Business · Companies · 7 hrs ago
Baden’s Konnex office complex adds housing, gyms and 600 Cembra jobs
The Konnex complex in Baden, Switzerland, has been renovated as a workplace designed to feel more like a community than a conventional office.
The 42,000-square-metre building includes offices, furnished flats for people working temporarily in Baden, restaurants, a gym and showers.
Cembra is moving its headquarters from Zurich, bringing about 600 jobs to the site.
The building once housed companies including ABB, Alstom and GE, but job cuts and the pandemic left its offices increasingly empty.
Its owners have redesigned the complex to attract workers, and it is now almost fully rented.
Researchers say shared facilities could help companies use office space more efficiently, while the nearby train station supports public transport; home working remains popular with many employees.
The next step is for Cembra to establish its headquarters there, adding to the businesses already at Konnex.
The Konnex office complex in Baden has been renovated to combine workplaces with housing, fitness facilities and other services.
The refurbishment cost more than 70 million Swiss francs and covers 42,000 square metres.
Consumer credit bank Cembra is moving its headquarters from Zurich to Konnex, bringing about 600 jobs.
The owners’ concept aims to create a shared business and lifestyle community where employees can work and access amenities.
The complex was previously left largely empty after companies including GE and Alstom cut jobs.
- Who
- Cembra and other companies’ employees, in a complex owned by the Basel-Stadt and UBS pension funds.
- What
- Konnex has been refurbished as a mixed-use workplace, and Cembra is moving its headquarters there with about 600 jobs.
- When
- The article was published on 24 October 2026. The move date is not stated.
- Where
- The Konnex complex in Baden Nord, Baden, Switzerland.
- Why
- The owners aim to create a workplace combining offices, housing, fitness and other amenities. Cembra is relocating its headquarters from Zurich.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Architect Theo Hotz designed the steel complex.
Office space at Konnex was left empty.
The Konnex complex became increasingly deserted.
The building was refurbished and is now almost fully rented.
- Renovation cost
- More than 70 million Swiss francs
- Floor area
- 42,000 square metres
- Cembra jobs
- About 600
- Location
- Baden Nord, Baden
- Owners
- Pension funds of Basel-Stadt and UBS
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What people are saying
This is our city-within-a-city philosophy.
If several companies actually share infrastructure and spaces, existing areas could be used more efficiently.
Our surveys as part of the Good Work Barometer show that various factors make working from home popular with many employees.
At the time, they wanted to have as many people as possible in the same place.