The future of living
The Swiss Housing Days will take place in Bern and Interlaken from 21 October to 17 November 2025. The occasion is the 50th anniversary of the Federal Office for Housing, which has shaped Swiss housing policy for over half a century. Specialist events, tours and an exhibition will focus on the future. How can sustainable and socially just housing be created, both in cities and in Alpine regions?
The central symposium on 7 November in Bern will take stock of five decades of housing policy and focus on the challenges of the coming years. Experts from the fields of the environment, energy, spatial planning and property will discuss which management instruments will be needed in the future to reconcile climate targets, housing shortages and social change.
The focus will be on issues relating to resource-conserving construction, socially mixed neighbourhoods and dealing with limited land areas. A public launch on 21 October entitled “Beautiful living – housing promotion” will address these topics. At the Kornhausforum Bern, experts from the fields of architecture, sociology and urban development will discuss ways to create liveable, dense neighbourhoods and the role of cooperatives and local authorities.
Mountain areas under pressure
The second symposium in cooperation with the Federal Office for Spatial Development and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs will take place in Interlaken on 10 November. It will shed light on the tense housing situation in tourist mountain regions, where rising demand for second homes and a lack of primary residences are increasingly displacing the local population and labour force.
Workshops and practical examples show how municipalities can develop new instruments for affordable housing, from earmarking strategies to regional housing funds. The aim is to strengthen approaches that ensure long-term utilisation while maintaining the attractiveness of the location.
Rethinking urban development
At the same time, the framework programme presents innovative perspectives on housing and urban structure. The symposium “The city of short distances”, organised by EspaceSuisse and the Swiss Association of Cities, will address the interaction between housing, mobility and work.
Guided tours of sustainable neighbourhoods in Bern show real examples of implementation with a focus on participation and communal living. The cinema evening with the film White Building brings global challenges such as gentrification and displacement back to local issues of urban development. In addition, the travelling exhibition “10 Minute Neighbourhoods” from 3 to 17 November on Waisenhausplatz illustrates how urban distances can be shortened in everyday life and quality of life improved.
Shared future agenda
The Swiss Housing Days have long been more than just a specialist congress. They are a platform, discussion forum and laboratory for shaping the housing policy of tomorrow. The BWO uses the anniversary to bring politics, business and society closer together. With the aim of rethinking housing as a social and ecological resource.