Tag: Baubranche

SJA-Holding secures the long-term direction of the most important industry award

The most important annual event for outstanding achievements in the Swiss construction and real estate industry, the Real Estate Award, has been secured for the long term. The company of the same name is being taken over by the owner-managed SJA-Holding based in Rapperswil. The investment company focuses primarily on financing, development, project management and services in the real estate sector, as well as IT services and digitalisation projects.

“We are very proud that we can secure the independence and long-term development of this most important industry event in Switzerland with our commitment,” says SJA owner Serge Aerne. “The Real Estate Award is something like the Oscar for top performance in the construction and real estate industry. This motivated us to answer the call of the founders, who were willing to sell, to take over the event. Over the past ten years, they have made the award what it is today. They deserve respect and thanks for that!”

The founders, Miran Mislovic and André Spathelf, are also satisfied. “We are very happy that we have found the right partners in SJA-Holding and in Serge Aerne. The solution found guarantees that the Real Estate Award will continue to be independent, innovative and pioneering.”

Mara Schlumpf will take over the management as of 1 April 2023. She is currently still working as a journalist and head of print/online at “Südostschweiz” in Chur. Previously, she was Head of Events at the Aargauer “Landanzeiger”.

This year, co-founder Miran Mislovic is still responsible for the organisation of the 11th edition, which is already in full swing. It will take place in the usual setting on 21 June 2023 at the Mövenpick Hotel in Zurich-Regensdorf. Innovative ideas and concepts can now be submitted in one of the five categories. An independent jury of experts and a public vote will judge the applications. “We want to stick to this system because it guarantees the highest degree of independence,” says Serge Aerne. However, with a view to the future, it is planned to include further categories such as sustainability or innovative forms of financing in order to better reflect the dynamic development of the industry.

Applications for 2023 can be submitted at www.realestateaward.ch

February 2023
The industry is hungry for change

The Branch was founded in 2020. What exactly is the association and what does it do?
W.S. Seidel: The Branch is a non-profit association that develops new processes and solutions for the further development and increased productivity of the construction and real estate industry and thus promotes the transformation of the industry. The association is broadly based: on the one hand, among its members – organisations from the entire sector, private and public building owners, entrepreneurs, planners, logistics experts and IT specialists. On the other hand, at the level of federal policy: The Branch aims to contribute to the implementation of the goals set by the Federal Council in its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in its 2050 Energy Strategy.

What are the goals of The Branch?
Y.Körber: The Branch is committed to process-related and integrated cooperation within the construction industry. The industry today is very discipline-based, sometimes almost with blinkers. People think mainly in phases, and there is a conspicuous separation between planning and execution. However, cross-disciplinary cooperation would be enormously important. By this we mean, for example, that the different players work together much more closely from the beginning, and that the execution is already taken into account much earlier in the planning. We are working intensively to establish integrated models in the market and to develop basic principles, solutions and answers. Ultimately, this should also lead to more productivity and innovation as well as better results.

St. Zanetti: We want to use concrete projects to show that new models work. We want to build up a rich inventory of tried and tested instruments. In addition, we organise events where we discuss practice-related questions with the participants.

How does the cooperation within the association work?
St. Zanetti: The association is currently organised in eight working groups, which are composed dynamically and deal with different assignments in different subject areas. One of the working groups, for example, deals with the question of how to improve the handling of data in construction projects. We are currently in the process of creating templates, for example for the legally compliant exchange of data. Such templates can save a lot of effort because not every company has to reinvent the wheel.

How will the success of The Branch be measured in the long term?
Y. Körber: In the changes that take place in the construction industry.Körber: By the changes we can create in the industry: more innovation, more sustainability, a very concrete change in culture. We can also see that our idea is well received from the growth of the association – in the first three years we have gained over 500 members in German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland and our board of directors comprises almost 20 people. This also shows that the industry is hungry for change.

The topic of grey energy and the circular economy is currently very present. What role does it play at The Branch?
W.S. Seidel: This is one of our core topics. Finding a better way of dealing with grey energy and making building projects more sustainable is only possible through innovation. And innovation needs collective know-how – and thus the cooperation of different disciplines at an early stage.

St. Zanetti: In the end, you will only be able to achieve a sustainable real estate industry if you think in integrated cycles. Because only then will we know what has happened, what has been built and what emissions are produced. The sustainability goals of the Federal Council can also only be achieved with an integrated view.

What significance does digitalisation have for The Branch?
St. Zanetti: Only when we are on the move in an integrated way can we as an industry optimally use and exploit technologies. Digitalisation then in turn supports integrated cooperation. When using technologies, the compatibility of different software and technologies is central. For example, we are dealing with the question of how the interfaces of the systems of different players and in different phases look and how companies must select their software so that data continuity is guaranteed. We also want to set standards for the industry in this area.
The criticism of proptech companies is often that they do not know the needs of the industry and only provide individual pieces of the puzzle.

Y. Körber: One of the big challenges for young proptech companies is precisely this fragmented and non-integrated process view in the construction industry. This makes it difficult for start-ups to develop scalable solutions. They develop a solution for one project – and everything is supposed to look different again for the next one. The work of The Branch will also lead to standardisation in this area and make it easier for young companies to develop suitable solutions.

One question in conclusion: Why are you personally on the board?
St.Zanetti: I find it exciting to advance topics in a pragmatic format with people from the most diverse companies using very concrete practical examples.

Y.Körber: I am fascinated by the fact that The Branch shapes innovation and makes it accessible to everyone. The real estate industry is an important pillar of the Swiss economy – our approach therefore serves not only at industry level, but also at national level. That’s what I like to be involved in.

W.S.Seidel: I am on the board in order to further develop the conflict-laden situation between the various players in the construction industry, as a result of which a lot of added value is lost, into a proactive production and cooperation-promoting culture in the long term, from which everyone benefits.

Wolf S. Seidel is a lawyer and a proven expert in construction, planning and real estate law. The practical, legal design of integrated project development models is a focus of his current studies and work. He is involved in various committees and organisations that make collaborative and process-optimised forms of realisation available in practice, particularly for Swiss building owners – both public and private.

Yvette Körber is co-founder of several companies, including Amberg Loglay AG. She has been working successfully in the construction industry for several years and helps the industry to become more efficient with smart and digital construction logistics. She is involved in “The Branch” with the Design Build and Ordering Competence groups.

Stefan Zanetti has spun off several spin-offs from ETH Zurich; most recently Allthings Technologies AG, an integration and orchestration platform for the real estate industry that seamlessly links numerous systems. He is involved in various committees for a permeable and seamlessly networkable software landscape in the real estate industry in Switzerland and Europe, and is also a regular lecturer on various CAS and MAS training courses.

December 2022
Material prices dampen growth in the construction industry

More is being built in Switzerland again: In the second quarter of 2022, sales in the main construction trades rose by around 6 percent year-on-year to CHF 6.1 billion. Incoming orders meanwhile increased by 12 percent to 6.4 billion Swiss francs. The figures come from the current construction index of Credit Suisse and the Swiss Builders' Association ( SBV ).

However, according to the report, the growth will be put into perspective by the “sharp price increases” for many building materials and a “significant increase” in energy and transport costs. For example, the prices of probation bars have risen by 87 percent and those of plastic pipes by 19 percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, diesel was around 45 percent more expensive in the second quarter of 2022 than a year ago.

Because sales have risen less than costs, the already low profit margin of 2 to 3 percent has now fallen even further, according to the report. In addition, the SBV expects the Swiss National Bank to raise interest rates further by the end of the year. As a result, sales in the main construction trades are likely to grow more slowly in the medium to long term. In the short term, the report assumes an 8.9 percent increase in sales in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

August 2022
Oracle adds new analytics capabilities to Smart Construction Platform

In construction, it's difficult to leverage data across applications to effectively diagnose problems, predict risk, and plan future actions. To address this challenge, Oracle today announced Oracle Construction Intelligence Cloud Analytics. The new solution combines data from Oracle Smart Construction Platform applications to give builders and contractors a comprehensive understanding of performance throughout their operations. With these insights, organizations can quickly identify and resolve issues and find ways to continually improve project planning, construction, and facility operations.
"You can't manage what you can't measure," said Roz Buick, senior vice president of product, strategy and marketing at Oracle Construction and Engineering. “The new Oracle Construction Intelligence Cloud Analytics offering combined with the Smart Construction Platform's predictive intelligence engine and shared data environment gives our customers a deeper, holistic understanding of their performance. Now they can create unique data strategies that drive competitive differentiation. In this way, the construction industry will achieve Six Sigma accuracy, which is already found in other parts of the industry and in manufacturing today.”
The Smart Construction Platform brings together capabilities from Oracle Construction and Engineering applications and third-party solutions in a common data environment with an enhanced user experience. The platform makes it easier for builders and contractors to collaborate to improve decision-making across organizations. Oracle is introducing the new analytics solution and other platform updates today at the Oracle Industry Lab in Deerfield, Illinois.
“We are increasingly focused on finding new and better ways to use our data so we can gain further insights into project performance and risk,” said Brian Neal, project manager at Rudolph Libbe Inc. “The connection and the combining of data for analysis will provide the most comprehensive insight into our operations and help us understand trends in our business. It also allows us to find ways to streamline the delivery of projects to our customers.”
Smart Construction Platform: people, processes and data in harmony
The Smart Construction Platform brings together the core applications, processes and data building owners and contractors need to collaborate across project and asset lifecycles. This includes portfolio planning, bidding/tendering processes, contracts, schedules, project documents, as well as Building Information Model (BIM) collaboration, on-site activities, costs and payments. With the new unified experience, shared data environment, and cross-application interoperability, users can easily switch between applications and datasets while working on a single project. By synchronizing activities, resources, and data throughout each project and asset, the platform helps teams from different disciplines work towards the same goal with the same information.
For example, the planning and project management capabilities sync design and site teams against a master plan, providing insight into both a unified schedule and the task data needed to get the right work done in the right place at the right time. So, should the date of an HVAC installation change due to an issue in the supply chain, the project manager will automatically receive the updated schedule information and can coordinate any necessary adjustments for the affected teams.
In addition, the platform provides investment planners with accurate, timely data on project forecasts so they can coordinate with managers on budget requirements and adjust them as strategic priorities change. For example, inflation doubles the cost of the materials needed for a project. The project manager can pass these new actual amounts and forecasts to the planner, who can then make timely changes to the portfolio.
The platform continuously learns and gets smarter using machine learning, so it considers past actions to highlight potential risks and support more informed decision-making. Oracle offers its customers a variety of networked functions. This includes:
• Provide project managers with up-to-date schedule data so teams can align with planned delivery dates and other schedule requirements.
• Joint planning (CPM schedule) with site teams (task plan) to minimize wasted time and resources.
• Capital planning and project execution teams can share budget and actual cost data so both teams can confidently adapt to different situations as the project progresses.
• Automatically store completed bid/request packages, as well as approved invoices and other payment materials, in company document registries.
• Transparency for all stakeholders to jointly track progress, identify and mitigate risks, and efficiently manage changes throughout the supply chain.
"Thanks to Oracle, we are improving coordination, transparency and control during project development," said Weronika Nowak, document control and IT manager at Mayflower Wind. “The ability to further connect our teams, processes and data across applications and all project phases increases efficiency. It also provides our staff with the information they need to easily manage change as we work to deploy critical energy assets.”

August 2022
Werkarena Basel: NOMEN EST OMEN

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In spring 2022, the commercial area on Neudorfstrasse in Basel’s St. Johann district came to life with the first companies moving in. Before that, in November 2021, a public kick-off event took place in the premises, which were still in the basic construction at the time: around 60 representatives from politics and business took part in the event and were enthusiastic. However, it took a while for that to happen. After the government council granted the building permit in 2013, the architecture team led by Markus Kägi and Thomas Schnabel won the 2014 competition put out by the municipality. The municipal trade association was involved as a partner in the processes right from the start, and the relevant companies were supposed to appear together as investors. But this plan didn’t work out. Invited project developers were able to present their ideas. Steiner AG prevailed against well-known competitors. Construction work on the factory arena began in 2019, and the shell was completed in March 2021.

An appeal to the future
The triangular, 4316 square meter lot of the business park is located in the north of Basel and directly on the French-Swiss border with St. Louis. The Rhine flows further to the east. The port of St. Johann existed there until 2009, which was then transformed into a waterfront promenade. It showed that industry has a long tradition in the district of the same name. Today, however, ship traffic no longer dominates and the newly settled sectors are more colourful: in the immediate vicinity of Neudorfstrasse there is sometimes the gambling industry or a hotel, but also the premises of a meat and poultry producer or the customs office. The location is ideal for high-emission traders. They have increasingly left the city in recent years because their noisy productions were no longer tolerated in many places. Now they are benefiting again, also in other areas: In addition to the connections to Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Airport and the St. Johann through station, the motorway makes trinational long-distance traffic possible. Finally, a fast connection to Basel city center is guaranteed from the Werkarena by car, bus and soon also by tram. The building has a total of 244 parking spaces for employees and visitors.

Architecture with silent references
The architectural appearance of the Werkarena is reminiscent of Erich Mendelsohn’s (1887–1953) department store Schocken in Chemnitz, which was completed in 1930. This example of new building caused a sensation at the time as a kind of horizontally layered composition with careful materialization. The structure of the façade of the Werkarena is only broken up towards Neudorfstrasse on the first three floors. The ground floor and first floor have 10 meter wide galleries that can be driven on. These floors are particularly suitable for commercial companies with a large logistics or production share. The connection to the outside space, i.e. to the street, is provided here intelligently and across floors by the element of the ramp. With a room height of 3.47 to 4.37 meters, they stand out visually from the other four floors, which are 2.95 and 3 meters high. At the same time, they give the building volume a visually refreshing depth. There, the pillars, which are arranged at regular intervals, also set a vertical counterpoint to the horizontal rows of windows from the third floor upwards.

No marketplace of vanities
With a usable area of 19,300 square meters, the business park is intended to appeal to small and medium-sized companies. Various tenants are already on board and will move into the complex with their offices after completion. They should benefit from each other through the direct proximity and thus also from the vision of the Werkarena – the focus is on a so-called ecosystem, i.e. close (technical) cooperation between the various companies, the use of synergies and a transfer of know-how. Nathalia Szydlowski, Managing Director of Tandemworks GmbH, was enthusiastic at the kick-off event in November 2021: Her company started as a start-up and has now established itself in the construction industry. This rise also has something to do with co-working spaces, because the existing infrastructure and all the accompanying programs have always allowed her to concentrate on her core business. Now Nathalia Szydlowski wants to continue her success story in the Werkarena – this also offers services such as telephone and postal services and various shared facilities, such as office, meeting and conference rooms or catering areas that can be used collectively. Stefan Gabriel, who heads the development team at Steiner AG in Basel, adds: “Right from the start, our concept was aimed at developing a flexible and site-specific product for the highly competitive Basel commercial and office market.”

July 2022
Eberli erhöht Lehrstellenplätze

Eberli will sich stärker in der Ausbildung engagieren. Dazu will das Gesamtdienstleistungsunternehmen in der Bau- und Immobilienbranche der Zentralschweiz mit Sitz im Kanton Obwalden die Zahl seiner Lehrstellen erhöhen, informiert Eberli in einer entsprechenden Mitteilung. Konkret sollen in diesem und im nächsten Jahr jeweils ab Sommer zwei Auszubildende eine Lehre im kaufmännischen Bereich (KV EFZ Profil E) beginnen können.

Interessierte können sich an Schnuppertagen einen Einblick in das Berufsbild und die Ausbildung bei Eberli beschaffen. Der nächste dieser Schnuppertage stehe am 4. Mai an, informiert Eberli.

Hier erhalten die potenziellen Bewerber und Bewerberinnen eine Einführung in die Aufgaben eines KV-Lernenden und Antworten auf ihre entsprechenden Fragen. Gleichzeitig haben sie die Möglichkeit, sich vor Ort ein persönliches Bild zu machen und Lernende und Mitarbeitenden von Eberli kennenzulernen. Ein Formular für die Anmeldung zum Schnuppertag kann online ausgefüllt werden.

April 2022
Switzerland launches building education offensive

The shortage of skilled workers in the construction and real estate industry is to be remedied. To this end, the Swiss “Building Education Offensive” has now been launched. The starting event will take place on January 20 at 4 p.m. and will be streamed live. According to a press release from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy , a “roadmap with 32 measures and four fields of action” will be presented.

Ultimately, the building sector in Switzerland should make a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. To do this, “hundreds of thousands of fossil-based heating systems would have to be replaced by renewable ones, a large number of buildings would have to be renovated in terms of energy, intelligent control systems would have to be installed and the power supply of the buildings would have to be completely converted to renewable energies”. However, there is already a shortage of skilled workers. At the same time, the number of those who decide to do an apprenticeship in this industry is declining.

The education offensive was developed by all relevant representatives of the building and education sector. They were supported by EnergieSchweiz , the Swiss Federal Office of Energy’s program for renewable energy and energy efficiency. The State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation , the Federal Office for the Environment and the State Secretariat for Migration were also involved.

January 2022
Steel profiles from demolished objects should live on

Representatives of the Swiss steel and construction industry have formed an alliance for the recycling of used steel profiles in construction. According to a press release, representatives of the Swiss Steel Construction Center , the Christoph Merian Foundation , the Federal Materials Testing and Research Institute ( Empa ), the Empa research and innovation building NEST and the Eawag water research institute met in situ at a round table in November , ZPF Ingenieure , Madaster and Sumami and decided to jointly promote the recyclability of steel profiles in Switzerland. The project team Purchasing Compass Recycling Management and the Metal suisse industry association were invited to the round table. The aim is to better understand the potential of steel profiles in the circular economy and to make it practicable.

A car park in Basel belonging to the Christoph Merian Foundation that is being demolished is to serve as a prototype project. According to the announcement, the construction office in situ, which has already implemented projects in this context, is supporting this. It is now being investigated how the dismantling of the steel profiles in the parking garage can succeed, where the steel profiles are reinserted and where they can be stored in the meantime. Steel profiles are considered to be particularly recyclable because they can be expanded in their existing form and usually integrated directly into new buildings. There is no loss of material or quality and no energy is required for melting or reshaping.

Through this energy saving, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced directly during construction. The direct reuse of building materials without recycling represents the greatest lever in reducing emissions in the construction industry. In addition to steel profiles, concrete, facade elements, windows or doors can also be reused.

December 2021
ConReal wants to digitize interior design

ConReal Swiss has set itself the goal of breaking up “the old structures of the construction and real estate industry”, explains the proptech start-up from Winterthur in a press release . “We want to make the construction industry fairer, more transparent and more efficient,” said co-founder and board member Christoph Meili. “We would also like to give small and medium-sized companies access to data and digital tools.”

In order to achieve this, ConReal relies on the networking of actors in the construction and real estate industry. The young company itself offers digital and analog services in the real estate sector. ConReal wants to build a comprehensive marketplace in interior design. In a first step, the company’s current marketplace for the bathroom will be repositioned, the company writes. Habitects is to appear under the ConReal brand.

The transfer will create a digital marketplace for bathroom remodeling, explains ConReal. Homeowners can choose their style there and have an individual concept drawn up with a target price. As a result, a 3D model of the project is created and a craftsman is entrusted with a feasibility study and a final offer. The desired articles can also be ordered via the marketplace.

ConReal believes that everyone involved could benefit from the combination of traditional handicrafts and physical products with new digital tools. The start-up plans to expand the platform to other categories. The communication mentions the kitchen and flooring.

October 2021
BKW Building Solutions is strengthening itself with takeovers

BKW Building Solutions AG buys Aerovent Crissier SA and Aerovent Service SA. With the takeover, the subsidiary of the BKW Group is expanding its competencies in the areas of ventilation, air conditioning and service in western Switzerland, according to a media release .

Aerovent Crissier SA is based in Crissier VD. Aerovent Service SA is based in Villars-Ste-Croix VD. With around 40 employees, they work in the fields of building and house technology. The owner of both companies, José del Castillo, as well as co-owner and co-manager Pascal Baudois will remain with the companies.

“Thanks to their extensive know-how of building technology solutions for smaller conversions through to large administrative, industrial, commercial and school complexes, the two companies have great potential for further development – especially in the service area,” says in the press release.

In addition to engineering and infrastructure services, BKW Building Solutions is one of three service groups of the energy services company BKW. BKW Building Solutions offers building technology, automation and IT services across the country.

September 2021
Holcim wants to strengthen water resources and biodiversity

According to its own statements, Holcim is the first company in the construction industry to commit itself to measurable positive effects on biodiversity and more ecological water management. At the same time, the group wants to bring more nature into the cities.

According to a press release , Holcim aims to reduce the water intensity in all product lines by 2030. A reduction of 33 percent is to be achieved in the production of cement. It should be 20 percent for aggregates and 15 percent for ready-mixed concrete. The building materials company promises to replenish fresh water in water-endangered areas by 2030: 75 percent of the locations should be “water-positive” by then. In addition, Holcim intends to equip 100 percent of all locations with water recycling systems during the same period.

Holcim also wants to achieve measurable positive effects on biodiversity. The group wants to orient itself on the reporting system for biodiversity indicators (Biodiversity Indicator and Reporting System, BIRS ) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN . Rehabilitation plans should be available for all quarries by around 2022. The BIRS principles for all cultivated areas should be fulfilled by 2024. In addition, the use of solutions such as the water-permeable Holcim concrete Hydromedia and green roof systems for more livable cities is to be accelerated.

Eva Zabey, Executive Director at Business for Nature , praises Holcim for these ambitious goals. They could “lead to scalable changes both in the building materials sector and in industry as a whole.” All ecosystems and societies are dependent on such measures and obligations from companies.

September 2021
Far superior to drones

New construction projects can be digitally modeled using drone recordings. With the help of software, the planned object is, so to speak, “inserted” into the property and surroundings images received by the drone. This Building Information Modeling (BIM) creates realistic visualizations of a new building project in two or three-dimensional views. Object-strategic statements can thus be made reliably, quickly and cheaply.
Drones are also used for construction-related work themselves. One of the most recent applications is the computer-controlled use of drones for painting facades. The flying robotic helpers can be controlled very precisely and can fly very close to a wall. So it is possible to paint facades without work preparation and erection of scaffolding. In addition to saving time, this is also a step forward in terms of safety on the construction site.
Another area of application is that for inspections and damage tests of buildings and structures – for example the use of drones for roof inspections. Due to the high altitudes and good stabilization in flight, drones can also be used in historic buildings, such as churches. But drones can also be used comfortably and safely to check building cracks, glass damage or hard-to-reach areas. Thanks to the high resolution of the images, even the finest damage can be detected and these images can be saved for later documentation purposes.
You can find impulses around innovations in the real estate and construction industry here: https://hubs.li/H0RQl480

August 2021
FHNW trains in geodata analysis

The FHNW University of Architecture, Building and Geomantics will be offering a certificate course in spatial data analytics at its location in Olten from January. This is intended to enable specialists from the fields of data science, transport, logistics, spatial planning as well as natural and environmental sciences to digitally plan the cities of the future and evaluate the data from infrastructures. The university is responding to a need in the construction and planning industry, according to its media release .

The Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) Spatial Data Analytics is intended to impart the knowledge required to model, process and interpret geodata in a targeted manner in 16 course days and in cooperation with experts from the field. For this purpose, “a balanced mix of lectures, case studies, group work and practical exercises” is planned, according to the FHNW. In addition, time blocks are planned for self-study.

“The question of where spatially measurable events take place is no longer sufficient,” says Prof. Dr. Pia Bereuter quoted in the communication. “In the future, we also need to understand why these happen. This requires well-founded analysis processes that are integrated into the digitization strategy of companies or organizations. “This expertise represents the basis for decisions with spatial reference” in almost every industry “.

August 2021
Tschopp Holzindustrie is making progress with the sawmill

The Tschopp Holzindustrie AG is a milestone in the construction of its new sawmill at its headquarters in Buttisholz known . The civil engineering work in the saw hall area was thus completed. Now the building construction work is to begin. The building should have a length of 125 meters, a width of 50 meters and a height of 20 meters.

The new sawmill is scheduled to start operations in spring 2023. Tschopp Holzindustrie is investing a total of 75 million francs in the expansion. It is the largest investment in the company's 100-year history to date.

Tschopp Holzindustrie specializes in the production of formwork panels for the construction industry. Since 2005, pellets have been produced from the waste wood for the energy industry. After the new sawmill has gone into operation, timber construction companies will also be offered products that have not yet been manufactured at home or not industrially manufactured in Germany and therefore have to be imported from abroad, such as three-layer natural wood panels.

August 2021
Halter moves into new headquarters in JED

The construction company Halter AG opens its new headquarters on December 14th in the former NZZ printing center in Schlieren, which the company itself converted. Before moving to JED , Halter AG was based in Zurich. The abbreviation of the center, which was converted on behalf of the owner Swiss Prime Site, stands for Join. Explore. Dare – connect, discover, dare. In addition to Halter AG, the company sisters Tend AG, Raumgleiter AG, Integral design-build AG, the developer cooperative Wir sind Stadtgarten and MOVEment Systems AG are also moving their headquarters to Schlieren, according to a press release.

The new headquarters of Halter AG will operate under the label The Branch . It is intended to offer new opportunities for collaboration with publicly rentable so-called collab workstations, work lounges and big rooms for individuals and teams. The group describes the horizontal and vertical integration of the real estate world as the driving idea behind The Branch. The Branch Do Tank association is the sponsor. According to the corporate announcement, this is intended to promote the further development of the construction and real estate industry in practice. "The vision of an integrated process landscape in the construction and real estate world must be implemented outside of the conventional entrepreneurial silos and the traditional industry structures", Markus Mettler, CEO of Halter AG, is quoted on the side of The Branch.

December 2020
Association for sustainable building is founded

The newly created Association for Sustainable Building Biological Building (VNBB) aims to make the construction industry more sustainable and climate-friendly. To this end, knowledge and skills are to be promoted and integrated into vocational training.

As stated in a press release, the non-profit organization was initiated by Dr. Thea Rauch-Schwegler from the Baubioswiss Association over the past few years. Timber construction Switzerland , building envelope Switzerland , JardinSuisse , Lignum – Holzwirtschaft Schweiz and the Swiss Association of Painters and Plasterers have joined as founding members. Its new office in Wallisellen is also the seat of the VNBB. The management of the VNBB office is advertised. New club members and partners are expressly welcome.

In 2019, the examination regulations for the advanced specialist examination for experts in healthy and sustainable building were recognized by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation. In this way, according to the VNBB, “the gap in higher vocational training in the field of sustainable building can be closed”. The first preparatory course for the diploma will start in 2022. At the same time, professional associations have also recognized the importance of the topic and decided to tackle the issue of sustainability in vocational training together.

December 2020
Implenia hands over new campus to ZHAW Gesundheit

The ten-year project for the conception, development and construction of the new campus for the Department of Health at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ( ZHAW ) was completed on schedule on July 1st and is now ready for occupancy. Developer and general contractor Implenia has handed the new building over to the owner SISKA Immobilien AG. As the tenant of the house on Katharina-Sulzer-Platz in Winterthur, the ZHAW can now prepare the building, which Implenia has built in accordance with the Minergie standard, with a rental area of around 19,200 square meters for teaching and research.

The facility will remain closed to the public until the end of July 2020. The "Haus Adeline Favre", named after a midwife from the Val d'Anniviers, will accommodate over 2000 students and around 300 employees from August. The largest Swiss education and research center for occupational and physiotherapy, midwives and nursing will open its doors with an official ceremony on August 28, 2020. An open day will take place on September 26, 2020.

According to the media release , the building was designed by pool architects from Zurich. The area of the property was completely built over, there are six above and two underground floors with classrooms and practice rooms, employee offices, an outpatient clinic and simulation center as well as a cafeteria. Adrian Wyss, Head of Development Division at Implenia: “At the Adeline Favre house, Implenia successfully brought together its specialists from various disciplines, especially from the Development and Buildings Divisions, and the group's integrated business model was fully implemented. The clear ideas of the tenant Canton of Zurich and the good cooperation between the teams and the authorities also made the project a success. "

July 2020