Interview with Rafael Hunziker, Project Manager location development Schachen

Rafael, why does SIGA Need a new innovation centre?

Siga still invests heavily in research and development. That requires new and bigger facilities. Increasing the capacity makes it possible to achieve the growth planned for the next few years. We also want to put products on the market faster.

What will the new innovation centre offer?

A total of 5000 square metres with new space for production, laboratory and offices. Part of the production space will be used for Special technical centre facilities. They will be used depending on the need for tests or the manufacturing of new products from research and development. The laboratory will be increased considerably in size and equipped with state-of-the-art devices for the new development and advancement of SIGA products.

How will people work in the new centre?

The modern multi-space landscape with 1500 square metres is used for process-oriented development and work. The office landscape complies with the state of the art. Attractive workplaces promote an open and innovative way of working. They are one of the many convincing reasons to win young talented professionals as employees.

When did you start your work and how much longer will it take?

The preliminary project started in 2015 and was managed by Erich Felder until 2016. Fundamental issues were clarified during that time. How are we going to expand/build? At what location? The go-ahead was given in spring of 2016. The main project is to be completed by mid-2019.

Who are you working with?

A good project and planning team, which we were able to staff with long-standing employees and partners, is among the most important aspects. The SIGA team is made of Jean-Pierre Linge, Erich Felder, Christoph Lorenz and me. We decided on a very experienced architect, the architectural firm Dubach Holzinger Architekten with manager Stefan Dubach and employee Nicola Biland. Here, we have found a partner who knows our needs very well.

How is the SIGA sense of sustainability reflected in the project?

On the one hand, it is about preserving the ecological system and the environment. We ensure this with high insulation values, good tightness, low-energy LEDs, rain water utilisation and the recovery of waste heat from systems for CO2 reduction. On the other hand, great benefit for workers is to be created by making use of the rooms very flexible. Preliminary investments are additionally made for future increases and expansions. Already a matter of course for SIGA – the entire roof area and possibly also parts of the façade are covered with a solar power system.

What was your best experience as the manager of this project to date?

The planning application was a milestone. We had a quiet celebration and we knew: Things are getting serious after a long planning period.