
How universities plan the construction site of the future
The HWZ in Zurich and Mainz University of Applied Sciences are joining forces to make the construction industry more digitally fit. The focus is on new study and further education courses at the interface of real estate, data and the built environment. This will give companies better access to

Switzerland regulates data centers
Data centers are the invisible infrastructure of the digital economy. They are booming in Switzerland, but their hunger for electricity, water and building land is growing faster than regulation. Schaffhausen is now one of the first cantons to draw clear boundaries. And it is unlikely to be the

What will become of Basel’s largest site?
In the middle of Basel lies a derelict industrial area of almost 30 hectares, directly between the Rhine and the meadow. It is the city's largest transformation site and a political hotspot. On June 14, 2026, Basel voters will decide what will become of it. A new district with thousands of

Wil plans its future
The town of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen is planning the biggest urban planning relaunch ever. On May 29, 2026, around 60 representatives from districts, businesses, the real estate sector, politics and administration gathered in the town hall for the fourth local planning conference. The

Living in Ticino requires foresight
The housing problem in Ticino is not just about rents or the number of vacant apartments. It is about quality, accessibility, social cohesion, spatial development and the demographic future. Monique Bosco-von Allmen calls for the topic of housing to be considered in a broader and more political


A campus for the psychiatry of tomorrow for 330 million
For over 150 years, the Burghölzli in Zurich has stood for top-quality psychiatric care. Now the Psychiatric University Clinic Zurich (PUK) is planning its biggest new building project to date. Modern new buildings are being constructed at the Lengg site at a cost of around 330 million Swiss

The real cause of the housing shortage
The housing shortage in Switzerland is real. The vacancy rate is a meagre 1 percent and rents have risen by 37 percent since 2002. In the current referendum campaign on the 10 million initiative, the finger is clearly pointing in one direction: immigration. But those who are only looking for

Densify yes, but not at any price
Switzerland is building upwards. In Zurich, more than ten skyscrapers are under construction or in planning, and Geneva, Bern and Basel are also changing their skylines. Economiesuisse President Christoph Mäder is calling for more high-rise buildings. But new figures show that building high does

The canton buys itself out
The canton of Lucerne is buying a property from its own outsourced organization and paying almost five million francs more than necessary. A bidding process drove up the price, although in the end only one buyer was seriously considered anyway. The resulting debate could permanently change the

Politics takes center stage
Ahead of the referendum on June 14, 2026, the focus of the Swiss residential real estate market is shifting to housing policy proposals and the national 10 million initiative. At the same time, slightly higher long-term interest rates are making valuations more sensitive, while the structural

The Ticino real estate market is reshuffling
Across Switzerland, investment in new construction fell by 2.7 percent in 2024. In Ticino, this decline comes against the backdrop of an already tense situation. The vacancy rate fell from 2.08% to 1.92% in the space of a year, marking the first significant downward trend in years. What sounds like


The future of Ticino lies between the lecture hall and emigration
Around 800 young adults leave Ticino for German-speaking or French-speaking Switzerland every year. Only half of them return. At the same time, the canton is investing more heavily in research and innovation than ever before. Whether this calculation works out will determine the economic future of

Handover of the baton in Zug
There is an important personnel change at the Zug Economic Development Agency. After more than thirteen years at the helm of the Business Contact Point, Beat Bachmann is retiring and handing over to Thomas Fuchs. The new head will be supported by Sandro Jörg and in future also by a trainee, with

The city as a raw material mine
Switzerland has been building on stock for decades and is now sitting on huge stockpiles of materials in its cities. Millions of tons of concrete, steel and metals are stored in buildings and infrastructures and are still too often wasted during demolition. Cities are seen as raw material depots

Engelberg spans the arc
Engelberg is reorganizing its village center. Between the train station and the monastery, a clear, tangible axis is to be created from a mixed carpet of streets. The development and design concept specifies how first floors, traffic and public spaces should interact so that the center does not

St. Gallen trims its construction processes
Building in the canton of St. Gallen requires strong nerves. The government now wants to streamline the procedures, above all with digital processes and better coordination. However, it can hardly do anything about the sensitive issue of objection and appeal

80 meters, 1000 apartments, a city council under pressure
A new city center will soon be built where measuring devices used to roll off the production line. The LG site right next to Zug railroad station is one of the biggest urban development opportunities in Central Switzerland and one of the most controversial. The city council has given the green

Baden gets serious about the sponge city
Heavy rain floods cellars, heat glows on sealed surfaces, sewage systems work at their limit. What was considered normal urban development for decades is now taking its toll with every extreme weather event. The city of Baden is now drawing the consequences and getting allies to break up private

ImmoSummit 2026 – From talent to champion
The ImmoSummit of the Zurich Airport region is one of the most important industry gatherings in the Swiss construction and real estate sector. Year after year, it brings together leading figures from the fields of real estate, architecture, construction, financing, politics and location development

Lugano is building an urban region on rails
766 million Swiss francs, a 2.2-kilometre tunnel under Breganzona, travel times of seven minutes between Bioggio and the city center. The Rete Tram-Treno del Luganese is the largest transport project in southern Switzerland. At the same time, it is also an endurance test for the development

The plain that sets the pace in Ticino
Between Bellinzona and Locarno, the Magadino Plain combines moorland, railroad lines, high-voltage power lines and agriculture in a very small area. In August 2025, the federal government and canton presented a coordinated infrastructure plan that shows how energy supply and landscape protection

The Sonnenhof is to reinvent Bülach’s centre
In the middle of Bülach, a new district is to be created from an ageing shopping centre and large parking areas. Sonnenhof focuses on flats, open spaces, shops, culture and a new link between the railway station and the old town. The project shows how a functional area is to be transformed into a

Lucerne knocks Zug off its throne
For years, Zug was synonymous with low corporate taxes. Now the ranking is changing. Lucerne has lowered its rate again and moved to the top. This is more than just a fiscal side note. It is a signal in the increasingly fierce competition for companies, investments and

Zurich sharpens its innovation profile
Zurich is not resting on its laurels. The Government Council wants to further develop the innovation centre in a targeted manner and bring new technologies to market more quickly. This is not based on short-term funding fireworks, but on a longer-term strategy with a clear focus. It is about

The grid becomes Switzerland’s bottleneck
Switzerland is building power plants. However, the electricity often does not get to where it is needed quickly enough. The real bottleneck is in the grid. The Energy Committee of the Council of States is now sending a clear signal. Anyone who is serious about the energy transition must renew,

10 million and then
The debate sounds simple. Less immigration, less pressure. But space works differently. Where living space is scarce, workers are in demand and mobility has long been organised across borders, a hard limit often only shifts the pressure further. This is precisely what makes the 10 million vote so

2000 jobs are on the line in Wettingen
It's about far more than just a piece of land. In Wettingen, the ground is to be prepared for a campus that could give Aargau a major boost. there are plans for 1000 existing jobs and up to 2000 new jobs. Nothing has been decided yet. This is precisely why the case shows how hard regions are
