It is in a “very zen” atmosphere that the Swatch Group’s some 25,000 square metres of floor space spread over five floors now house all the departments of Swatch International and Swatch Switzerland.
The Swatch Group inaugurated its new headquarters, intended for some 270 employees, in Biel on Thursday 3 October. For an investment of 200 million euros, the famous Japanese architect Shigeru Ban created a futuristic building with a timber frame that stretches 240 metres long and 35 metres wide. Construction took 8 years and required nearly 2000 m2 of “100% Swiss” wood, the Group states. Using groundwater for heating and air conditioning and solar energy for part of its electricity consumption, and fully equipped with smart windows and blinds, the building, nicknamed “snake’s tail” in the neighbourhood because of its shape, is impressive. Located next to the Omega factory, also designed by Mr Ban, the new buildings also house the Swatch and Omega museums.