4 companies develop proofs of concept at the Swiss Prime Site Start-up Accelerator Programme focusing on new work and healthy buildings

12.05.2021 06:30, Isabelle Mitchell

COVID-19 has accelerated changes in how and where we work: For many companies, the traditional workplace gives way to hybrid models that need new solutions to increase employee engagement, productivity, and innovative strength. Furthermore, buildings that focus on people and their well-being will become key drivers to bring employees back to the office safely. The 13th Swiss Prime Site Start-up Accelerator Programme focused on New Work & Healthy Buildings and invited startups to pitch solutions centered around the opportunities and challenges of “the new normal.”

The experts from Swiss Prime Site were looking for startups that offer solutions that provide tenants and end-users of Swiss Prime Site’s properties with even more productive and use-optimized spaces and help promote safer and healthier workspaces and shopping experiences. 

Out of over 70 applications, the jury selected eight startups from Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The entrepreneurs pitched their innovative solutions to a panel composed of business experts from Swiss Prime Site and its group companies Swiss Prime Site Immobilien, Wincasa, Jelmoli, and Swiss Prime Site Solutions. To refine relevant use cases and develop more sustainable and attractive buildings and environments, the jury and startups received valuable input from Andreas Brandl, co-founder of FlexOffice, a company that provides flexible workplaces and caters to new and emerging business needs. 



The jury chose four finalists who could pitch a joint business case to the Swiss Prime Site group’s management on Day 2 of the program. Each of the four startups presented their innovative solution to help companies adapt to the new workplace reality by improving performance, collaboration, resource utilization, physical and mental health, and delivering a higher ROI.

Airica: Airica develops sensors that can be installed indoors in order to measure the air quality and transmit the results to both a feedback device, which works with light pulses, and a dashboard, which can be monitored by facility managers and/or end-users.

Oxygen at Work: Oxygen at Work creates workplace experiences that foster the health, well-being, and sustainability of the end users through greenery concepts. The ongoing facility service and monitoring solution allow facility managers to track important metrics, optimize the quality of the workspace, and communicate with the end user.

spaceOS: spaceOS provides an operating system for flexible, safe, and human-centric workspaces. The startup has developed an open-API platform, which includes workplace experience features, enhances a building’s efficiency, measures health performance indicators, tracks occupier/employee happiness, and improves space utilization/occupancy.

Metrikus: Metrikus provides large building owners, operators, and occupiers a hardware- and systems-agnostic smart building platform that gathers actionable insights on space utilization and quality through IoT sensors. Customers use Metrikus to become more efficient, lower costs, and improve sustainability.

For the experts at Swiss Prime Site, the event was a success and a big step toward innovation in the area of New Work & Healthy Building: “With this Accelerator Programme, we have approached the topics of New Work and Healthy Building in a solution-oriented way. It was horizon-expanding to see which solutions are currently emerging on the market to meet the future challenges in the real estate market, and it was notable how the value propositions are being developed around the needs of a building’s end-users. Identifying trends is only the first step. In the end, only consistent implementation leads to success. We are confident that this Accelerator Programme has provided us with initial steps towards implementation,” said Bastian Zarske Bueno, Head Group Corporate Ventures & Innovation at Swiss Prime Site AG. 

Check out the video from the workshop and stay tuned for the upcoming Swiss Prime Site Start-up Accelerator Programmes: