Promoting age-appropriate housing
Dietlikon, 31 May 2013 – As a result of demographic changes, middle-aged and elderly people will in future form the largest segment in the housing market. For this reason, the systematic application of obstruction-free and age-appropriate criteria will become more and more important when constructing new residential buildings. Against this background, Implenia and various cooperation partners from the federal government and the worlds of business and science, as well as professional organisations and institutions, have founded the association LEA® («Living Every Age»). This association, which originated from a spin-off of the ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) in Zurich, promotes the construction of age-appropriate housing in conjunction with improvements in quality of life and accommodation. The president of LEA® is the well-known architect and ETH professor Dietmar Eberle. The association plans to launch the world’s first accredited certificate in recognition of age-appropriate housing. The first official certifications are expected at the end of 2015. The new quality certificate should primarily be applied to new buildings but it will also be used for existing residential buildings. As a founding member, Implenia is already engaged in a market assessment survey and is currently working on the definition of the certificate. Switzerland’s leading construction and construction services company is thus taking the lead in helping to create a quality certificate that should ultimately enjoy a status similar to that of the now familiar energy standards.
Implenia press contact:
Philipp Bircher
Head of Communications
Tel.: +41 44 805 45 23
The association LEA® – Living Every Age – plans to launch the world’s first accredited certificate, which will be awarded to age-appropriate housing in the future.
Implenia is Switzerland's leading construction and construction services company. Formed in 2006 from the merger between Zschokke and Batigroup, Implenia can look back on around 150 years of history in the construction industry. The company brings the expertise of its highly skilled Modernisation & Development, Buildings and Tunnelling & Civil Engineering Sectors, and its Switzerland and Norway Regions under the single roof of a nationally and internationally active company. With its integrated business model and specialists operating in all its divisions, Implenia can manage a building project through its entire lifecycle and deliver work that is economical, integrated and customer-centric. The focus is on striking a sustainable balance between financial success and social and environmental responsibility.
Implenia, with its headquarters in Dietlikon near Zurich, employs more than 6500 people and posted turnover of around CHF 2.7 billion in 2012. The company is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (IMPN, CH0023868554). More information can be found at www.implenia.com.
