immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Arbeitsplatz

  • Expansion of the company site for future growth

    Expansion of the company site for future growth

    HKG, a company specialising in building technology and energy consulting based in Aarau, is moving to new premises in Baden. From 1 March 2026, it will be operating from its site at Täfernstrasse 14a in the Dättwil district of Baden. HKG is currently still looking for additional employees for the new location, as detailed in a press release. The new offices are described as a “state-of-the-art workplace with light, space and a feel-good atmosphere” as well as a “workplace of the future” with a roof terrace, focus zones and modern infrastructure.

    Founded in 1978, Herzog Kull Group Holding operates in various fields of electrical engineering. These include electrical engineering, building automation, building IT and security, as well as consulting, energy, digitalisation and overall planning. While Herzog Kull Group Holding is headquartered in Rotkreuz, companies belonging to the group such as HKG Engineering and HKG Consulting are based in Aarau.

  • Mobile office brings coworking to the countryside and the water

    Mobile office brings coworking to the countryside and the water

    Coworking provider Westhive from Zurich and AMAG are jointly realising an idea for mobile working in modern vintage double-decker buses, according to a press release. These have been converted into express buses and transformed into mobile workstations with a coffee bar, WLAN and power connections.

    Interested parties can book the mobile office via the Airbnb platform. The innovative offer will initially be available in Switzerland and will later be expanded internationally as part of Airbnb’s “global Live & Work Anywhere programme”.

    “Westhive Express brings the office on wheels – mobile, flexible and everywhere where there was previously no coworking offer,” it says. According to Andreas Widmer, co-founder of Westhive, the form of work stands for “freedom and movement”.

    The Westhive Express bridges the gap between classic mobility and modern working culture with a concept that is reminiscent of outdoor cafés. “In front of the bus, small tables with parasols invite you to take a creative break in the countryside – be it on the lakeshore, at a festival or in a rural community,” it says.

    For Philipp Wetzel, Managing Director AMAG Corporate Development, Innovation & Venture LAB, quoted in the press release, mobility, hospitality and productive work are combined as a “logical development of the digital lifestyle”.

    According to the press release, the first Westhive express bus will soon set off on its maiden voyage. Further mobile units are being planned.

  • Vision for sustainable technology centre takes shape

    Vision for sustainable technology centre takes shape

    FlexBase intends to realise its new technology centre in line with the plans already presented. According to a press release, the technology company has secured the ERNE Group, also based in Laufenburg, as general contractor. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025. An updated planning application has been submitted to the relevant authorities.

    The technology centre is to be built on the former Swissgrid site. The centrepiece will be a new building opposite the existing building. In addition to many research facilities, a data centre with capacities for the use of artificial intelligence is to be built there. FlexBase also plans to build a 20,000 square metre battery storage facility with a capacity of more than 500 megawatts on the site. According to the press release, the non-flammable and non-explosive storage facility is the “world’s largest and most modern battery storage facility of its kind”. The construction of the new technology centre will create several hundred jobs for skilled workers and apprenticeships.

    According to the press release, Marcel Aumer, CEO of the FlexBase Group, does not anticipate a delay in construction despite the relaunch of the project. He justifies this view with the close collaboration with ERNE: “In this project, I have not only experienced ERNE’s expertise right from the start, but also the full attention of the top management.” The CEO of ERNE, Giuseppe Santagada, is also optimistic: “My personal commitment goes far beyond the realisation of this project; it also includes the promotion of new technological skills and increasing the attractiveness of Laufenburg as a location for the vision of a prosperous region”.

  • Do we already have the office of the future?

    Do we already have the office of the future?

    The pandemic has triggered a change in the world of work and a rethinking of the choice of workplace. The transformation is still underway: Should there be more workplaces in open-plan offices and fewer fixed workplaces? Or does the future lie in small-scale workplace units such as the individual office? Which working models will prevail? The ideas and expectations of employers and employees are numerous. The Steiner Office Barometer 2022, which was conducted for the second time last spring, provides insights into the challenges of office space today and tomorrow.

    Changing workplace models
    The digitalisation of society and the business world – accelerated by the pandemic – places new demands on the interaction between technology and office space. According to the Steiner Office Barometer 2022, 27% of respondents expect workplaces to be geared towards new working models. 64% of those with workplaces in companies with more than 250 employees think that this has already happened. This means that almost half of all respondents work in new work models. This result confirms that the transformation is more advanced in larger companies.

    Adapted office environments
    Large companies with 250 or more employees in particular have adapted to the new situation and realigned office space – especially in western Switzerland, where office space has been reduced most significantly. It can be seen that acceptance of new workplace models is highest where experience has already been gained with open-plan offices.
    For more than one in ten respondents (13%), fixed workplaces have already been abolished and flexible workplace models introduced. Among other things, new retreats for video conferences have been created. Younger employees and people with jobs in the city or agglomeration are increasingly affected by such changes.

    Fixed versus flexible workplace
    63% of respondents still want a fixed workplace (single office or office with several workstations). The results indicate that although many employees do not want to do without a home office, they do not want to compromise on office comfort. About half (52%) could imagine flexible single offices and another 43% flexible workplaces in an open-plan office. About a third (32%) would be willing to do without a workstation in the office altogether.

    Retreat and communal spaces are in demand
    A work environment that meets the need for concentrated work is in demand. This takes the form of separate rooms (66%) or individual offices (64%) that can be used as needed. Video conferencing rooms are considered important by 60%.

    When it comes to the design of the working environment, 62% want rooms for spontaneous exchange, and 43% would welcome more meeting rooms. Spontaneous exchange is more important than planned exchange. As much as most respondents appreciate home offices, they also seek social contact with colleagues. That is why a workplace in a central location with good public transport connections remains the first choice.

    The boundaries between working time and free time seem to be becoming increasingly blurred. As a consequence, companies need to create new quiet zones for their employees. The results of the Steiner Office Barometer confirm the desire for places of retreat within one’s own office premises. Spaces for concentrated work are desired. We are living in a new age of work-life blending, where business and private increasingly merge and new, flexible working models are therefore required.

    Steiner AG has recognised this and organised an internal competition on the topic of the “working world of the future”. The three winning concepts capture the spirit of the times: healthy lifestyle with a lot of added value, merging work and private life, self-realisation, living out creativity and exchanging ideas with like-minded people.

    It remains to be seen where the trends will develop further. The geopolitical situation, socio-demographic changes, globalisation and the increasing integration of digital technologies influence the trends and determine the pace of change in the world of work as well. Find out how these and other megatrends may affect our society and the office of the future in the latest Steiner AG blog posts.

  • Switzerland attracts more foreign companies

    Switzerland attracts more foreign companies

    The location promotion of the Confederation, regions and cantons can look back on another positive year, explains the Conference of Cantonal Economics Directors ( VDK ) in a statement . Once a year, it compiles statistics on the number of new foreign companies settling in Switzerland. According to the latest VDK survey, a total of 282 foreign companies settled in Switzerland in 2021. This exceeded the previous year's figure by 62 settlements.

    The jobs created by the settled companies in the first year of operation increased year-on-year by 20 percent to 1396 jobs. With 3566 jobs forecast for the third year of operation, the high level of 2020 could be maintained, writes the VDK.

    Most of the companies that came to Switzerland in the year under review are active in the life sciences and ICT sectors. In terms of origin, around half of the new settlements come from the USA, Germany and France.

    The focus on future technologies set in the current strategy 2020-2023 of the national location promotion has proven itself so far, the VDK explains further in the communication. She also emphasizes the "successful cooperation" between the official Swiss organization for export promotion and location promotion, Switzerland Global Enterprise , and its representations abroad, which are run as Swiss Business Hubs, with the regions and cantons. According to the VDK, this cooperation is organized in such a way "that the Swiss location can be optimally marketed abroad as 'Team Switzerland'".