immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Lösung

  • How to make wood glow

    How to make wood glow

    Empa researchers in St. Gallen have succeeded in endowing wood with new properties. Their latest breakthrough – luminous wood. This material is created by treating wood samples with the Hallimasch fungus, which emits a green light due to the natural substance luciferin.

    From natural phenomenon to laboratory success
    Luminescent wood is not a new phenomenon; Aristotle described the green glow of wood over 2,400 years ago. However, biotechnology has now succeeded for the first time in reproducing this process in the laboratory under controlled conditions. The decomposition of lignin preserves the tensile strength of the wood, while the fungal filaments produce the glow.

    Sustainability and creativity in perfect symbiosis
    This biohybrid material opens up new possibilities. In addition to technical applications, furniture, jewellery or other design elements could also be realised with the luminous wood. At the same time, this innovative use of hardwood contributes to sustainable cascade utilisation and reduces the energy recovery of the wood.

    Optimising the luminosity
    After three months of incubation, the luminous wood develops its maximum brightness. The process, which takes place under humid conditions, currently lasts around ten days. Researchers are working on further improving the luminosity and duration in order to make the material even more versatile in the future.

    A pioneering solution
    The luminous wood shows how natural resources can be transformed into new, sustainable applications using innovative technologies. The symbiosis of wood and fungus is a fascinating example of how research can contribute to solving ecological and economic challenges.

  • Revolutionary investment strategy for commercial rental deposits

    Revolutionary investment strategy for commercial rental deposits

    At a time when the focus is on adding value to capital, the new solution brings a breath of fresh air to the management of rental deposits. The innovative solution, which was developed in collaboration with leading asset managers and banks, enables companies to invest their rental deposits efficiently while providing the necessary security for landlords.

    The CEO: “It’s time for capital to work for the company and not destroy value over time. With our solution, companies can quickly move from costly rental deposits to profitable investments.”

    A 1999 study by the Federal Office for Housing states: “For the tenant, rent deposits are de facto a kind of “forced saving” on terms that he cannot influence. It is therefore appropriate to look for a new alternative to rent deposits”.

    Traditionally, rent deposits have been seen as a cost for companies that primarily ties up liquidity. Now, companies can seamlessly transition from cost to revenue. The ability to quickly and easily convert rent deposits into secure and profitable investments dusts off the previous understanding of antiquated deposit accounts and allows them to shine in a new light. The company provides both tenants and landlords with a smart match tool.

    According to a study conducted by the Federal Housing Office in 1999, rental deposits were previously regarded as an inflexible form of compulsory savings without tenants having any influence.

    In order to be able to offer the best possible investment strategy for rental deposits, the company co-operates with renowned partners in the field of custodian banks and asset management.

  • Orientation for real estate and utilities in the complex energy sector

    Orientation for real estate and utilities in the complex energy sector

    The ongoing digitalisation of the energy industry is being driven significantly by the integration of energy management systems (EMS). They use advanced measuring devices and sensors to monitor energy flows in the building and beyond in real time and make targeted optimisations. These systems play a crucial role in the transformation from centralised to decentralised energy supply. They also support grid operators in meeting the challenges of uneven energy generation, consumption fluctuations and the increasing electrification of heat and mobility.

    The EMS market has experienced strong growth in recent years, but this has also led to increasing complexity. In this context, the comprehensive EMS market overview from EZS, provides an up-to-date orientation aid for Swiss users.

    The comparison tool enables an initial evaluation of different EMS systems and thus supports both property owners and energy supply companies in making informed decisions. It offers a filter function, detailed provider information and the possibility to compare different systems with each other.

    The new Energy and Electricity Supply Act, which is expected to come into force on 01.01.2025, provides, among other things, for the formation of local electricity communities as well as the exemption of electricity storage systems from grid fees. This will create new business models in which EMS will play an important role. The EMS market overview serves as a guide to prepare for these changes.

    The market overview is available free of charge at www.ems-vergleich.ch.

  • New complete solution for the dynamization of private parking areas

    New complete solution for the dynamization of private parking areas

    The solution combines the tried-and-tested Scheidt & Bachmann hardware in a lean set-up consisting of a barrier, lane assistant and camera. Highly standardized and easy to install via Plug & Play. The license plate serves as an identification feature for those authorized to park.

    All parking processes are intuitively managed via the software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution – this is purely web-based and on any end device: no app, no tickets, no transponders, no plastic cards or complex server infrastructure are necessary.

    Parking space management rethought
     The increasing flexibility of the working world leads to inconsistent mobility behavior and makes efficient parking space management a challenge. “During peak and office hours, there is a lot of pressure to park in the vicinity of office buildings, for example, from employees. After work and at the weekends, on the other hand, the parking lot is often empty,” explains Dr.-Ing. Maximilian Russmann. The system enables parking spaces to be allocated dynamically, thus minimizing undesirable utilization fluctuations. Rüßmann continues: "We create needs-based usage options for all user groups of a parking area with contingents that can be configured flexibly in terms of time, which are managed efficiently and digitally."

    Lean, digital processes reduce the administrative effort. Those authorized to park can book the parking space themselves via the system. Simply providing the vehicle registration number is sufficient. When entering, the camera then recognizes this number plate and the barrier at the entrance to the parking lot opens. The smart parking space management leads to higher satisfaction among parkers and to more sustainability. In addition, the more efficient use of space ensures fewer CO2 emissions and reduced traffic looking for a parking space, less traffic noise and surface sealing.

  • Arcplace and Verit Immobilien offer automated change of mandates

    Arcplace and Verit Immobilien offer automated change of mandates

    The Zurich companies Arcplace and Verit Immobilien have jointly developed a solution for changing property management. According to a press release , it covers the entire process of handing over documents when there is a change of mandate, from scanning to automatic classification and indexing of the documents to archiving.

    The new solution automates these processes by up to 90 percent and thus reduces the effort by up to 60 percent. According to the information, the end-to-end solution is new in the industry.

    The transfer of extensive dossiers when there is a change of mandate in real estate management has so far represented a major challenge. Because a newly commissioned real estate management company has to transfer the paper or PDF documents from the old administration to the company's own filing structure.

    This involves a lot of manual effort, since the documents are often first printed out and then scanned in again. They then have to be sorted, reorganized and re-cataloged.

    With the new solution from Arcplace and Verit Immobilien, digital access to mandates based on artificial intelligence takes over a large part of these tasks. This is "trained in advance for the property-specific documents and the administration's own filing structure," says the media release. "The manager only has to intervene if the artificial intelligence in a document shows too much uncertainty," says Martin Frei, Chief Digital Officer at Verit Immobilien.