Livit is celebrating its anniversary with an eye towards the future

Affordable housing for people on low incomes is becoming increasingly scarce – especially in urban centres like Zurich. As one of the largest property management companies in Switzerland, we take full advantage of the opportunities our partnership with the Domicil foundation offers us. The Domicil foundation finds apartments for people in the city and canton of Zurich who would otherwise have no chance on their own in the housing market. Together, we have already made 100 tenancies possible.

We are an ageing population and the need for age-appropriate housing is thus increasing. The majority of elderly people do not want to live an isolated life in a care facility. In the last post of our Future series ‘How We Will Live Tomorrow’, we’ve teamed up with think tank W.I.R.E. to present ideas for housing in the age of the silver society. 

The advent of artificial intelligence as part of our future lives opens up a wealth of new opportunities, but also entails certain risks. In the latest post in our Future Series, we’ve teamed up with think tank W.I.R.E. to examine the implications of AI in our living and working spaces, and the primary ethical considerations going forward. 

Due to the increasingly tangible effects of climate change and changing consumption and behaviour patterns, demand for climate-neutral products and raw materials is growing. But the need for new materials and the way we use them is set to change in future. While the sharing society plays a key role, a counter-trend is also in play.

Finding a home in Zurich is a challenge – especially for people who are at a disadvantage from a social, economic or cultural perspective. The Domicil foundation has been working for many years to find housing for people in difficult circumstances. As a long-standing partner, we lend Domicil our support, and have decided to expand this assistance in response to a housing market under growing strain. To mark our company’s 60th anniversary, we are making a major donation to Domicil. 

Traditional family models and gender roles can be said to have become obsolete. The individualisation of our society will continue to progress and will open up even more possibilities for shaping how we live and work together. How can rigid real estate meet changing lifestyles and a need for flexibility? Read the theories of the W.I.R.E. Institute for the Future in the latest article in our series ‘How We Will Live Tomorrow’.

Our modern, affluent society affects our health in both positive and negative ways. On one hand, we have more knowledge, measurements and choices at our disposal, while on the other, a lack of exercise, our high-calorie diets and screen time pose risks to our health. Read the article to discover what W.I.R.E., an organisation devoted to researching the future, predicts for the development of ‘healthy architecture’ and the design of cities and towns.

The inception of the metaverse brought with it predictions that, in the future, we would live parallel lives in completely virtual spaces. There is no doubt that the level of virtualisation will increase – the question is ‘by how much?’. As a result of this trend, housing will play an important role going forward: for instance, it will assist with maintaining social interaction.

Livit visited the NCCR Digital Fabrication at ETH Zurich. Its Managing Director, Russell Loveridge, told us which achievements had already been reached in the digital realm and what the construction industry is going to revolutionise over the next few years. 

The energy transition will play a crucial role in the real estate sector over the next few decades. Empa’s energy research platform explores how to optimise energy management within individual buildings, across entire districts and even in cities as a whole. In this exclusive interview, the head of e-hub, Philipp Heer, reveals the current state of research and what the future holds.