Tag: Installation

  • Hilti Switzerland develops support system for new KSB building

    Hilti Switzerland develops support system for new KSB building

    According to a press release,Hilti Switzerland has “developed a coordinated, cross-trade fastening technology specifically for the new hospital in collaboration with the Baden Cantonal Hospital(KSB) and the planners, engineers and contractors involved, which all companies were able to work with right from the start”.

    It represents progress in the construction industry and could be used in other highly complex construction projects in the future, which also have to fulfil high technical requirements in terms of earthquake safety and fire protection. “We are not only achieving a technically and economically sophisticated solution, but also the safest and therefore most sustainable one,” says Marco Lüthi, project engineer for hospital construction at the Swiss representative of Hilti AG in Schaan, based in Adliswil.

    The new concept is intended for multi-storey buildings. The pioneering achievement consists of a holistic approach, they say. The joint solution puts an end to a common practice whereby each company designed and installed its own fixings and substructures. The isolated approach had made the processes inefficient.

    Thanks to the multiple bracket developed by Hilti, the heating, plumbing, ventilation, air conditioning and electrical trades were able to work together from the outset. This resulted in 60 per cent fewer fixing points (drill holes) and 50 per cent fewer cuts and items. Prefabrication and the elimination of separate brackets meant that the building services companies needed almost 50 per cent less time for installation. The use of lifting platforms, ladders and scaffolding was also reduced, thus minimising the risk of injury for construction workers. Sustainability has also benefited: In comparison with conventional fastening systems, 50 per cent of CO2 was saved.

    The new KSB building is expected to cost 580 million and is scheduled to go into operation in autumn 2024.

  • Switzerland and Japan open architectural project

    Switzerland and Japan open architectural project

    The Gramazio Kohler research group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich ( ETH ) and the Obuchi Lab – T_ADS at the University of Tokyo are exhibiting an installation as part of the Collaborative Constructions architectural project. The project in the municipal pottery of the Japanese city of Tokoname goes back to an initiative of the two universities and the Swiss embassy in Japan.

    It is the first project of Vitality.Swiss, the Swiss public diplomacy program on the way to Expo 2025 in Osaka . The exhibition will be held in several cities of Aichi Prefecture as part of the Aichi Triennial Art Festival. According to an embassy announcement, it was officially opened on the occasion of the national holiday on August 1st and can be visited until October 10th.

    Gramazio Kohler Research, led by Matthias Kohler and Fabio Gramazio, presents a three-story timber frame structure that revitalizes the long history of skilled timber construction in Japan through Swiss design and technology. It reinterprets carpentry in the age of robotics, without metal parts, nails, screws or fasteners. Her work has been exhibited at the Center Pompidou, the Venice Biennale and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, among others.

    The Obuchi Lab – T_ADS around Yusuke Obuchi exhibits a gate-like structure with numerous pottery chains through which pottery is actually steamed, which also cools the air. They were created through human-machine interactions. Obuchi projects explore innovative, inclusive and collaborative construction methods. They are known worldwide for their creative use of technology.

  • Climate neutral by 2050

    Climate neutral by 2050

    Many homeowners cannot afford a renovation. Long-term loans are now intended to support builders who want to make their property climate-friendly but do not have sufficient financial resources or prefer to invest their money in their core business. At least that's what the state wants. Whether and how this can be done remains questionable. Because the financial institutions intended for this, such as banks and insurance companies, are hardly interested in loans with terms of more than 30 years. The federal government therefore wants to act as a security guarantor. A pilot project in Berne is now to examine whether this financing idea is realistic.

    The Zuger Energeek Group AG proposes another way. "With Energeek®, the solar panel with rental for you", she gets people to invest in solar energy, whether they own real estate or not. Energeek provides the solar panels and the real estate projects. Anyone who wants to invest can buy one or more panels online and then rent them out to a project company. Upon purchase, the buyer also benefits immediately from the one-time payment (EIV), the federal subsidy for solar systems. The panels acquired will be integrated into a larger panel network that generates electricity sustainably; the buyer of these panels thus becomes a producer of electricity through renewable energy with the right to rental income. A minimum rental price is guaranteed when the contract is signed. However, upward rent adjustments are possible at any time. For example, when the price of electricity rises with inflation. The purchased solar panels can also be resold, inherited or given away at any time together with the rental agreement and the associated rental income.

    Another big advantage: so that solar panels and the projects work very efficiently, solar trackers are used whenever possible and in addition to the permanently installed PV area. With these, the panels are not permanently installed, but rotate according to the sun. This means that, for example, the morning and evening sun is also optimally used. Or discover the smallest gap in the cloud on a cloudy day and use it to generate electricity. This achieves an increase in production of an additional + 63% kWh on average. This in comparison to permanently installed solar panels.

    Energeek Group AG presents the projects for which solar panels can be purchased on its website. The buyer can decide for himself which project the acquired panels should be rented to. For example, a project on a horse farm and hotel in the Freiberge is currently on offer. There, the group, together with its certified partners, will set up photovoltaic systems on a planned area of 1,590 square meters and thus supply the hotel building infrastructure, neighbors, heat pumps and e-charging station(s) with electricity. A panel in this project currently costs a little more than CHF 900, the annual rental income is CHF 82.50. A respectable return.
    More information at www.energeek.biz