Mobiliar and Raiffeisen founded the Liiva joint venture at the beginning of the year. This is now starting with a digital home ownership platform of the same name. Users should be supported with all homeowner needs, according to a media release .
Specifically, Liiva offers various digital tools. For example, it helps when buying a home by clearly displaying suitable advertisements on the largest real estate marketplaces. The platform also offers homeowners, for example, support in assessing the market value, assessing the current condition of the building and in renovations. Functions related to the sale of real estate are also to be activated soon.
"We want to digitally mirror the customer proximity of our parent companies and make life noticeably easier for both existing and future homeowners," said Phil Lojacono, CEO of Liiva, in the press release. Lojacono is also the founder of the Zurich fintech company Advanon, which was taken over by CreditGate24.
The Mobiliar and Raiffeisen want to stir up the traditional real estate market with Liiva and drive the digitization of the industry, it is said. They each have a 50 percent stake in the Zurich-based joint venture. The Chairman of the Board of Directors is Philipp Ries, who also works as Head of EMEA Assistant Distribution Partnership at Google in Zurich. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the holiday provider Hapimag.
According to a message from Implenia , the construction and real estate company from Dietlikon generated total sales of 1.88 billion francs in the first half of 2021. Compared to the same period in the previous year, this corresponds to a decrease of 2.2 percent. The focus on projects with higher margins is mentioned in the communication as a background. Despite the stricter criteria, Implenia's order backlog rose by 7.3 percent year-on-year to CHF 6.6 billion.
Implenia reports an operating result (EBIT) of 40.0 million francs in the reporting semester. Excluding the profit contribution generated by the spin-off Ina Invest, an EBIT of 3.7 million francs was achieved in the first half of the previous year. In 2020 as a whole, Implenia posted an operating loss of 146.8 million francs.
In the previous year, the company initiated a comprehensive transformation process. Business areas that are not part of the core business or are unprofitable are being cut back and risk management is being improved. Implenia has already implemented a number of adjustments to its portfolio. The announcement mentions, among other things, the divestments of business areas in Germany, Austria and Norway.
"The operational measures taken have the first positive effects on the results," André Wyss is quoted in the press release. The Implenia CEO sees his company "well positioned to become an integrated, multinational leading provider of construction and real estate services". Implenia is aiming for an EBIT of more than 100 million francs for the current year as a whole.
The study “Ready for Climate Change?” By the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) aims to sensitize building owners to building climate-friendly. But it should also help buyers and tenants to evaluate a property.
The study suggests that in the future not only heating, but also cooling concepts will have to be taken into account. "The architecture of Switzerland is still too focused on making apartments pleasant and energy-efficient in winter", Gianrico Settembrini from the Institute for Building Technology and Energy at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences is quoted in a media release. The decisive factor, however, is that buildings are planned with future climate data and not, as is the case today, with data based on past values.
The building stock consumes around 40 percent of Switzerland's final energy requirements, the HSLU continues. This must be further reduced. However, if the increased use of air conditioning equipment were necessary, this value could instead increase even further. "The use of cooling or air conditioning devices should be avoided, technical solutions may only be used when the passive options have been exhausted," says Adrian Grossenbacher from the Federal Office of Energy . It provided financial support for this study.
In total, the study team identified eleven parameters that have an impact on energy consumption as well as the thermal and visual comfort of a living space. These parameters, such as the properties of the windows, sun protection and shading elements, were simulated in a reference building in Basel-Binningen, which is typical for the Mittelland.
The HSLU provides guidelines for planners online for download . In order to accelerate the precipitation of available knowledge in the new architecture, the university will bring experts up to date with the three-day advanced training course “Building in Climate Change – Effective Measures for Builders and Planners” in September.
An ecosystem is basically the interaction between different stakeholders in a defined area of a human need – for example mobility, health or living. The increasing trend towards ecosystems can be seen in different areas of life. Depending on their relationship with the end consumer, the various players in an ecosystem can assume three different roles: that of the “orchestrator”, that of the “implementer” or that of the “enabler”.
The orchestrator has direct contact with the end customer and takes over the management of the customer interface via a digital B2C platform. Well-known examples are Amazon or Airbnb. Put simply, these companies are responsible for identifying the needs of customers and matching them with the right products and services from companies. In this context, the latter are the implementers – in the “living” ecosystem, for example, providers of PropTech solutions or insurers and banks themselves with their respective products and services. The companies that act as supporters for the other two groups are enablers . These do not come into direct contact with the end consumer. In fact, most companies in an ecosystem are enablers – such as suppliers of product components or software. They form the backbone of the ecosystem, so to speak.
This interaction is essential in the increasing battle for market share. That is why more and more insurance companies and banks are also participating directly in PropTech companies – among other things, in order to be able to offer their services in a more user-friendly and cost-efficient manner by means of digitizing their own value chain. The extent to which insurers and banks will play the role of orchestrators in the future remains to be seen. What is certain is that you can secure customer interfaces through a functioning ecosystem – because many experts agree: In the future, the focus will be on digital ecosystems.
Bern makes the three-dimensional view of the entire city publicly available. So far it has only been accessible to municipal offices and other interested parties. An Internet browser or a newer smartphone is sufficient for access.
As the city of Bern informs , the city model includes all existing and planned buildings in the city. It also shows the most important bridges in detail. The vegetation can also be added as a 3D object or as a point cloud. The sub-municipalities were also supplemented using freely available data from the Federal Office of Topography.
As a video shows, you can find out how high the Bern Minster is by zooming, sliding and rotating. In addition, it becomes clear which shadow course a building shows on a cloudless day. With the measuring tools control element, distances and building heights can be taken from the model. For example, the linear distance between two placemarks can also be determined. Much more information is also available via a link to the city map.
Experts from urban planning, architecture and landscape design can also switch on official surveying data for their projects. For a processing fee, the city of Bern also offers to prepare and submit the data according to customer requirements.
A research group from the University of Life Sciences ( HLS ) of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) gives the all-clear: their tests show that the lead contained in the new perovskite solar cells is just as little washed out as all other functional metals, even if there is any weather damage. The cells were able to withstand rainwater and hail tests without the metal concentration in the rainwater increasing noticeably.
The prerequisite for a low environmental risk is that the solar cells are packed according to commercial standards. But "even with poor packaging, only 5 to 10 percent of the total lead content in rainwater was measured over several months," HLS doctoral student Felix Schmidt is quoted in a report by the FHNW. “We currently see little cause for concern with regard to the possible environmental impacts of lead.” However, this sensitive topic must be communicated transparently with regard to the social acceptance of this technology.
Permoskite solar cells are considered to be the future of photovoltaics. Tremendous advances in research have increased their efficiency from initially 3 to almost 30 percent in the past few years. It is thus just above that of traditional silicon cells.
Perovskite is the collective term for new materials, the crystal structure of which is similar to the natural mineral, also known as perovskite. Perovskites absorb light particularly efficiently and conduct the electricity generated well. They are both inexpensive and easy to manufacture and process. Among other things, two national research programs are running in Switzerland. They are designed to encourage the rapid adoption of this disruptive technology.
Now you have to think about “what will happen to the solar cells at the end of their lifespan”, continues Schmidt. "That is why we are currently developing ways to completely extract lead from old cells and use it again in new cells."
Wingtra , a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( ETH ), manufactures special drones for aerial photography and remote sensing. It combines the positive properties of multi-rotors and fixed-wing aircraft. The Wingtra drone takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter. At the same time, however, it flies forward as efficiently as an airplane. Thanks to its high payload, the drone can also carry a wide range of cameras.
Wingtra recently launched the WingtraOne GEN II. This drone enables a new, angled camera configuration for high-quality 3D drone mapping. In order to use the development immediately, Wingtra has created a digital twin of the city of Zurich.
According to a media release , the drone only needed six hours of flight for the 3D mapping of the city of Zurich. One pixel in the 3D model corresponds to 3 centimeters of information from the real world. It thus represents "a completely new level of detail".
According to Maximilian Boosfeld, co-founder and CEO of Wingtra, the new Dorohne is “the perfect choice for capturing infrastructure – from a single industrial plant to entire cities”. Detailed 3D data could help city administrations, town planners, engineers and architects, for example, to increase the quality of life in urban areas, to plan critical infrastructures and to simulate changes in the environment.
With its Soil Strategy Switzerland, the Federal Council wants to counteract further soil loss through soil activity, erosion or pollutants. The main concern is that no more land is lost net in Switzerland by 2050. The booklet just published by the Federal Office for Spatial Development in the series “ Forum Spatial Development ” with the title “Dealing with the soil sustainably – the responsibility of spatial development” shows how it can be possible to preserve the soil in the long term.
It is no coincidence that this goes hand in hand with the also declared net zero target for CO2 emissions, according to Damian Jerjen, Director of the Association for Spatial Planning EspaceSuisse, in a press release by the Federal Office for Spatial Development: "Spatial planning is responsible for its instruments to use for climate protection and thus also to protect the soil. ”Because, on the one hand, these must make a maximum contribution to climate protection. On the other hand, they would help to adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change.
In the booklet, Adèle Thorens Goumaz, Councilor of States (Greens / VD) and biodiversity expert, calls for greater specialist knowledge of soil quality to be developed. The decentralized decision-making structure represents an obstacle to sustainable soil management. In an interview, she suggests that we first come to an agreement on the agriculture of the future. "Only then should we start working on spatial planning, not the other way around."
A report also included in the booklet describes the renaturation work after the construction work on the Ceneri Base Tunnel has been completed. There, enormous masses of earth are returned to their original parcel. They are built into fertile soil and can be used for growing vegetables after a few years.
Outdated concrete structures have long been reinforced with carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), Empa explains in a press release . Empa researchers have now further developed this technology. Your CFRP lamellas can actively counteract the deflection of concrete beams.
To do this, the slats are glued to the beams with epoxy resin under tensile stress. After the connection has hardened, the tensile stress counteracts the deflection of the beams. The researchers have also improved the previous method for attaching the ends of the strips. Instead of glued and screwed aluminum plates, specially developed CFRP brackets are used.
"A solution made from a single material is always better than two that behave differently," Empa researcher Christoph Czaderski is quoted in the press release. “We made a lot of tests in the laboratory, especially for the anchoring.” According to the announcement, the new technology can increase the load-bearing capacity of a concrete slab by 77 percent compared to the classic method.
The next step is to bring the process to market maturity. To this end, Empa is working with S&P Clever Reinforcement Company in Seewen SZ as an industrial partner. An industrial process is currently being developed for the hangers that have previously been handcrafted, according to the announcement. Martin Hüppi believes the process is “justifiable in terms of price for building owners”. “I absolutely see a market for this,” explains the S&P project manager in the press release.
The Dietiker electrical company Jaisli-Xamax AG carried out the electrical work for connecting innovative X-ray devices in the newly designed radio-oncology department at Inselspital in Bern.According to the press release , the special thing about the construction work was that the new building within the Bern University Clinic, which belongs to the Insel Group, is located underground. A three-story, underground building has been erected there. In the so-called intermediate building, which is not visible from the outside, there are treatment and examination rooms with waiting rooms as well as the technology rooms of the tumor center.
According to a press release from Inselspital, a state-of-the-art center for the radio-oncological treatment of cancer patients has been put into operation on three floors, 20 meters below ground, in two years' time. Three devices of the latest generation are available to treat patients with precise radiation therapy.
The demanding task of connecting these Ethos devices was in the hands of Jaisli-Xamax. At peak times, there were 20 employees working there, three of whom were apprentices. Construction manager Eduard Harder is quoted as saying that Jaisli-Xamax is proud “that we were able to make our contribution to such an important and forward-looking project”.
With ECOPlanet, Holcim is bringing a green cement onto the market. According to a press release by the company, this causes 30 percent less CO2 emissions than conventional products. According to CEO Jan Jenisch, this will be the world's first cement that consists of 20 percent recycled construction and demolition waste. In addition to the use of low-emission raw materials, the CO2 reduction is achieved, among other things, by decarbonising the production process.
ECOPlanet is already available in Switzerland as well as in Germany, Romania, Canada, Spain, France and Italy. In the current year, the product is to be launched in a total of 15 European countries. Holcim plans to double its market presence with ECOPlanet by the end of 2022.
"In view of the increasing world population and rapid urbanization, solutions like ECOPlanet are of crucial importance to create greener cities and smarter infrastructure and to build more with less effort," Jenisch is quoted in the press release.
ARGE EvoREC has put a new recycling processing plant for building materials into operation in Oberdorf. This is to transform concrete and mixed demolition from the region into high-quality new building materials, according to a media release . Specifically, for example, concrete and mixed granules are to be created in different grain sizes, rock compositions and with different properties.
ARGE EvoREC, a subsidiary of the Zurich based Holcim Kies und Beton AG and the Nidwaldner Zimmermann Umweltlogistik AG , wants to use the system to promote the circular economy in the construction sector. A large part of the recycled aggregate is used directly on site at the Holcim plant in Aennerberg for the production of recycled concrete. This closes the material cycle.
According to Reto Zimmermann, CEO of Zimmermann Umweltlogistik AG, the new facility is not only a commitment to sustainability, but also to the region. "We receive concrete and mixed demolition from the Nidwalden market and process it into granulate for the local production of concrete – which in turn can be used to create new, sustainable structures in the region," he is quoted in the press release.
There are several reasons why it is worthwhile for a company in the real estate business to embrace new technologies.
Attractiveness for employees: High potentials and well-trained employees want to work in companies that are agile and digital. In order to be able to keep up with the future “war for talents”, digital company DNA is almost a “hygiene factor”.
Creation of efficiency and transparency: With new solutions – for example in the field of artificial intelligence and data analytics – resources can be bundled correctly, investment decisions can be made well-founded, and rental and sales processes can be processed faster and more cost-effectively.
Minimizing risks: Through the targeted use of technologies, data can be generated, structured and analyzed in order to improve the basis for decision-making and thus minimize risks.
New options for monetization: Disruptive new technologies such as blockchain technology are “business enablers” and promote the development of new business models, ecosystems and collaborations.
Improvement of the user experience: New technologies such as virtual or augmented reality enable a completely new user experience. This type of convenience will become standard in the future and customers will probably no longer want to do without it.
You can find an overview of new technologies and PropTech solutions here: https://hubs.li/H0RQjYL0
For around three years now, the canton of Aargau has enabled the digital submission of building applications with “eBau”. The Department of Construction, Transport and Environment is implementing this digitization step as part of the federal and cantonal eGov strategy. The advantages are obvious: "The entire building permit process from the applicant to the municipality to the canton can be processed electronically," explains Reto Käch, Head of Support and Training eBau, from the Department of Construction, Transport and Environment of the Canton of Aargau. The use of such online services enables efficient and less personnel-intensive processes, leaner work organization, more transparency and better networking of those involved.
As of today, a total of 22 municipalities are connected to eBau Aargau. "With the step-by-step roll-out and the training courses, we are gradually familiarizing the communities with the digital building permit process," says Käch. The support manager explains the lack of the majority of the 213 municipalities in Aargau as follows: «50 percent work with their own construction management software. These communities have to wait until the second quarter of 2022. " From then on, the connection without media discontinuity will be possible via a specially initiated eCH interface. According to the figures, the switch to the electronic processing of building applications is still making municipalities that already meet the requirements hesitant. “Maybe some people have different priorities in the corona crisis. Some may also find it difficult to replace old processes. We do not apply any pressure. We are happy to support and train interested communities in this regard, ”says Käch.
The feedback from those involved who work with eBau has been consistently positive. “The simple structure of the online form for submitting the application is particularly impressive. Mandatory fields prevent something from being forgotten when entering it. The time lost is significantly reduced, ”says Käch. And the municipalities also benefit: “In the eGov area, the standardized work processes are particularly valued. The successive work steps lead successively through the process. This means that administrative employees without specific industry knowledge can also process a building application. " Less administrative effort, better data quality and paperless work are the greatest trump cards for administrations.
A topic that concerns all cantons Municipalities that are introducing eBau will only work electronically from this date. "Only a few applicants submit their applications in physical form," explains Käch. In such a case, the application would then be digitized by the administration. According to the eGov strategy, eBau Aargau should bring added value for everyone and save costs, as the administrative effort is reduced. The first cantons are already making it possible to publish a project that is subject to publication online. According to Käch, the current law does not take a position on digitization. "The Administrative Law Maintenance Act (VRPG) of the canton of Aargau only regulates when a public publication is required, how long and with what content the construction project has to be publicly published and who is to be informed in which publication medium," explains the trainer.
The canton of Lucerne, for example, handles the digital edition as follows: The municipalities have to make the application form with all attachments available for inspection on the Internet during the public edition, if the building application was submitted electronically and the municipality has the necessary infrastructure. "We deduce from this that an online edition is possible and that there are no federal legal bases that speak against it," concludes Käch. In such a case, however, in the interests of equal treatment, citizens without internet access would have to be able to view the planning applications in the municipal office. The canton of Aargau did not consciously assume a pioneering role in the electronic submission of building applications. "Today all the cantons are concerned with implementing software, web applications or platforms that support the electronic submission of building applications," Käch is convinced. And adds: "It is a sign of the times that this issue is being dealt with across Switzerland." Architects, surveying and engineering offices as well as specialist planners have been working with 2D drawings, accessible 3D models, photo-realistic visualizations or digital building and terrain modeling for decades. "With the electronic building permit process, the basic understanding is changing from an administration-oriented service to a customer-oriented one," says Käch.
Last but not least, the corona pandemic makes it clear once again how important advancing digitization is: “During the lockdown, part of the administrative workforce was also sent to the home office. One of the challenges was not the organization around the equipment, but the fact that many dossiers in the administrations are only available in physical form, ”explains Käch. Customers also increasingly switched to digital channels: "The challenges that Covid-19 brings with it could turn out to be an opportunity for increased acceptance of digital administration over the long term."
The investment costs for the development of eBau were borne by the canton. There are no initial costs for municipalities that want to work with the digital solution. Operation, data archiving and support are paid for with an annual flat rate. The total costs for the application add up to a total of 50,000 francs per year. This amount is divided among the user communities. If all Aargau municipalities were to use eBau, this would result in a marginal contribution per year and municipality. The first three years of operation (2018-2020) were pre-financed by the canton.
Jürgen Marc Volm has started his two-year term of office as the new chairman of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Switzerland. He succeeds Birgit Werner. As it is said in a media release , it has increased the number of members and increased activities significantly.
She acknowledges that Volm's “passion for real estate” is reflected in his career, “in which he has combined academic know-how with the successful development of a company. He is an enrichment for us as we want to continue growing and strengthen contacts with current and future industry leaders. "
In addition to his work as a partner and board member of pom + Consulting AG , based in Technopark Zurich , Volm is also the program manager of the master's degree in International Project Management at the Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences (HFT). As a Master of Engineering in International Project Management from HFT Stuttgart and Master of Business Administration from Liverpool John Moores University , the graduate civil engineer has extensive business management knowledge.
According to his own information, as chairman the focus is on promoting the sustainability debate according to the so-called ESG (environmental, social, governance) criteria, "especially with regard to the areas of circular economy and social responsibility". In addition, he wants to introduce the ULI UrbanPlan at Swiss schools and universities. The participants receive basic knowledge of urban renewal. He is also planning a ULI NEXT program. It is intended to connect the next generation of managers between the ages of 35 and 45 in the DACH region.
"ULI Switzerland has developed rapidly in the DACH region," says Marnix Galle, chairman of ULI Europe . “And we look forward to the next phase of growth under Jürgen's leadership. He will use the ULI platform to help shape the future of the built environment in Swiss communities and to inspire a new generation of real estate experts. "
A corporate mission statement has been developed for the Pestalozzi Group. In an interview with “ KMU Magazin ”, Matthias Pestalozzi names the main areas: corporate culture of continuity, development of digitization and networking, and cross-generational corporate management. The delegate of the board of directors to the company's management is quoted as saying that the most interesting and most important aspect of the formulation of the mission statement was the broad discussion with the employees who worked on it in workshop teams. Pestalozzi: "In the end there weren't many differences to the old model, but it is formulated in more detail, especially the topic: How do we work together?" One consequence is that the company has introduced the you culture.
Pestalozzi, who runs the family business founded in 1763 in the ninth generation, emphasizes in the interview the importance of digitization for the company that specializes in trading in everything related to construction. Digitization and networking are a "huge topic, we are constantly working on it". Digitization is important in customer contact. The group has invested a lot in the e-shop in recent years to enable digital orders. Around 40 percent of orders for finished products already go through electronic trading. Digital marketing has also been expanded, with the use of platforms such as LinkedIn or the distribution of a newsletter. According to Pestalozzi, security problems in the digital sector are often underestimated, especially by SMEs. At Pestalozzi, employees are therefore trained on an ongoing basis.
The Pestalozzi Group wanted to motivate young people to train in the building and construction industry with the 39th prize awarded this year for good apprenticeship qualifications. It is often difficult to find apprentices there. The pen prize is awarded in the building envelope, building services, metal construction and metal processing sectors.
Applications and tools such as 360 ° tours, interactive design or virtual reality (VR) are not new. But what two Swiss and a German start-up have made of it, yes. For example, the Zurich start-up Coding Mind AG with their product “Remotely360 °”: The founders, Alexandros Tyropolis and Danijel Veljkovic, have revolutionized the 360 ° tours: “These virtual tours have been around for around 10 years. But the existing solutions on the market did not go far enough for us: The tours are primarily perceived as a marketing tool. Once entered into the Internet, prospective tenants are then left to their own devices. Any questions that arise remain unanswered – any misunderstandings cannot be clarified, ”analyzes the CEO, Alexandros Tyropolis.
Therefore, with the Remotely360 ° solution, marketers and interested parties can meet digitally in the property: “The property manager receives all information about the property overlaid. Thanks to the integration of Google Streetview and Google Maps, the surroundings can also be shown, ”explains the CEO. Further documents could be sent immediately in the chat. The integrated floor plan shows where you are in the property. With this offer, the company is one of the so-called first movers: "We only know of a handful of start-ups worldwide that are pursuing similar ideas," says the young entrepreneur. Big players in the field of 360 ° tours in particular would have overslept to continue spinning their thoughts and ask themselves how 360 ° tours could have a deeper impact on the marketing process. Remotely360 ° customers include companies such as the CBRE Group, Crédit Suisse and Swiss Finance & Property Funds AG.
In order to use the tool, the first step is to digitize the property. “We maintain a network of photographers who, if necessary, take pictures of the object with a 360 ° camera,” explains Tyropolis. The customer can also do this himself without any problems: "Our solution is compatible with all 360 ° cameras." After that, all you need is an Internet browser. The tours are hosted free of charge. Anyone who would like to benefit from additional tools pays CHF 24.90 per property and month. The start-up was founded during the corona pandemic. The makers cannot therefore conclusively answer whether this gave the tool a boost. "Corona definitely sensitizes and has increased acceptance even among more conservative market participants," says Tyropolis. In the future, the innovative solution should also be able to be used for other applications in the life cycle of a property, such as handover protocols. “The simultaneous implementation of a tradesman's offer tool is being planned. Another milestone would be the connection between visualization and photo. We are working on integrating floors, colors or furnishings into the 360 ° tour, ”says Tyropolis, revealing the plans for the future.
There is no need to build model apartments The start-up «Hegias», founded in 2017 and based in Zurich and Lugano, also wants to make life easier for building planners, architects, marketers and authorities. With deceptively real tours of properties that are often still in the planning phase. Quite often the first word that the three founders Patrik Marty, Tuan Nguyen and Andreas Schmeil hear from their customers is: “Wow!”. The three young entrepreneurs rely on virtual reality (VR) for their solution. “We noticed that agency VR applications are static, expensive and difficult to share with other stakeholders. We want to democratize VR and make it possible to use it for smaller projects such as single-family houses, ”explains Marty, who is CEO. This gave rise to the idea of developing software with which anyone without experience or programming knowledge can bring content into the VR, change it in real time and commit and discuss it together with all the people involved.
Hegias VR works simply and intuitively: “Our solution is the first in the world to be completely browser- and cloud-based; all you have to do is drag a 3D plan into your internet browser and a few minutes later you can walk through it – with or without VR glasses, ”explains the young entrepreneur. With the help of so-called libraries, the plans can then be materialized and furnished. The innovation is intended to prevent misunderstandings and planning errors and make the construction of model apartments superfluous. Additional services such as the laser scan of a property and the subsequent creation of a 3D model are available for existing buildings.
The acceptance in the real estate industry is very high: "We even dare to say that anyone who has experienced Hegias VR live will never build again without first going through the project in the VR," Marty is convinced. Today VR is still a competitive advantage, but in a few years it will become the standard. The solution was developed for the masses and for collaboration. “The application is completely automated. Our innovation is therefore significantly cheaper than the VR offers of the agencies, ”says the CEO. A virtual tour of a project costs less than 200 francs, depending on the subscription and its utilization.
The solution is already available in four languages (German, English, French and Italian). “In the next two years, the focus will be on Switzerland as well as on countries that are increasingly using Building Information Modeling (BIM). In other words: Scandinavia, Great Britain, the Netherlands and the USA ”, Marty reveals. The pandemic accelerated the digitization surge in the industry: "We are feeling that more and more solutions are being sought for decentralized meetings and inspections of real estate projects." Marty sums up other advantages of the tool: “Competitions can be carried out purely digitally. Objections can also be shortened and, at the end of the day, construction can be carried out faster, more efficiently, more sustainably and more cheaply. "
The potential of the application is far from being exhausted. Marty opens: "In five years, it will be possible to order materials and furniture on our platform with a click of the mouse – of course after you have looked at them in virtual reality in peace and quiet in your own four walls." In ten years at the latest, the VR will be an integral part of our lives – the resourceful entrepreneur is convinced of that.
Real estate and furniture providers are directly networked for the first time “Deceptively real” are attributes that apply to the furnishing solution for real estate agents from the German start-up MockUp Studio. Monica Riad, founder and CEO, has developed a tool with which apartments can be virtually furnished with real furniture, floors can be changed, wall colors can be tried out and decoration can be exchanged as desired. All of this in true-to-life quality that cannot be distinguished from real photos: "Our solution is particularly interesting for new construction projects or apartments in need of renovation," explains the managing director. The tool enables floor plans and apartment pictures to be uploaded. The apartment is then automatically digitized and can be set up virtually. "2D images or 360 ° tours can be easily created from the digitized apartment," says Riad, who founded MockUp Studio in 2017.
Users can try out different furnishing styles and, thanks to the collaboration with furniture dealers, order their favorite items directly in the application – an absolute novelty, as Riyadh says: “We are the first to connect real estate and furniture providers directly – and the whole thing is 70 percent automated. » All that is needed to use the tool is photos of the apartment – smartphone quality is sufficient. The solution costs from 100 euros per room. If several objects are digitized at the same time, this amount is reduced to 25 euros. The next development step is imminent: "At the end of 2021 we will also be offering the tool to end customers," announced Riyadh.
Digitization has already become an integral part of the real estate industry. With their ideas and solutions, the start-ups presented should hit the nerve of the times – and perhaps even stir up the industry internationally in the coming years.
To person Mario Facchinetti, founder of PropTechMarket, has the overview in the innovation Jungle. As an expert, he knows what is important when evaluating and implementing quality-checked PropTech solutions: www.proptechmarket.ch
Mario's tip Visualization solutions make real estate mobile. The offer is large and difficult to understand. This question grid helps with decision making.
Is it a new or an existing building?
Which quality level is the property assigned: high-end or standard construction?
Who is the target group: tenants or buyers? What about digital affinity?
Solutions in the field of virtual reality are suitable for new buildings in order to make visions tangible. This technology has developed strongly over the last few years and is becoming suitable for the masses. For existing properties, 3D visualizations are increasingly becoming the standard – implementation is uncomplicated and can be adapted to the quality requirements of customers. Simply integrating tours of this kind on the property side is a long way from getting the maximum added value out of the models. In addition to digital appointments and visits via an integrated live stream, this solution can also be used to show the virtual furnishing of untidy or empty objects in 2D or 3D.
Of course, given the multitude of options, the customer must not be disregarded. The type of object visualization and its integration into the viewing process must be adapted to the target group using the appropriate medium (online portals, print advertisements, social media, website, posters, etc.).
As part of the renovation project of the Kongresshaus and Tonhalle Zurich, the latest technology has been installed, according to a communication from HKG Engineering . The company's Schlierem representative was entrusted with the electrical engineering. The challenge was to keep the original as much as possible, while new parts and additions were to be adapted to the existing stock.
Thanks to the renovation, the Kongresshaus, which opened in 1939, and the Tonhalle Zurich are now ready for the next 50 years. An area of 5300 square meters is available for events. There is space for 4500 visitors in the premises. The flexible space available means that various events such as specialist congresses or meetings can be held. According to HKG, the congress center is also climate neutral.
The major bank UBSand the Baloise insurer from Basel are entering into a strategic partnership. According to almost identical media releases, both are planning to merge their respective solutions and services for property owners.
The joint ecosystem Home & Living is to emerge from the Atrium and key4 mortgage platforms from UBS and Home from Baloise, which broadly covers the living and everyday needs of its customers. In addition, the partners intend to include existing and possible company holdings of both companies. In addition, they also express their intention to integrate the offers of various start-up companies.
"Baloise has in recent years greatly in expanding its ecosystem Home invested", is Yannick Hasler, Head of Retail Banking Baloise Switzerland, cited . "With the cooperation and investments in innovative Swiss start-ups such as Houzy , Devis , MOVU , Bubble Box or Batmaid , the foundation stone was laid for a service network that makes our customers' everyday lives easier."
With Atrium and key4, UBS laid the foundation for its platform business in Switzerland, says Sabine Magri, COO of UBS Switzerland AG. “The continuous expansion through partnerships with and investments in innovative start-ups and intermediaries is central to the further development of our ecosystem. The planned strategic partnership with Baloise is complementary, we can complement each other perfectly. "
The portal Die Deutsche Wirtschaft wants to award the innovation location in Switzerland, Germany and Austria for the year. Six locations were nominated for this. These are not cities, but rather universities, business development agencies or regions, for example. The goal is to find “exemplary examples of new thinking in various fields”, according to the portal's website.
The Greater Zurich Area is also among the nominees. It competes against KölnBusiness, Munich Urban Colab, Reutlingen INNOPORT, MCCI Innsbruck The Entrepreneurial University and d.velelop Campus Münsterland.
Anyone interested can vote for a location on the website of Die Deutsche Wirtschaft. The result of the vote will be communicated at the end of July. People who vote can win prizes.
The new building of the Biozentrum Basel is nearing completion. Jaisli-Xamax also made a contribution to this, as can be seen from a message from the Dietiker electrical company. In addition to the electrical installations, Jaisli-Xamax also took on work on the switchgear assemblies. The basic lighting is already installed. Jaisli-Xamax is currently still working on the special lighting. Different special lighting is installed for each room to enable research work under special lighting conditions. Jaisli-Xamax is also on the home stretch for the rest of the electrical work.
The new building for the University of Basel is a high-rise building 72 meters high. The 16 upper and three basement floors have a total of 23,000 square meters of usable space. After completion, 400 researchers will work there and 900 students will be trained. The first researchers have already moved into the building.
Whether renting or selling – the demand for visualization solutions in the real estate and construction industry is increasing noticeably. Depending on whether it is an existing property or a new construction project, different solutions are used. With the former, 360 ° tours are often used – increasingly interactive, with the latter often virtual reality solutions – adapted to the property and the target group.
Not every buyer or tenant can imagine an empty room furnished. This is where virtual home staging solutions help to make the sparks jump. With this tool, inexpensive condominiums or rental properties can also be designed in a visually appealing way and thus conveyed more quickly. Further solutions enable the virtual inspection of rooms that are yet to be built. Using stand-alone virtual reality glasses, planning errors can be seen virtually and thus avoided later. In addition, planned trades can be inspected together – for example with the client or architect. The "immersion" and actual experience of the premises gives security and a good feeling.
In addition, there are also complete virtual solutions on the market that digitally map different phases of the real estate cycle: from the outlined project vision and prototyping to visualization concepts for marketing and management.
You can find an overview of quality-checked visualization solutions here: https://proptechmarket.net/tools
The construction company Strabag Switzerland has been awarded the contract for the renovation of a road section in difficult terrain in the municipality of Küsnacht as well as the renewal of the gas, water and electrical lines of the local electricity supplier Werke am Zürichsee AG . According to the media release , the project will be digitally controlled from planning through construction to subsequent maintenance. For this purpose, so-called Building Information Modeling (BIM) is used. Strabag AG has been awarded the contract as general contractor. The start of construction is scheduled for the end of August and completion around October 2022, according to the announcement.
The renovation project of the municipality of Küsnacht on the upper part of the Schiedhaldensteig is considered difficult. There, on the one hand, the renovation work has to be done in a very narrow and steep traffic area and, on the other hand, the sewerage pipes have to be replaced.
BIM manager Stijepan Ljubicic from Strabag is quoted as saying that, on the one hand, “the construction site will be handled completely digitally” with regard to the use of BIM in the planning and implementation of the two construction projects. In addition to planning and execution, all work would be digitally documented and ultimately handed over to the client in a so-called as-built model. This data offers many advantages with regard to quality management, operation and maintenance as well as a planning basis for follow-up projects.
The technical division manager for traffic route construction east at Strabag, Michael Graber, is quoted as saying that one of the main criteria for the award was the company's digital performance. The contract confirms Strabag's own competence and specialist knowledge in the field of BIM.
The press release also gives facts about the construction. The excavation will make up 1,500 cubic meters, 240 meters of raw material will be laid. The road is being built over a distance of 750 meters, using 500 tons of rolled asphalt.
The canton of Solothurn supports the SoTech Network project, the network and training platform for MINT professions. The project was developed by the location promotion agency, the Solothurn Chamber of Commerce and sovision espace Solothurn and will enter the test phase at the beginning of 2022. (see standortsolothurn.so.ch )
Houzy continues to grow rapidly. As the PropTech start-up of the same name reports, the number of users of the platform has risen from 5,000 to 50,000 since the beginning of 2020. According to a press release, this growth is due to the strong need of homeowners for more transparency and well-founded information about their house or apartment.
Therefore, Houzy integrated a Switzerland-wide mortgage comparison in the first half of 2021. Other functions such as the plant manager, the neophyte checker and the solar calculator have been updated and expanded. At the same time, the development team has simplified and improved all tools, including the renewal fund analysis and the heating and renovation calculator.
From the available data and results, Houzy derives recommendations for planning any renovation work that is due or reminds them that it is time to change the windows. In addition, the Houzy network now has more than 700 craftsmen. To celebrate the milestone, the company is offering CHF 5,000 for a residential project as part of a competition.
With his dissertation, industrial engineer Daniel Kliem wants to create the basis for the recycling of building materials at the OST – Ostschweizer Fachhochschule, across cantons. As it is said in a media release, the “cantonal spirit” is a hindrance in the political process. If, for example, the price for mining gravel and dumping demolition and excavation is raised in one canton in order to provide incentives for recycling, the problem would only shift to other regions: “Dismantling material and excavation would then be transported to other cantons and new material would then drive from further away, ”said Kliem.
Now a participatively developed model wants to clarify the system dynamics. In addition to three OST institutes, experts from the Universities of St.Gallen and Bergen , the Zurich Office for Waste, Water, Energy and Air as well as Energy and Resource Management GmbH are involved in this four-year project. Despite the complex dynamics, it has already created a comprehensive understanding of the problem and has been able to identify actionable fields of action. For example, the processes and spatial planning measures would have to be redefined. In addition, construction-intensive cantons such as Zurich should be included and the taxation of resources should be regulated nationally.
"The realization that even experts can learn new things with models and gain new perspectives and inputs was exciting," Kliem is quoted as saying. “The obvious measure to increase the price of gravel is good and works. But if the catchment areas are included, the cooperation between cantons serves as a key to prevent additional transport. "
The corona pandemic has also posed challenges for the proptech industry, as a new report from Credit Suisse shows. Globally, for example, 25 percent less risk capital has flowed into such start-ups. However, the reluctance to invest has not left any major mark on the industry. Almost 80 percent of Proptechs were able to increase their number of employees in the past twelve months. Only 3 percent reported a decrease in the workforce. In addition, 87 percent expect a further increase in staff in the next twelve months.
Furthermore, only around 10 percent of proptechs suffered a setback in sales. In contrast, 80 percent were able to increase their sales during the Corona crisis. According to the report, the industry is aiming to double sales in 2021. In 2022 and 2023, too, higher sales growth is expected than in 2020.
Credit Suisse also looks at the Swiss proptech industry in the study. Accordingly, the number of proptechs active in Switzerland also increased last year. With over 320 companies, Switzerland has an extremely high density of proptechs in an international comparison, it is said.
However, the bank also points out that many proptechs with similar business models appear in the market. She assumes that not all companies will be able to position themselves successfully. Credit Suisse sees the quality of the management team and the scalability of the business model as the most important success factors of a Poptech.
According to the Gartner Hype Cycle, every new technology is initially subject to high or exaggerated expectations. After a “cycle of disappointment” follows a “phase of enlightenment”, from which solutions then arise at a realistically increasing level of productivity. Data science, robots and drones, virtual and augmented reality or artificial intelligence are just a few of these basic technologies. The blockchain is one of the last technological hype triggers. We will see promising developments and use cases in these areas over the next few years.
The challenge for a PropTech company is to develop a successful business model or product or service with the corresponding problem-solving potential and scalability from one of these basic technologies. In this context one often hears terms like SaaS or DSaaS. “Software as a Service” (SaaS) is a cloud service model in which applications and data are located in the cloud and thus on the PropTech provider's servers. With “Data Science as a Service” (DSaaS), the data supplied to the cloud is processed by the provider, analyzed using an algorithm and fed back to the customer as findings.
But this is only one side of the coin. The established companies in the real estate industry must also recognize the added value of these products and services and be prepared to pay for them. The driver for real estate entrepreneurs will certainly be the cost and efficiency side, but also or above all the needs of their customers. Anyone who aligns their business model to a megatrend – such as sustainability, big data or future work – is fundamentally not wrong here.
You can find out more about successful business models here: https://proptechmarket.net/loesungen
Thanks to a student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne ( EPFL ), the regularly necessary classification of land use is now much less time-consuming than before. According to a press release from the university, she has developed and trained her own machine learning algorithm that can not only distinguish forests from other types of land. Instead, Valérie Zermatten's algorithm also recognizes rivers, lakes, camping and sports fields, cemeteries, water treatment stations, public parks, airports and dams. This makes it clearly superior to the algorithm developed by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) called Areal Statistics Deep Learning, or ADELE for short.
The results produced by their program as part of a master’s thesis are similar to the official data published by the FSO. According to the announcement, this suggests that it could be used for land use classification in the future. The big advantage lies in the processing time for aerial photos, because their classification into around 40 different categories is still largely done by hand.
All of Switzerland is photographed from the air every three years. Because manual categorization takes so long, the results are only published every six years. With this mapping, land consumption can be better tracked, soil permeability can be monitored and urban sprawl can be combated.
“Our goal is not to replace humans with artificial intelligence,” says Devis Tuia, one of Zermatt's doctoral supervisors at EPFL. “Although Valérie's algorithm will reduce the amount of tedious work that has to be done manually.” But even then there is still enough for people to do – for example, to recognize whether it is a house or a school, a football field or a football field Wiese act.
A lot of capital is currently flowing into startups. In 2020, over CHF 2 billion flowed into Swiss start-ups. Across Europe, more than 500 million euros per year have recently been invested in startups dedicated to digitizing the real estate industry (source: Swiss Venture Capital Report 2021, European PropTech Trends 2020). In addition to professional venture capital companies, it is increasingly corporate investors and business angels who want to cut a piece of the (PropTech) pie here. This is due, on the one hand, to the situation on the financial markets – keyword negative interest rates – but on the other hand it is certainly also due to the digital transformation and the efforts of companies to secure appropriate product know-how in the company.
But how does a startup actually define itself? Not every young entrepreneur is automatically a startup entrepreneur. According to the definition of the Swiss Startup Radar, a scalable business model and ambitious growth plans must be in place and the focus must also be on international sales markets. The business model is based on a science and technology-based approach and a focus on innovation. Last but not least: the donors are return-oriented, their investments should pay off.
Funding generally takes place in different financing rounds. Depending on the development stage, one speaks of seed investments, Series A and Series B financing rounds for the early phases, Series C, D, E, etc. for the later stages – until a possible exit follows at some point, for example through an IPO or the sale to a large investor. An exit is, so to speak, an indicator of the “maturity” of a startup ecosystem and is important for the system’s own dynamism: it produces selling (previous) investors and founders who, in turn, reinvest in new startups or re-establish startups.
Wir verwenden Cookies zur Unterstützung und Verbesserung unserer Dienste. Mit der Nutzung dieser Website erklären Sie sich mit der Verwendung von Cookies einverstanden. Weitere Informationen finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
