Where until a few years ago there was a grain silo tower from the 1930s, today an elegant residential tower with a 30-metre-high solar façade rises into the Prättigau sky. Grüsch Mill in the Grisons municipality of Grüsch is Switzerland's first DGNB-certified reconstruction project. No

In March 2026, consumer sentiment in Switzerland stood at - 43 points. 8 points below the previous year's level and the lowest level since the beginning of 2024. Households are more pessimistic about the economy, finances and major purchases. Geopolitical tensions are weighing on sentiment. SECO

Today, sawdust usually ends up in the oven. Tomorrow it could protect houses from fire. Researchers at ETH Zurich and Empa have developed a composite material that combines wood waste with the mineral struvite and achieves the fire protection class of conventional cement boards. The material

Part-time work alone won’t solve the problem. At the event “We’re Counting on You!” held on March 26, 2026, at CAMPUS SURSEE, it became clear that the construction and infrastructure sector is facing a cultural shift. Anyone who wants to succeed in the competition for skilled workers must

Is the heyday of sustainability already over? What was once a new departure and a will to shape the future is increasingly losing weight in day-to-day operations. Short-term solutions are being prioritized among cost, market and usage issues, while structural decisions are being postponed. Yet now

Building permits determine how quickly residential, commercial and energy projects become reality. In Switzerland, analog routines and digital ambitions collide. Those who invest in functioning e-processes today gain speed, transparency and political

The real estate industry is not necessarily an industry that changes quickly. Buildings exist for decades, processes are complex and many decisions are based on

Zurich tops the IMD Smart City Index for the seventh year running. Out of the 148 cities surveyed, Geneva ranks third. Lausanne – which was ranked 10th last year – has climbed back up to seventh place. The index measures how smart citizens consider their city to

Cowa Thermal Solutions and the Italian company Innova are to jointly develop a new generation of heat pumps. Cowa, based at Technopark Lucerne, will contribute its latent heat storage technology to the

Helmut Perreten has announced his resignation as CEO of Industrielle Betriebe Interlaken (IBI), effective mid-2027. Perreten has led IBI since 2015. He intends to pursue a career outside the energy sector in

The OF GOODS retail outlet opens on 10 April at the Kaiserhaus in Bern. The focus is as much on the origin of the materials as it is on the material cycle. Open workshops offer insights, complemented by hands-on

The Zurich City Electricity Works (ewz) posted a profit of CHF 303 million on turnover of CHF 1.44 billion in 2025. During the year under review, the energy supplier invested CHF 244 million in networks, power stations and shareholdings. In addition, the ERZ district heating network was

Seven out of ten households in Winterthur currently have access to solar power from their local area. This is provided by 155 local communities, which bring together 535 of the 2,500 solar installations in Winterthur. The federal government supports local consumption by offering a

Funding has been secured for the new building of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in Thun Nord. The city is providing an interest-free loan of 16 million Swiss francs and acting as guarantor for a federal loan of 10 million. Empa is investing 16 million,

Halter AG celebrated the topping-out ceremony at the Aebia site in Burgdorf, 279 working days after the ground-breaking ceremony. By early 2027, the site is set to feature commercial and office space as well as 105

The start-up SolidWatts has secured CHF 1.8 million in seed funding from Swiss and European investors. This will accelerate the development and market launch of its solid-state high-frequency technology, which provides fossil-free process heat to energy-intensive

The city of Biel is well on its way to becoming climate-neutral in its administrative operations by 2040 and across the entire city by 2050. However, to achieve these goals in the long term, public participation is becoming increasingly

The construction chemicals group Sika has taken part in a funding round for Mesh. The construction robotics start-up raised €2.9 million in the round. Mesh has developed the first process capable of producing complex reinforced concrete structures without the use of

Gewerbe-Treuhand AG now also offers its customers the AbaBau software. By expanding the range of Abacus software, Gewerbe-Treuhand wants to make a name for itself as a solution partner for industry software in the ancillary building

Zurich Soft Robotics GmbH is carrying out its largest project to date using its Solskin façade technology. An adaptive building envelope comprising 3,500 modules covering 1,300 square metres has been installed on the KELLER Diamant building in Winterthur. The façade combines dynamic shading with

Margarita Aleksieva will take over as Head of BKW's Energy Production division at the beginning of April. She will also be promoted to the Group Executive Board. The current Head of Wind & Solar at the Bern-based energy supplier will follow in the footsteps of Philipp

Lucerne is just in the top third of the cantons in terms of competitiveness. But far behind in terms of innovative strength. This is set to change. The cantonal government is applying to the cantonal council for a special loan of CHF 24 million for a new foundation to provide SMEs with targeted

As one of the first PropTech pioneers in Switzerland, Heinz Schwyter knows the digital development of the real estate industry like no other. In this interview, he talks about the importance of data, the role of AI, cultural and organizational hurdles and which trends and technologies will shape

Smart cities mark the transition from traditional urban planning to data-based, networked and learning urban systems. According to international rankings, cities such as Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne have been among the world leaders for years. Not because of individual gadgets, but thanks to clear

Hydrogen is supposed to heat houses, power cars and save industry. That sounds like a simple solution to a complex problem. The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research has now evaluated more than 100 studies and the result is clear: hydrogen is not a panacea, but a targeted tool.

Seven years of work, two appeals, a decision by the cantonal government and now Bremgarten's new land use plan has been almost fully in force since February 2, 2026. Almost, because the cantonal government sent three points back to the town. The municipal assembly will decide again in

In September 2025, almost 60 percent of school citizens voted in favor of the new Lärche school center in Arbon. Now a single objector is threatening to torpedo the timetable. The attic storey is 80 centimetres too high. The dispute over centimeters could cost

Zurich wants to save its historic arsenals on the barracks site. But the price tag has risen dramatically. What was once estimated at 55 million francs now costs almost four times as much. The city council has presented a new utilization concept and is focusing on culture, commerce and a social

The Federal Council decided on April 1, 2026 that the imputed rental value will not be abolished until 2029. What is considered a compromise politically sounds like a stalling tactic to many of those affected. But the direction has long been

On April 2, 2026, a stone fell on one of Baden's last large building land reservoirs - five to be precise. The Brisgi site in the Kappelerhof district entered its decisive phase with a symbolic laying of the foundation stone. Around 220 affordable apartments will be built here by 2028, providing a