

"The challenges are so complex that they can no longer be resolved with individual measures, but only in large-scale cooperation between industry, politics, science and society," the project manager and professor at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, Ludger Fischer, is quoted in the communication . "The solutions will offer concrete added value for the economy and can therefore be implemented!"

November 2020
Algorithms help manage power loads

The simultaneous activation of many electrical devices creates enormous network loads. Since up to 60 percent of the grid usage costs for the energy supply companies are calculated from these load peaks, they have a vital interest in avoiding or at least smoothing them out as far as possible. The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts ( HSLU ) has now found a solution together with partners, according to a press release.

What is needed is “an intelligent and efficient energy and load management, with the help of which energy can be shifted”, Andrew Paice is quoted in this communication . He is the head of the HSLU Building Intelligence Research Center called iHomeLab . His team developed the prototype of such a system together with the HSLU Competence Center for Thermal Energy Storage, the Vilters-Wangs electricity company and business partners Asgal Informatik and Semax . The Swiss Agency for Innovation Promotion Innosuisse supports the project.

The artificial intelligence developed by the teams and its algorithms use the data from intelligent electricity reading devices, so-called smart meters. The researchers used it to calculate thermal models of buildings. The algorithms “identify power-consuming devices such as heat pumps, boilers or e-mobiles and power-producing devices such as photovoltaic systems,” explains Paice. Then maximum power consumption, switch-on and switch-off times and energy consumption per day are combined with temperature and weather forecasts. This enabled precise predictions to be made.

With these project results, the two companies involved in the project could now offer energy suppliers a service that would help them save costs – without the need for additional investments in their distribution networks.

November 2020
Switzerland signs international declaration for e-mobility

According to a press release by the Federal Office of Energy ( SFOE ), Switzerland signed an international declaration for the zero-emissions target in transport on Thursday as part of the Global e-Mobility Forum 2020 . This declaration is entitled " Katowice Partnership for E-Mobility ". She was born in December 2018 at the World Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland. Today it consists of 44 states and around three dozen sub-national administrative units, city associations and non-governmental organizations.

According to the organizers, 38 countries from five continents as well as organizations and alliances had already joined this declaration, as well as 1,500 cities and regions and 1,200 companies. Overall, they represented over a third of the world's population. Switzerland did not sign the declaration at the time because of the “pending legislative and political work”, according to the SFOE in the communication.

However, in December 2018, the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications ( DETEC ) and “numerous Swiss players” launched the Electromobility Roadmap 2022 “very successfully”. The aim of this roadmap is to increase the share of electric vehicles in new registrations to 15 percent by 2022. "Nothing stands in the way of signing the 'Katowice Partnership for E-Mobility'."

It brings "no rights and obligations" with it. But the undersigned countries and organizations should promote zero-emission vehicles, set fleet targets and work together internationally. Further goals are the promotion of green public transport, the expansion of an intelligent infrastructure, the improvement of air quality as well as research and development in these areas.

November 2020
Private individuals can participate in large solar systems

Romande Energie customers can invest in their own solar systems without having their own roof. The Vaudois energy supplier wants to build a solar system totaling 1,700 square meters on Bertrand Pittet’s Petite Chamberonne farm in Etagnières, he writes in a press release . He enables his customers to participate. In return, the corresponding share of the production of solar power on the farm would be deducted from their private electricity bills.

Romande Energie wants to attract a sufficiently large number of investors for its Jardin Solaire – sun garden – project by spring 2021. The plant should go into operation before summer.

The Vaudois energy supplier launched a similar project in Mont-sur-Rolle in December 2019. There 37 private customers took part in the Jardin Solaire.

November 2020
Erstfeldertal power plant produces its first electricity

In the canton of Uri, a further 7200 households can be supplied with CO2-free electricity. The hydropower plant of the energy supplier EWA at the entrance to the Erstfeldertal started up on Thursday and produced electricity for the first time. "In two and a half years from the first approval step to commissioning is absolutely unique for a power plant of this size," the chairman of the EWA management, Werner Jauch, is quoted in a press release from the EWA.

Before that, a wide variety of studies and projects had been developed for a good 100 years. “They all disappeared back into the drawer,” writes the EWA. And this project, too, “stood on a knife's edge several times”. Speed was now of the essence because in a month's time the national subsidy contributions to the power plant would have expired. That would have failed the project. “We believed it was feasible and we succeeded in putting the power plant into operation more than a month before the deadline,” said Jauch.

Around 45 companies from Uri were involved in the construction, explains Peter Dittli, Vice President of the Board of Directors of KW Erstfeldertal AG . 75 percent of the total investment of 37 million francs remained in Uri as added value. In addition, there would be water interest and tax revenues. And finally, operation and maintenance also secured jobs. All of this is "particularly valuable in economically challenging times," said Jauch. "The corona pandemic shows us how important local production is when the international supply chains collapse very quickly."

November 2020
ZHAW researchers and Zühlke are making solar systems cheaper

When building your own photovoltaic system, planning and bureaucracy costs are often more expensive than purchasing the electricity-generating modules. The researcher Franz Baumgartner from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences has dealt with this problem. According to a press release , he is using modern technology to reduce planning costs. Baumgartner, head of the energy and environmental technology course at the ZHAW School of Engineering, is quoted as saying: "With small photovoltaic systems on single-family houses, only a fifth of the costs are now attributable to the modules themselves." The planning of the system and the administration are now similarly expensive necessary documentation.

Baumgartner and the ZHAW Institute for Energy Systems and Fluid Engineering, in collaboration with the Schlierem-based innovation specialist Zühlke , started at precisely this point. According to the press release, Baumgartner got to know the use of HoloLens glasses in the medical sector and wants to use their advantages in photovoltaics.

“Up to 15 working hours per system are required for the administrative work,” says Baumgartner. Building applications, fire protection plans and approvals help to drive up costs. It is easier to save money with more efficient processes than with cheaper modules. According to Baumgartner, part of the solution could be the HoloLens. During measurements on flat roofs, for example, the HoloLens glasses show the assembly points of planned systems with an accuracy of two centimeters and then create a virtual image of the system.

Baumgartner: "In addition to its potential for documenting the entire process, it has a great advantage: it can measure, plan, offer and demonstrate the system to end customers from a single source." Baumgartner: "Because of the high wages, the system will first pay off in Switzerland."

ZHAW researcher Baumgartner wants to expand its application to all types of flat roofs and covered parking spaces. "We are in the process of formulating a project application for the Federal Office of Energy and have already received positive signals from Bern."

November 2020
Innovative distillery goes into operation

The new building in Amlikon-Bissegg is, among other things, the "most modern distillery in Switzerland", as it is called in a media release by Macardo Swiss Distillery GmbH . The barrel store is even the most innovative in Europe, the company from the St.GallenBodenseeArea continues. Two-day celebrations with a corresponding program were planned for the opening, but this was prevented by the Corona crisis. “Nevertheless, we will open on November 28, 2020 and start operating the distillery, the premium B&B, the event location and the honesty bar with cigar lounge. Countless people have worked intensively towards this in the last few months, ”Martina Bössow, owner of Macardo Swiss Distillery GmbH, is quoted in the press release.

At the opening, the shop, which is also integrated in the new building, will be available to visitors. Fine brandies, Macardo disinfectants and a “world first for all whiskey fans”, as von Bössow put it, are offered there. And from November 30th, small groups of six people will be offered free guided tours for which registration is required.

The new building was built around a cheese factory that is more than 100 years old. At the distillery, the focus is on craftsmanship, which is underlined by a sustainable process. Modern technology is also used in the drum store, which ensures an optimal room climate for the 400 barrels. In addition to the bar and lounge, shop and the event room, ten rooms and two apartments with a bed-and-breakfast offer (B&B) are also available for visitors.

November 2020
The effects of the pandemic on industry and construction are weakening

According to a statement from the Federal Statistical Office ( FSO ), production in the secondary sector in Switzerland fell by 4.4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020. At the same time, sales by Swiss companies in industry and construction fell by 6.3 percent. The coronavirus pandemic is thus "continuing to leave its mark in the secondary sector," write the FSO analysts. Compared to the previous quarter, however, the declines were "only about half as large".

In the industrial sector, production fell 5.1 percent year-on-year in the quarter under review. A weakening of the decline was observed over the three months. It was the strongest in July at 6.7 percent. In August production was 5.6 percent below the previous year's figure, in September the minus weakened to 3.8 percent.

In the construction industry, production decreased by 0.4 percent in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter of 2019. A decline of 7.2 percent was recorded in building construction. In contrast, production in civil engineering and other construction trades increased by 4.6 and 2.9 percent at the same time.

Sales in industry were 7.9 percent lower in the reporting quarter than in the same quarter of the previous year. Gradually weaker declines between 9.7 percent in July and 5.6 percent in September were observed in the individual three months.

Sales in the construction industry fell 0.6 percent below the previous year's figure in the third quarter of 2020. Here the range ranged from a minus of 6.9 percent in building construction to a plus of 5.1 percent in civil engineering.

November 2020
The effects of the pandemic on industry and construction are weakening

According to a report from the Federal Statistical Office ( FSO ), production in the Swiss secondary sector fell by 4.4% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year. At the same time, the turnover of Swiss companies in industry and construction fell by 6.3 percent. The coronavirus pandemic is thus continuing to "leave its mark on the secondary sector," write analysts at the FSO. Compared to the previous quarter, however, the declines were "only about half".

In the industrial sector, production declined 5.1% year-on-year for the quarter. A weakening of the decline was observed over the three months. It was strongest in July with 6.7%. In August production was 5.6% below the previous year's figure, while it weakened to 3.8% in September.

In the construction sector, production decreased by 0.4% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter of 2019. A decrease of 7.2% was recorded in building construction. In contrast, production in civil engineering and other construction rose by 4.6% and 2.9%, respectively.

Industry sales in the quarter under review were 7.9% lower than in the same quarter of the previous year. Gradually weaker declines were observed over the three months between 9.7% in July and 5.6% in September.

Sales in the construction sector decreased by 0.6% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the previous year. Here the range ranged from a decrease of 6.9% in building construction to an increase of 5.1% in civil engineering.

November 2020
Zürich erhält Goldauszeichnung als Energiestadt

Zürich ist im Rahmen des Hackathons Climathon Zürich erneut mit dem Energiestadt-Label in Gold ausgezeichnet worden. Damit fördert der Trägerverein Energiestadt die Umstellung auf erneuerbare Energien und Energieeffizienz. Laut einer Medienmitteilung der Stadt hätten der Ausbau der Photovoltaikanlagen auf stadteigenen Liegenschaften zu dieser Anerkennung ebenso beigetragen wie die Realisierung des Energieverbunds Altstetten und Höngg. Auch die neue Tramlinie Hardbrücke und die weitere Elektrifizierung des öffentlichen Verkehrs hätten ihren Anteil daran.

Zum ersten Mal war Zürich die Auszeichnung als Energiestadt vor 20 Jahren verliehen worden. Seither seien die langfristigen Ziele der Stadt „kontinuierlich angepasst worden“. Dazu gehörten etwa die Verankerung der 2000-Watt-Gesellschaft in der Gemeindeordnung und die aktuellen Bestrebungen in Richtung Klimaneutralität. Grundlage dafür seien die im Masterplan Energie der Stadt Zürich definierten energiepolitischen Schwerpunkte.

November 2020
Intershop is building the AuPark in Wädenswil

The AuPark is to be built in Wädenswil-Au on Lake Zurich in the next few years. It should be a place to live, work, shop, relax, play and be educated, as it says on the AuPark website . A public park is to be created in the middle of the complex as a connecting element and meeting zone for the population of Au. The apartments in AuPark have a view of the Au peninsula and Lake Zurich.

The project is operated by the real estate company Intershop . According to a media release , this applied for the building permit on November 17th. The private design plan for today's industrial area was approved in July. According to Intershop, 231 apartments are to be built. A total of 54 apartments are reserved for affordable living. It is planned to build the buildings according to the Swiss Sustainable Building Standard (SNBS) and with an energy supply from heat pumps. Work is scheduled to begin in autumn 2021 and the first buildings will be ready for occupancy in winter 2024. The new building of the Zimmerberg Cantonal School is also planned. However, this is carried out by the Canton of Zurich and not by Intershop.

November 2020
Public transport should expand photovoltaics

Photovoltaics offers all public transport companies the opportunity to take a large part of their energy supply into their own hands. A new guide from the Federal Office of Transport refers to this. The authority developed it together with the Swiss Association for Solar Energy, Swissolar .

As Swissolar writes in a summary of this guide, solar energy can make a decisive contribution to replacing non-renewable energies in public transport. The electricity consumption of all transport companies is currently around 2.7 terawatt hours. In addition, there are 120 million liters of diesel. If all public transport is to be operated in a CO2-neutral manner in the future, it will need around 3.5 terawatt hours of electricity. Of this, 2 terawatt hours, or 60 percent, would already be produced by the hydropower plants of the SBB .

The production of the remaining 1.5 terawatt hours with solar energy would require around 1 square meter of photovoltaic module area per inhabitant in Switzerland. The same area per inhabitant provides the energy required to transport a person 2,500 kilometers by train in one year. As the Federal Office of Energy states in its energeia plus magazine, the potential for solar power in the Swiss transport company's building stock is 67 terawatt hours per year. That exceeds the total current Swiss electricity consumption by 10 percent.

The guide advises small and large transport companies on investment opportunities and approval procedures for real estate, rail technology and infrastructure. He also goes into funding opportunities and personal consumption. It also provides specific official recommendations that support public transport in becoming climate-neutral.

November 2020
Quickpac now distributes packages from Dietikon

With the newly opened depot in Dietikon, the parcel delivery company Quickpac intends to serve large parts of the cantons of Aargau, Zug and Zurich in the future. With Dietikon, Quickpac expands the number of its distribution centers to three. Up to 25,000 parcels can be transported daily from the three depots. The subsidiary of Quickmail AG is planning to open further depots in St.Gallen in 2021 and, according to a media release , is currently looking for locations in the regions of Bern, St.Gallen, Upper Lake Zurich, Lucerne and Basel.

55 new parcel deliverers have been hired in Dietikon. The number should double in 2021, it is said. 75 new electric vehicles were purchased for delivery. With 176 Renault Kangoo ZE, Quickpac has the largest electric car fleet in Switzerland. According to the announcement, the head of the Dietikon depot is Matthias Merz (47), previously Head of Operations at Cargo Solution GmbH.

The new parcel center would allow even more recipients in Switzerland to benefit from “the fact that their parcels are delivered quietly and with low emissions,” says Thomas Ulmann, COO of Quickpac, quoted as saying. In addition, there is the rapid delivery. A quarter of the parcels are delivered on the day of delivery. Even between 5 and 9 p.m. when working people are at home. Ulmann: "That saves unnecessary and unecological trips to collection points."

November 2020
BKW launches digital platform for energy suppliers

With its new digital platform Energy Business , the Bern-based energy and infrastructure company BKW wants to give Swiss energy providers support in four areas, according to a press release : cyber security, law and regulation, innovative products for end customers and customer service. For this purpose, it launched the e4u platform at the beginning of November.

The energy suppliers are facing a demanding future, it is said there. “That is why we want to team up with one clear goal: Economic success through scaling, synergies and the use of tried and tested solutions. We believe that we can only achieve this if we work together. ”With this, BKW is committed to a long-term partner strategy with other energy suppliers in Switzerland, she writes in her press release.

In a first phase, BKW is offering service packages on the platform that give other energy suppliers access to their tried and tested skills. In parallel, she is planning various educational activities. In addition, it also offers "individualized advisory services for complex needs".

Both energy suppliers and large end consumers could use the platform to procure their energy in a single system. The platform itself was developed in close cooperation with BKW customers.

November 2020
Designwerk delivers the first electric garbage truck to Basel

Designwerk Products AG has made the first fully electric garbage truck available to the building and transport department of the canton of Basel-Stadt. In the first phase, Designwerk will deliver one vehicle to Basel “almost a week” according to its media release until the beginning of February. A total of eleven more garbage trucks are to follow.

The first Basel e-truck, a Futuricum Collect 26E, is based on the Volvo FM chassis. It has four electric motors with an output of 680 hp. Its range is 160 kilometers. The batteries are charged overnight. Designwerk is cooperating with Contena-Ochsner AG for the construction of press waste. This is also operated electrically.

The construction and transport department of the canton of Basel-Stadt is playing a pioneering role in electromobility across Switzerland, according to Designwerk. Within the next five years, 85 percent of cantonal vehicles are to be electric.

November 2020
Zühlke modernizes Wincasa's digital presence

IT innovation service provider Zühlke from Schlieren brings the software used at Wincasa up to date, which meets today's market requirements. The real estate service provider from Winterthur has so far worked with the programs developed in-house. According to Zühlke's press release , these programs, which have been developed in the company over the last 15 years, are "extremely functional", but are not sufficient for Wincasa's expansion strategy. So far, data exchange with third-party applications has not been possible, nor is the software cloud-based. But both are necessary in order to use omni-channel marketing – the forwarding of product information to all sales channels and media – and to offer tenants and owners appropriate services.

Zühlke helps the Wincasa experts to modernize the existing system. It should not be set up completely from scratch. For this purpose, the three existing areas of corporate planning, property management and construction project management are made cloud-enabled and prepared for use in the Microsoft Azure environment. The data that has been collected over many years now has to be cleaned up and transferred to the new platform. New projects are brought in there directly. Zühlke experts work together with Wincasa IT specialists on this work.

The media release states the goal of the modernization: Wincasa wants to lead the digital revolution in the Swiss real estate market.

November 2020
Andermatt Swiss Alps remains on the road to success

Between January and October 2020, the Andermatt Swiss Alps Group was able to sell properties worth more than 85 million francs, the company responsible for the development, realization and operation of the holiday destination informs in a message . In a year-on-year comparison, this corresponds to growth of 28 percent. The number of visitors to the SkiArena Andermatt-Sedrun and the Andermatt Golf Course during summer operations increased by 12 and 50 percent respectively compared to the previous year. This means that the group has continued its positive business development from the first half of 2020, according to the announcement.

The Hotel The Chedi Andermatt was also able to book significantly more overnight stays in the first ten months of 2020 than in the previous year, the Andermatt Swiss Alps Group continues in the message. Specifically, "the historically highest occupancy rate" of 68 percent was achieved. In the same period of the previous year, the hotel The Chedi Andermatt had an occupancy rate of 53 percent.

As of October 31, skiing on the Gemsstock started due to the pandemic with a corresponding plan of action, is further explained in the communication. The canton of Uri has certified the operators safe operation, writes the Andermatt Swiss Alps Group. On the first two weekends of the winter season, the ski operation on the Gemsstock was sold out with around 1000 guests a day.

November 2020