‘The ground accounts for 70% of my rent?’ – A guide to socially responsible selling and inheritance Public discussion on 26.10.2025, 16 Uhr  | Zentralwäscherei Anyone who wants a social transformation in construction must also talk about property ownership and rising land prices. In short bursts, we explore the questions: Why has land reform failed so far? Why don’t socially minded owners give away their houses? What do you need to bear in mind if you want to sell or bequeath houses fairly? Finally, we discuss the question of a ‘fair’ price. Nadine Zberg (city historian), Lu Decurtins (@casafairzuerich), Andreas Wirz (@wohnbaugenossenschaften_zurich), Urban Equipe, @buero_vor_ort, Kollektiv @mietenmarta and various representatives of the ‘Arbeitskreis sozialökologische Bauwende’ (Working Group on Socio-Ecological Construction Reform) will be invited as discussion partners. Behind the programme is the ‘Working Group on Socio-Ecological Construction Change’, in which around 50 practitioners have been sharing their experiences of socially acceptable housing construction for around two years. The programme is organised by the associations Urban Equipe and Bureau Giacometti as part of the Stadt_Labor series of the Ponte Project Fund Foundation. The event is part of the series “Building the Future. Now!‘ at the Architekturforum Zürich, and is also part of the event series ’Social-ecological construction transition now!”, organised by the Working Group on Social-Ecological Construction Transition and the associations Bureau Giacometti and Urban Equipe, as part of the Stadt_Labor series of the Ponte Project Fund Foundation. The findings of the event will be published in a book by Hochparterre Verlag in 2026. Back

‘4,000 Swiss francs for three rooms? Are you serious?’ – Comparing the logic behind rent calculations used by profit-oriented landlords and non-profit organisations Workshop on the 29.09.2025, 19.00 | GZ Heuried The rent gap between cooperatives and profit-oriented organisations is growing. If you have to rent on the private market, you often have to pay several times more for the same flat. But why is that? Using a specific example, such as the Küngenmatt housing estate in Zurich-Heuried, we look at different rent calculations. Once you understand the underlying logic, you will have a much better understanding of the housing crisis in Zurich! The workshop is aimed at people who are new to the topic. Behind the programme is the ‘Working Group on Socio-Ecological Construction Transformation’, in which around 50 practitioners have been sharing their experiences of socially responsible housing construction for around two years. The programme is organised by the associations Urban Equipe and Bureau Giacometti as part of the Stadt_Labor series of the Ponte Project Fund Foundation. The event is part of the series ‘Building the Future. Now!‘ at the Architekturforum Zürich, and is also part of the event series ’Social-ecological construction transition now!”, organised by the Working Group on Social-Ecological Construction Transition and the associations Bureau Giacometti and Urban Equipe, as part of the Stadt_Labor series of the Ponte Project Fund Foundation. The findings of the event will be published in a book by Hochparterre Verlag in 2026. Zurück

Ingredients for a socio-ecological construction transformation Tour d’Horizon on the 24.09.2025, 18.00 | Architekturforum Zurich  How can we continue to build cities in an environmentally friendly way and create new living space without causing rents to skyrocket and people to lose their homes? What is needed to ensure that our cities remain liveable, accessible to all and enable social participation for everyone during these processes? Examples include: renovating occupied buildings instead of constructing replacement buildings, applying cost-based rents or income-based rent models, enabling denser construction through architectural tricks, ensuring good communication with tenants, and selling and inheriting houses fairly. With the support of various experts, we will take a tour d’horizon of the most important ingredients for a social and ecological construction revolution. During the aperitif afterwards, we will have the opportunity to explore the topics in greater depth and discuss them. The evening will be moderated by Philippe Koch (Housing Delegate for the City of Zurich). The experts are Rebecca Geyer, Andreas Haug, Sabina Ruff, Andrea Schafroth, Yarin Shmerling, Antonia Steger, Sabeth Tödtli, Thomas Wirz and others. The programme is the brainchild of the ‘Working Group on Socio-Ecological Construction Transformation’, in which around 50 practitioners have been sharing their experiences of socially responsible housing construction for around two years. The programme was organised by the associations Urban Equipe and Bureau Giacometti as part of the Stadt_Labor series of the Ponte Project Fund Foundation. The event is part of the series ‘Building the Future. Now!‘ at the Architekturforum Zürich, and is also part of the event series ’Social-ecological construction transition now!”, organised by the Working Group on Social-Ecological Construction Transition and the associations Bureau Giacometti and Urban Equipe, as part of the Stadt_Labor series of the Ponte Project Fund Foundation. The findings of the event will be published in a book by Hochparterre Verlag in 2026. Zurück