immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Gemeinden

  • Energy City strengthens climate policy with new certification standards

    Energy City strengthens climate policy with new certification standards

    The Energiestadt association wants to support its 644 member municipalities and cities on the path to climate neutrality in future. In 30 years of commitment, much of what was initially considered progressive has become the standard, writes Energiestadt in a corresponding press release. In order to continue to act as a pacesetter, certification and support for members should be consistently focussed on the net-zero target.

    The Energiestadt label recognises cities and municipalities for their sustainable energy and climate policy. In future, the certification process will place particular emphasis on net-zero relevant strategies and measures. The press release cites the phasing out of natural gas for heating and the promotion of electromobility as examples. To receive the highest accolade of Gold City, in future it will be necessary to prove that strategies and measures are being consistently pursued and are compatible with the net-zero target. At the same time, Energiestadt wants to simplify the certification process for smaller municipalities.

    “With the new instruments, Energiestadt is strengthening its role as a leading competence centre for local energy and climate policy in Switzerland,” said Maren Kornmann, Co-Managing Director of Energiestadt, in the press release. “Energiestadt is the only organisation to offer a comprehensive package for the planning, implementation and monitoring of net-zero measures at local level.”

  • Building authorities conference Appenzell Ausserrhoden

    Building authorities conference Appenzell Ausserrhoden

    This year’s conference for building authorities, organized by the Cantonal Office for Spatial Planning and Forests, focused on settlement ecology. Cantonal Councillor Dölf Biasotto opened the conference and made the connection to the vision of the 2024-2027 government program, which envisages a significant promotion of biodiversity in residential areas. The municipal building authorities play a central role in achieving these goals.

    Inspiring presentations and practical examples
    Six expert speakers highlighted various aspects of settlement ecology. The presentations showed how the sustainable design of settlement areas can succeed and provided valuable suggestions for municipalities and companies. The practical examples from Teufen and Gais in particular illustrated how municipalities can successfully integrate biodiversity into their settlements. The combination of green roofs with photovoltaic systems was also discussed and examined from a scientific perspective by Stefan Brenneisen.

    Excursion to the wild bee paradise and lively exchange
    At the end of the conference, the participants were able to visit the wild bee paradise of JUST Schweiz AG, which serves as a showcase example for the promotion of ecological company environments. At the subsequent drinks reception, the opportunity was taken to further discuss the insights gained and to strengthen networks.

    Settlement ecology as a common goal
    The 2024 Building Authorities Conference underlined the importance of diverse habitats in settlements for the promotion of biodiversity. The practical examples and specialist presentations provided important impetus for the future design of ecological habitats in municipalities. The event contributed to a valuable exchange of experiences and set clear priorities for the implementation of the government program.

  • Swiss municipalities keep proportion of second homes stable

    Swiss municipalities keep proportion of second homes stable

    The latest survey by the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) shows that the proportion of municipalities that no longer permit new second homes remains significant. Around one in six Swiss municipalities is affected by this decision, and this figure has only risen slightly compared to the previous year.

    Interestingly, Switzerland now has a total of 340 municipalities with a proportion of second homes of over twenty per cent. In these municipalities, new second homes are only permitted under strict conditions, as stipulated in the Second Homes Act. Particularly affected are areas in the Alpine arc, the foothills of the Alps, occasionally in the Jura and on lakes.

    The municipalities carry out their annual housing inventories to determine the number of second homes. The results are published by the ARE at the end of March each year. Municipalities whose proportion of second homes is now over twenty per cent then have 30 days to comment and clarify their inventory. If the proportion remains above twenty per cent, the Second Homes Act, which regulates the construction of new second homes and is based on the Second Homes Initiative adopted in March 2012, applies.

    This development underlines the efforts of Swiss municipalities to regulate the issue of second homes in accordance with legal requirements and to maintain the balance between recreational and residential use in their regions.

  • Digital twins bring construction projects to life

    Digital twins bring construction projects to life

    For building projects of municipalities and cities to meet with acceptance among the population, clear communication and tangible visualisations are needed.

    The municipality of Fällanden also wanted to better present the spatial planning of a public area by means of visuals. For some time, those responsible had been planning the renovation of the town hall as well as a new meeting place in the centre that would give public life a little more space in the open air.

    For this purpose, the municipality of Fällanden engaged the planning and architectural firm Suter von Känel Wild AG (SKW), which in turn engaged the Zurich software developer Nomoko to visualise the construction projects in Fällanden.

    5200high-resolution images of Fällanden
    After Nomoko had been instructed by the architecture firm and provided with flight permission and the best possible launch positions for their drones by the municipality, their crew started their rotors at the beginning of June 2022 and flew over an area of almost three square kilometres with the WingtraOne drone, shooting around 5200 high-resolution images from a bird’s eye view.

    With the data, they returned to their offices in Zurich Altstetten, where the 3D designers converted the photos into a so-called digital twin of the municipality. A digital twin is a digitally accessible 3D model of a specific area. SKW also created models of the planned buildings and renovations, and Nomoko implemented them in the digital Fällanden of today.

    Digital twins simulate building projects
    On the deadline date, the community leaders together with SKW presented the centre planning at a public workshop. The participants were mainly residents of the municipality. The high-resolution, photo-realistic 3D model and the possibility of simulating different light irradiations and weather situations in particular met with positive feedback.

    Reusable and digitally accessible
    However, the full value of the digital twin will only be revealed in the future. Whereas in the past a new, physical 3D model had to be built for every single construction project, in future every other project can be illustrated on the same digital twin.

    Working with digital twins has various advantages:

    • Digital twins simplify communication between clients, architects, construction companies and residents, and lead to a uniform perception of the project at an early stage. This facilitates negotiations and speeds up discussions.
    • Compared to physical models, digital twins are reusable and can be adapted as required. They require little memory and take up no storage space.
    • Web-based tools make it possible to access and view digital twins easily on the internet without special skills or programmes.

    Digital twin of Switzerland for the real estate industry
    In addition to customised services for individual construction projects, Nomoko provides a platform that combines a digital twin of the whole of Switzerland with a smart search engine for real estate. This makes it possible, for example, to search cities by address or district, to display properties within the radius of a set point or to filter properties according to project criteria. Details on location, legal status, market performance and development potential are listed for each property.

    Personal details
    Lukas Nussbaumer joined Nomoko AG in 2021 as Sales & Key Account Manager. He is responsible for the expansion of 3D services and the Nomoko platform in the German-speaking region of Switzerland. Before joining Nomoko AG, Lukas Nussbaumer was responsible for customer acquisition and the management of various strategic projects at the Emch+Berger Group in the Telecommunications Network Planning department.

  • SVSM Award 2022: projects are nominated

    SVSM Award 2022: projects are nominated

    The Swiss Association for Location Management SVSM has been presenting the SVSM Awards annually since 2007. These are awards for particularly innovative projects in the areas of location marketing, location development and business promotion. 14 applications were received for this year's awards – from municipalities, cities and organizations from Lake Constance to Upper Valais. A jury evaluated these based on defined criteria and nominated the following six projects for the 2022 awards:

    • “Big Air Chur” city event – submitted by the city of Chur's business contact point

    • Conversion of the old spinning mill in Lichtensteig – submitted by the Stadtufer cooperative

    • "valais4you" project to promote the immigration of skilled workers –

    submitted by the regional and economic center of Upper Valais

    • Joint project "BIGNIK" to strengthen identification –

    submitted by REGIO Appenzell AR-St.Gallen-Bodensee

    • “Werkstadt Zürisee” to develop the Rütihof workplace area –

    submitted by the city of Wädenswil

    • Launch of the integrated location promotion for the Zurich Oberland –

    Submitted by the Zurich Oberland Promotion Association

    With the nomination, however, the applicants are not yet guaranteed an award: At the end of August, all nominees have the opportunity to present their projects to the jury. The jury consists of the following experts: Katharina Hopp, jury president and board member SVSM; ambassador dr Eric Jakob, Head of the Directorate for Business Promotion SECO; Pascal Jenny, President of Arosa Tourism; Karin Jung, Head of Office for Economy and Labor Canton of St.Gallen; Prof. Dr. Markus Schmidiger, Head of the Real Estate Competence Center

    University of Lucerne; Sonja Wollkopf-Walt, CEO Greater Zurich Area.

    The awards will be presented on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, as part of the hybrid conference "SVSM Dialogue Economic Promotion" in the Capitol cinema in Olten. Incidentally, the location manager of the year is also honored at this event.

  • Up to 10,000 new jobs in Sisslerfeld

    Up to 10,000 new jobs in Sisslerfeld

    The Sisslerfeld in Fricktal should develop into a place of the future. It is the largest contiguous and zoned industrial area in the canton of Aargau. With the further development of the Sisslerfeld, more companies should settle in the area and 5,000 to 10,000 additional highly qualified jobs should be created.

    The four municipalities involved – Eiken, Münchwilen, Sisseln and Stein – the Fricktal Regio planning association and the canton of Aargau therefore decided at the end of 2018 to tackle the development of the 200-hectare work zone together and in a coordinated manner. Qualitative growth is in the foreground.
    As early as 2019, people who live or work in Sisslerfeld, as well as companies and property owners, were asked about their needs. This resulted in guiding principles for further development.

    From January to September 2020, four teams of specialist planners looked for solutions to implement the guiding principles. In this so-called test planning, the teams dealt with the question of how jobs in Sisslerfeld can grow while traffic can remain bearable and the beauty of the landscape with its local recreational value can be preserved. Experts from the fields of business, society, urban planning, mobility, open space and energy worked together on an interdisciplinary basis. They examined and compared different approaches and discussed their advantages and disadvantages.

    Their solution approaches were intensively and critically discussed by a 16-strong assessment committee in three workshops. In order to give the younger generation enough weight, very young specialists were also represented on this body. The judging panel was chaired by Rainer Klostermann, an architect and urban planner from Zurich. In the test planning, it was important for him to "consider all the ideas and findings on how the Sisslerfeld can be designed as a future place of work, but also as a place to live and play". "On the other hand," Klostermann continues, "it is important to take local needs into account, indeed to protect them." The test planning not only explored how the Sisslerfeld could be developed. "It was just as important to discuss and reconcile different perspectives."

    Following the test planning, the various concerns were brought together to form a coordinated overall picture. The judging panel approved this synthesis in early July 2021. It consists of eight directions and shows how Sisslerfeld could develop sustainably and what course can be set for this today.

    In a next step, these directions will be discussed with the municipalities, the population and the landowners. The results of this dialogue are to be transferred in 2022 to plans that are binding on the authorities and then on the landowners.

  • Photovoltaic expansion is in its infancy

    Photovoltaic expansion is in its infancy

    Photovoltaics should be next to the hydroelectric power to buttress a climate-friendly energy future, the association of independent power producers (writes Vese ) in a release . The specialist group of the Swiss Association for Solar Energy has developed an online map on which the development status of photovoltaics in the individual communities, districts or cantons is shown. The interactive map also optionally shows the nationwide status or the expansion of individual power plants.

    VESE explains that the map shows a very heterogeneous picture of the state of photovoltaics. Depending on the canton, the installed capacity per inhabitant is up to five times higher or lower. The cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Jura have the highest level of development with more than 600 watts of power per inhabitant. In contrast, in the canton of Zurich, only 134 watts of power per inhabitant have been installed so far.

    This could not be due to a lack of space, explains VESE in the press release. Even the front-runner Appenzell Innerrhoden is only using its potential to an "infinitesimally small 5.2 percent". For VESE project manager Diego Fischer, the photovoltaic policy is more responsible. It is "a big patchwork in which the hot potato is pushed back and forth between the federal government, the cantons, the municipalities, the electricity companies and the investors, and in the end everyone is wondering why things are not moving faster".

    In order to promote the expansion of photovoltaics, the cantons and municipalities have to make better use of the instruments available to them, says Fischer. Specifically, the VESE project manager addresses the remuneration of solar power fed in and subsidies to supplement one-off payments. Fischer wants to increase the expansion of photovoltaics on the roofs of rental properties through building regulations.