immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Category: Vorschau

  • Strüby Unternehmungen receives first certificate for realised Minergie site

    Strüby Unternehmungen receives first certificate for realised Minergie site

    Energy efficiency, energy self-sufficiency and heat protection are currently major issues and will become even more important in the future. Since 2023, not just a single house, but an entire site can be certified by Minergie, meaning that the surrounding area can also be increasingly included in the planning of residential construction projects. On 2 September 2024, the “Fischermätteli” in Burgdorf BE received the first definitive site certificate from Minergie in Switzerland and thus reached a new level in sustainable construction.

    Label with high requirements
    The new, comprehensive Minergie site standard is supported by the Minergie Association, the cantons, the business community and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. The Minergie site is characterised by very low energy consumption, minimised greenhouse gas emissions during construction and operation and maximum self-sufficiency with renewable energies. The buildings have above-average heat insulation and controlled air exchange. The design of the outdoor space increases climate resilience and the quality of stay, for example through suitable planting and shading. The Minergie site also incentivises climate-friendly mobility.

    Over 6600m3 of Swiss wood
    The Fischermätteli residential construction project was successfully completed by Strüby Unternehmungen in autumn 2023 after a construction period of around three and a half years. The ten apartment blocks with a total of 168 condominiums were built on a former commercial site in Burgdorf BE. They were built using over 6600m3 of Swiss timber, making “Fischermätteli” the largest project in Switzerland to combine the Minergie-A-ECO standard and Swiss timber.

    Climate-friendly environmental design

    One hundred per cent of the energy for the entire site comes from renewable sources: the electricity from the photovoltaic systems on the building roofs, the heat for heating and hot water from a heating centre supplied with Swiss pellets. The finely meshed mobility concept focuses on electromobility, car sharing, bicycles and public transport. A co-working space promotes working from home and thus indirectly relieves traffic congestion. In addition, the climate-friendly environmental design based on the sponge city principle ensures natural and efficient cooling in summer and makes the “Fischermätteli” a hotspot of biodiversity thanks to the countless native plants.

    Success thanks to a climate-friendly overall concept
    Pius Kneubühler, Managing Director Real Estate Development & Construction at Strüby Unternehmungen, can confirm that the climate-friendly overall concept in line with the Minergie site standard pays off not only for the residents, but also for the investor. “The success has already manifested itself in the marketing of the condominiums. Demand was so pleasing that all flats were sold by the time construction was completed.”

  • Limmattal should actively shape its urbanisation

    Limmattal should actively shape its urbanisation

    Urbanist Thomas Sevcik assumes that the region between Schlieren and Turgi will increasingly become a city. In his publication “Limmattalstadt – Impulse für die Region entlang der Limmat” (Limmat Valley City – Impulses for the Region along the Limmat), he proposes to shape this urbanisation “actively and strategically”. “The Limmattal city will come anyway. But we should make it as good as we can,” he writes.

    Among other things, Sevcik proposes so-called neo-areas. These should close gaps between settlement areas. For example, a campus on part of the marshalling yard could offer space for a Hochschule Limmat, a computer centre, but also a congress and entertainment centre. A new residential quarter could be built between Neuenhof and Killwangen, and a future-oriented quarter for new forms of living and working in the Tägerhard to the east of Wettingen. In the Hard in Siggenthal, too, a new district could combine work, living and leisure.

    Sevcik points out that the Limmat has so far had little presence in the region. He suggests upgrading the river landscape in Dietikon to a riviera.

    Economically, the future Limmat Valley city should rely on its strengths in applied technology and design, logistics and trade, as well as medtech and biotech. Mobility in the region should be facilitated by the extension of the Limmattalbahn, the use of the railway line between Dättwil and Wettingen, cable cars and the bicycle network. Sevcik also proposes a take-off site for vertical take-off electric helicopters at the Würenlos motorway service station.

    Sevcik developed the strategy ideas on the initiative of the Limmatstadt Location Promotion Agency and presented them at the general meeting of Limmatstadt AG on 15 August. 20 companies, mainly from the region, supported the project. The publication can be ordered digitally.

  • Energetic refurbishments: Whitepaper part 2 now available

    Energetic refurbishments: Whitepaper part 2 now available

    Links to download:
    Whitepaper 1 “Energy-related refurbishment as an opportunity”
     Whitepaper 2 “Energy-related refurbishment as an opportunity”
    Practical example: Innovation behind a historic facade on Zurich’s Bahnhofstrasse

    Energetic refurbishments are relevant
    Buildings in Switzerland are responsible for around a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions – in particular due to the use of fossil fuels and poorly insulated buildings. In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, the remediation rate must be at least doubled. Energetic refurbishments hold great potential to increase energy efficiency, conserve resources and reduce marketing risks. Since around 40% of the apartments in Germany are owned by institutional owners, they play a key role in reducing environmental and climate pollution.

    Legal framework and funding
    The federal climate strategy and the Energy Strategy 2050 form the framework for energy-efficient refurbishments; implementation is the responsibility of the cantons. Sustainable energy solutions are financially supported by the Confederation, cantons and municipalities. For example, the federal government promotes the construction of photovoltaic systems and supports efficiency measures to reduce electricity consumption. With the building program, the Confederation and the cantons are helping to finance measures to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

    Basis for decision-making through analyses
    Portfolio, status and potential analyzes show energy saving potential and options for switching to a renewable energy supply. With a life cycle analysis or the life cycle costs, the environmental impact and the economic impact over the life cycle of a building can be determined. National and international labels such as GEAK, GEAK Plus, Minergie and SNBS or DGNB, LEED or BREEAM can also be used for quality assurance.

    Determine remediation strategy, measures and timing
    The condition of the building fabric and criteria such as market and expansion potential are decisive for the choice of strategy (complete or partial renovation with or without expansion). When it comes to building technology, the focus is on switching from fossil-fuelled systems to renewable ones. At best, the production of solar power with the inclusion of electromobility is also an option. Energy service providers such as ewz have suitable tools to exploit potential savings in energy management. It is advisable to combine energetic refurbishments with modernization measures that are already planned and a replacement heating system with a building envelope refurbishment.

    Refurbish the building envelope and building technology
    Since around 20% of energy losses are caused by an uninsulated roof, roof renovation is very effective. Older windows have a heat loss of around 8%, which is why replacing them quickly pays off. If the facade is insufficiently insulated, this can result in losses of up to 30%. However, comprehensive facade renovations are often complex and expensive.

    Climate-friendly energy sources such as lake, river or ground water, geothermal energy, wood, air, sun or waste heat can be used either as individual solutions or via heat networks for heating and cooling. If electricity is produced with a photovoltaic system, as much of it as possible should be consumed on site. A merger for self-consumption (ZEV) and the charging of electric vehicles contribute to the profitability of photovoltaic systems.

    Advice from experts
    With many years of experience, ewz advises builders throughout Switzerland on renovations and offers them comprehensive support from planning through implementation to operation. The specialists check which local and climate-friendly energy sources and technologies are available on site and how these can be combined.

    ewz energy solutions
    Locations in Zurich | Sils (GR) | role
    ewz.ch/energy-solutions