According to a statement, the canton of Zurich has created the Zurich Innovation Park specialist unit. This implements a decision by the cantonal government in April 2025 to transform the coordination unit, which was previously managed by an external mandate, into a regular organisation. The specialist unit is based in the Office for Economic Affairs and began operations at the start of the year.
The centre is responsible for ensuring the division of tasks between the Department of Economic Affairs, the Innovation Park Foundation, IPZ Property AG and IPZ Operations AG. It coordinates cantonal projects and involves various stakeholders in the local communities, the federal government, the business community and other partners.
In addition to the Innovation Park as the most important area development project in the canton, the specialist unit will also focus on the active development of commercial space as a key location factor. This involves space for the growth, transformation and establishment of companies, particularly in or around the Innovation Park, but also throughout the canton.
With HORTUS, a building has been created on the Main Campus of the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area that is set to set new standards in sustainable construction. The project was developed by SENN, Herzog & de Meuron and ZPF Ingenieure. HORTUS is not only conceptually designed for climate compatibility, according to those involved, it will offset its gray energy within a generation and then be operated as an energy-positive building.
The core of the concept is a consistent reduction in the use of energy in construction and operation. Materials such as clay, wood and waste paper were processed with minimal use of resources. A basement was deliberately omitted. At the same time, a photovoltaic area of around 5,000 m² on the façade and roof ensures maximum energy generation.
Circular economy at component level Particular attention is paid to reusability. Every element used was planned with a second use in mind. HORTUS thus follows the principles of the circular economy down to the last detail. Prefabricated clay-wood elements, manufactured directly on site in a field factory, enable efficient dismantling or reuse.
Natural materials ensure a balanced indoor climate, supported by a green inner courtyard designed by renowned landscape architect Piet Oudolf.
Infrastructure for innovation The building offers around 10,000 m² of usable space, primarily for companies from the ICT and life sciences sectors. The office space was already fully let when it opened. The only space still available is in the coworking area. This is aimed at start-ups, project teams or individual users who want to benefit from the proximity to one of the largest life sciences ecosystems in Europe.
The coworking space and the office areas have shared kitchens, a garden and IT infrastructure. On the first floor, catering facilities and a fitness area complement the infrastructure. The aim is to combine innovation and everyday life in one place.
Part of a larger development site It is not the first building on the campus. The Main Campus HQ is already in operation. Other buildings, ALL, HOPE and SCALE, are under construction or in the planning stage. By 2029, Allschwil will be home to Switzerland’s largest innovation park, with a focus on life sciences, digital health and industrial transformation.
With currently around 1,200 employees in 92 companies and 12 research groups, the site is already an important center for applied research and development in Switzerland.
The Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino will be located on a 25,000 square meter site in the middle of the new quarter. The proximity to Bellinzona railroad station and excellent connections to the economic centers of Zurich and Milan make the location particularly attractive. The historic “cathedral” of the former workshops in the center of the quarter will be preserved and integrated into the modern cityscape as a landmark of the industrial past.
Promoting research and development The innovation park will become a hub for cutting-edge research projects and business collaborations. Competence centers for drone technology, life sciences and lifestyle tech are planned. These are intended to strengthen the region’s innovative power and intensify cooperation between start-ups, established companies and academic institutions. The Life Sciences Competence Center, for example, will open up new avenues in biotechnology and work on animal-free drug testing.
A strategic joint project Funding is provided by a broad partnership of public and private stakeholders, including the canton, BancaStato, industry and business associations as well as renowned universities such as the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) and the SUPSI University of Applied Sciences. Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino SA was founded as a non-profit organization and will manage the development of the park.
Stimulus for the economic development of Ticino With the official recognition by the national innovation network Switzerland Innovation, Ticino will be closely networked with the Innovation Park Zurich. This collaboration is intended to create synergies between the two regions and promote the exchange of knowledge between research and industry. The link to the MIND Milano Innovation District underlines the international focus of the project and strengthens Ticino’s competitiveness as a high-tech location.
State Councillors Christian Vitta and Marina Carobbio Guscetti emphasize the strategic importance of the innovation park for Ticino. For Ticino as a business location, the innovation park is a strategic project for the economic development of the canton. The aim is to establish the region as an innovation hub, create highly qualified jobs and attract investment. The Switzerland Innovation Park Ticino will thus become a key driver of economic and technological development in the region and consolidate Ticino’s position as a major player in the Swiss innovation ecosystem.
The Zurich Innovation Park combines research, development and aviation utilisation in a unique way. An area for the innovation park and for a research, test and industrial airfield will be created in the south-western part of the Dübendorf airfield. This vision includes not only modern infrastructure, but also publicly accessible green and open spaces. The project is of central importance for the region, the canton of Zurich and Switzerland as a whole.
Design plan as the basis for sustainable development The newly established design plan for sub-area B creates a binding framework. It regulates the utilisation, the location of the building areas as well as design, ecological and traffic requirements. At the same time, the impact on the regional transport network is analysed in depth and green spaces are optimally integrated.
Progress through participation and planning security Following a public consultation phase and the consideration of objections received, the design plan was revised and approved. It will come into force on 22 November 2024 and form the basis for future construction projects. This marks another important step towards the realisation of the Zurich Innovation Park.
The first development phase of the Zurich Innovation Park on the airfield site in Dübendorf is taking shape, the operator announced in a press release. Construction work on a total of seven new buildings on the apron of the site is set to begin this year. The projects were selected from a total of 28 proposals submitted last year in a global architectural competition.
The projects now selected were developed by the architectural firms E2A, Roger Boltshauser, Mulder Zonderland and TEN from Zurich as well as Muoto from Paris and 3XN from Copenhagen. According to the current planning status, around 24 per cent of the total floor space is to be divided into office space, 8 per cent into laboratory space and 12 per cent into production space, for example for the manufacture of prototypes. A further 36 per cent is planned as flexible space for various uses. In addition, areas for utilities, services and research-related living are to be created. Catering, leisure and shopping facilities are also planned.
With its own development, the Innovation Park Zurich aims to set an example for innovative urban development and sustainability. “Accordingly, special building typologies are being developed that can be used sustainably over long periods of time thanks to their flexibility and modularity and have a significantly reduced ecological footprint through the use of new technologies,” the press release states. Plans include the installation of an anergy grid and large solar panels on roofs and façades.
The overall contractor ERNE AG handed over the buildings of the Switzerland Innovation Park Innovaare to the investor CPV/CAP Pensionskasse Coop and the operating company innovAARE AG on 20 December. Completion of the innovation park has therefore been completed on budget and on schedule, innovAARE AG announced in a press release. “The lighthouse project Park Innovaare is a joint project and confirms the commitment of all partners involved in the canton of Aargau to invest in the innovative strength and competitiveness of our companies,” Christian Brönnimann, Chairman of the Board of Directors of innovAARE AG, is quoted as saying in his speech at the opening.
In his speech, Daniel Erne, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ERNE AG, explained that the realisation of cleanrooms and laboratories had brought with it practically every conceivable challenge. Danilo Zampieri from the CPV/CAP Coop pension fund drew attention to the building’s façade made of wood and solar panels.
The first tenants temporarily housed at the neighbouring Paul Scherrer Institute(PSI) and other companies are due to move into the Innovation Park buildings as early as January 2024. The PSI will occupy around two thirds of the space. The remaining space will be allocated to companies specialising in photonics and quantum technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and semiconductor technology as well as energy and the environment. With an occupancy rate of 85 per cent already achieved, the innovation park is “making very good progress”, explains Brönnimann.
The Zurich-based Angst+Pfister Group, a leading developer, manufacturer and global supplier of high-performance components and engineering solutions, has acquired a significant stake in IPZ Property AG. This company is responsible for the planning, development and realisation of the Zurich Innovation Park on the former military airfield in Dübendorf on behalf of the Zurich Innovation Park Foundation (IPZ Foundation).
“With the new shareholder, we have succeeded in taking a next, strategically very significant step towards strengthening the generation project. For the first time, a well-known industrial partner from Switzerland is participating in the Zurich Innovation Park as an investor,” says Peter Bodmer, President of the IPZ Foundation. A decisive role was played by the fact that over the last two years, thanks to the extremely good cooperation between the Canton of Zurich, the federal government as landowner, the neighbouring communities, the IPZ Foundation, the real estate service provider HRS and other partners, it was possible to set the right legal and political course.
Switzerland’s most exciting development project “For us, the Zurich Innovation Park is by far the most exciting development project in Switzerland,” says Christof Domeisen, CEO and Delegate of the Board of Directors of Angst+Pfister, explaining the group’s investment decision. “As a globally active company with a history going back over 100 years, we are convinced that the close integration of research and development in one place creates an ideal platform to be successful in the future. The Zurich Innovation Park on the site of the Dübendorf airfield fulfils precisely these conditions. This design space makes it possible to successfully transfer knowledge from research into solutions and products. The location is ideally suited for a unique innovative environment and is extremely attractive by international standards.”
Owner and CEO Martin Kull is confident that HRS, which has been the main investor in the planning and construction of the development, will succeed in bringing other major investors on board over the next few years. “Our goal has always been to make the development of the Innovation Park economically viable within the framework of the very constructive public-private partnership with the Canton of Zurich. The developments of the last two years prove us right that we are on track with this.”
Political process successfully completed Now that the commitment credit approved by a large majority in the Zurich Cantonal Parliament at the end of November 2022 has become legally binding with the expiry of the referendum deadline on 7 February 2023, the political process has been successfully completed. For Andrea Claudio Thöny, as head of IPZ Property AG responsible for the overall development on the site, this paves the way for the prompt implementation of the next phase. “Now that the Cantonal Council’s decision has become legally binding, the Zurich Cantonal Government together with IPZ Property AG can conclude the corresponding building lease contracts. The plan is that ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich will soon be able to take over the existing aircraft hangars. In addition, an architectural competition is currently underway for the new buildings of the first major development phase, in which both internationally renowned architectural firms and young up-and-coming talents from Switzerland are participating. And it is very pleasing that more and more companies are interested in settling on the IPZ. Since the political decisions have been made, things are now moving ahead quickly.”
Settlement of numerous companies and institutions in the next few years Already involved in the project as partners are ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich as well as the Cantonal Bank of Zurich. They have set up research and development laboratories and a start-up hub in the former aircraft hangars and buildings on the periphery of the site, and are thus playing a decisive role in the take-off and rapid development of the Generation Project.
For industry, the proximity to world-leading universities is a key element in the IPZ’s attractiveness. This dovetailing of university research and industrial development at a location with excellent national and international transport connections and which, thanks to its dimensions, also allows space-intensive tests on the ground and in the air, is rare in a global comparison. Dozens of other companies and institutions are also rented in the IPZ, but not yet housed on the site itself, as the appropriate usable space must first be created for their settlement.
The Innovation Park Zurich(IPZ) has gained Angst+Pfister as an investor. The globally active Zurich-based manufacturer of high-performance components and engineering solutions has acquired a significant stake in IPZ Property AG, which is responsible for realising the project, the Zurich Innovation Park Foundation informs in a statement. “For the first time, a well-known industrial partner from Switzerland is participating as an investor in the Innovation Park Zurich,” foundation president Peter Bodmer is quoted there.
For Christof Domeisen, CEO and Delegate of the Board of Directors of Angst+Pfister, the Zurich Innovation Park is “by far the most exciting development project in Switzerland”. His company is convinced “that the close interlocking of research and development in one place creates an ideal platform to be successful in the future”. Domeisen sees precisely these conditions fulfilled at the Zurich Innovation Park on the grounds of the Dübendorf airfield.
The implementation of the project has successfully completed its political process with the now legally binding approval of the commitment credit by the Zurich Cantonal Council. Next, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the University of Zurich are to take over the existing aircraft hangars on the site. An architectural competition is already underway for the new buildings in the first phase of development. In addition, “more and more companies are interested in locating on the IPZ,” explains Andrea Claudio Thöny, head of IPZ Property AG. “Since the political decisions have been made, things are now moving ahead quickly.”
The Züri Innovationspark office has officially opened, according to a press release . Five start-ups have moved into a total of 170 square meters in the converted fire station of the former Dübendorf Airport. They were selected by public vote from among ten candidates last summer.
The modern building offers 16 flexible workplaces, meeting rooms, a kitchen and a generous infrastructure. With their move into the Dübendorf office in Züri, the teams will also become part of the ecosystem in the Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich, according to the Zürcher Kantonalbank . The Zürcher Kantonalbank, co-founder of the Zurich Innovation Park, makes this space available free of charge for an innovative and collaborative working group. In a statement , the bank describes the Züri office, of which there is another edition in Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse, as its "gift" to the population.
The five start-ups from Büro Züri Innovationspark include Medtech aiEndoscopic and the data processing platform for artificial intelligence, Lightly . Soma Rem is also on site, which helps people with body image disorders with virtual and augmented reality. TerraRad Tech brings remote space sensing technology to agriculture. And Tethys Robotics develops underwater robots.
Economic area of technologies The economic “core competencies” lie in photonics, textile and material technologies, precision technologies, ICT services and medical technology. Corresponding specialists are also available in large numbers across borders. Their training and further education is guaranteed thanks to the intensive cooperation between industry, vocational and technical colleges and the University of St. Gallen. The ongoing IT education offensive reinforces the already tech-savvy economic atmosphere.
In the economic region there are still very attractive areas and transformation areas, even in very central locations, which are constantly being developed. They offer a lot of potential for projects and company settlements.
Innovation park symbolizes departure In the city of St. Gallen, the economic center of Eastern Switzerland, the University of St. Gallen and the Cantonal Hospital have supraregional appeal. Empa St. Gallen also positions itself through its scientific excellence. On the basis of these three institutions, the application for “Park Ost” to Switzerland Innovation was successful. In addition, the DNA for ICT, health technologies and start-ups is already developed in the urban location and provides an ideal breeding ground for this.
City as a center of business and life The city of St. Gallen is a center that radiates far and wide, not only economically, but also culturally and urbanly. With over 80,000 employees, it is the labor market center in Eastern Switzerland. Impulses such as the new “School of Medicine” (Joint Medical Master) and the “School of Computer Science” at the University of St. Gallen offer close proximity to specialists for companies in these growth sectors.
The start-up innovation network “Startfeld” or the networks for ICT and health provide uncomplicated access to local partners and enable joint development.
The short distances, the compact city and the proximity to the surrounding nature from Säntis to Lake Constance form the basis for the very high quality of life.
Testimonials
Josef Brusa President of the Board of Directors of Brusa Elektronik AG
“Everything is right at the Buchs campus. We were able to establish ourselves here thanks to the good cooperation with the cantonal location promotion, the city and local community of Buchs, the university and Lippuner Immobilien. "
Thomas Harring CEO Leica Geosystems
"Our Heerbrugg innovation factory is the embodiment of Switzerland as a workplace: innovation leadership and high manufacturing quality, which is ensured by well-trained employees and the network of industrial companies and research institutions."
Roger Dudler CEO Frontify
«Frontify offers a workplace of the future in the heart of St. Gallen. We are continuously working to bring our more than 200 employees (around 180 of them in St. Gallen) together and to offer them the ideal basis to be able to work on something big every day. "
Roland Ledergerber Chairman of the Board of Directors of Switzerland Innovation Park Ost AG
“In St. Gallen and at the second location in Buchs, experts from research and business will network and jointly create innovative products. The innovation park should be operational from the end of 2022, and it should reach its full capacity from 2025. "
Portraits and contact details of the heads of location promotion:
Are you looking for an attractive, competitive and innovative location for your company and would you like to develop further or settle in the canton of St. Gallen? We would be happy to support you personally.
Daniel Müller, Head of Location Promotion Canton St. Gallen | Department of Economic Affairs | Office for Economy and Labor Davidstrasse 35, CH-9001 St.Gallen
T +41 58 229 14 07 daniel.mueller@sg.ch www.standort.sg.ch
The promotion of the city of St. Gallen actively contributes to the further development of the business and living location of St. Gallen and to positioning it attractively in the competition for locations.
Samuel Zuberbühler, Head of Location Promotion City of St. Gallen Poststrasse 28, CH-9001 St.Gallen
The airport area in Dübendorf is to develop into a lively urban quarter in the coming years. A center for innovation, research and jobs is to be created. The aviation infrastructure is to be secured as a strategic reserve.
The Zurich Government Council has now submitted a synthesis report to the Cantonal Council, as stated in a communication . This was drawn up by the federal government, the canton, the local authorities and other parties involved. It forms the basis for the further development of the area. It is now to be advised first by a special commission set up by the Cantonal Council.
The government council intends to submit three proposals to the cantonal council by spring 2022. These deal with the creation of planning rights, a revision of the structure plan and a planning loan.
A project group set up by the government council of the canton of Zurich has been creating an overview of the Dübendorf airfield area since September 2020. The state chancellery of the Canton of Zurich informs in a statement that the members of the delegation of authorities have now signed the synthesis report. The airfield area is to be used as an innovation park, airfield and for military purposes.
“For reasons of economy and sustainability” and “with consideration for the population”, “only what is needed will be built in stages,” explains the State Chancellery. According to her, the project should become “a beacon for innovative urban development, especially in the areas of environmental compatibility, sustainability and careful use of resources”.
Specifically, the overall view provides for the area to be subdivided into four sub-areas. The innovation park with a focus on mobility, robotics, aviation, space travel as well as modern production technology and materials research is to be built in sub-area A. In sub-area B, the innovation park and a research and works airfield will combine to form an aviation cluster. Area C is reserved for uses with high security requirements. The aviation infrastructures are located in sub-area D, in which nature conservation will play a central role. A circular airfield path is intended to make the area usable for recreation and leisure for the population.
In the next step, planning rights are to be created for all sub-areas, according to the communication. Specifically, a cantonal and a regional structure plan as well as the communal structure and land use planning are named there. The cantonal structure plan will be made public from September 6th to November 5th.
The Zurich Chamber of Commerce ( ZHK ) welcomes the commitment to triple use as an innovation park, civil and military airfield. The vision of an internationally leading location for research and development on mobility solutions is worth supporting, she writes in a press release . However, she regrets the renunciation of business aviation. This is important for the attractiveness of the economic area. Therefore, the doors should not be permanently closed for them.
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